What should I look out for on food labels?

rachel82_mfp
rachel82_mfp Posts: 4 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi,
Im fine at tracking calories but unsure what to look out for with fat and sugar in foods.
My goal is to lose weight, so is there a % per 100g to follow? Or any other guidelines?
Im not getting anywhere just counting calories.

Replies

  • Lillymoo01
    Lillymoo01 Posts: 2,865 Member
    Calories are king for me. If I find 2 different brands that have similar calories I will lean towards the one with less salt and sugar though, not that it really makes any difference with weight loss.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,474 Member
    rachel82_mfp wrote: »
    Hi,
    Im fine at tracking calories but unsure what to look out for with fat and sugar in foods.
    My goal is to lose weight, so is there a % per 100g to follow? Or any other guidelines?
    Im not getting anywhere just counting calories.

    Just the calories ... eat fewer than you burn.
    But you might want to eat fewer foods with labels and more that come without labels for better nutrition.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,053 Member
    There are mistakes that people commonly make that cause them to not lose weight that we might be able to spot if you change your Diary Sharing settings to Public: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings
  • Dreamwa1ker
    Dreamwa1ker Posts: 196 Member
    edited January 2020
    Calories are what will get you the weight loss, keeping yourself in a deficit - you should also check the portion size when you check calories to make sure it's realistic or mentally multiply accordingly.

    Now, if you are talking about satiety, that is something where I do look at some of the other items on the list (fiber, protein, fat, etc) - that can help you not be hungry all the time or miserable while in deficit. And this takes some learning your own body over time as the right macro mix to stay full seems to vary a bit person to person. For me, the main one I'm always on the lookout for is fiber - I found that I was not getting nearly enough daily fiber, and when I upped this it helped me stay full longer on the same kind of calories (as well as digestive benefits, and fiber is good for heart health). But tracking macros are more for health and for supporting the calorie deficit by keeping you full/satiated within your calorie allowance.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    I just look for sugar alcohols and type of fiber in the ingredients because they can cause me digestive system distress. If you know of certain allergies or intolerance, definitely watch out for those.
  • rodnichols69
    rodnichols69 Posts: 83 Member
    Minimizing processed or packaged food is a good start.

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