What ingredients do you look out for?

Misiaxcore
Misiaxcore Posts: 659 Member
edited October 3 in Food and Nutrition
And why? Or do some of you not care about the ingredients and only look at the nutrition information?

Discuss.

Replies

  • getthisweightgone
    getthisweightgone Posts: 36
    Personally, I know I have an issue with salt. If I eat food that contains a lot of salt, I definitely bloat up like nobody's business. So, I order things without salt if there is an option. Second, I look at calories, and how many calories are in each piece or unit. If it's a small food portion and has 800 calories in it, I would most likely skip out on it, and find something that's more fulfilling. Other than that, I try to stay clear of unhealthy things and stick to fruits, veggies, and eat at home. :]

    What about you?
  • ShannonMpls
    ShannonMpls Posts: 1,936 Member
    My goal is for 90% of my food to be whole (fruits, vegetables, pastured meat and eggs) or with an ingredient list with only pronounceable ingredients that I could find on a supermarket shelf.

    The other 10% is for treats - which means occasional.

    Unless it's a very special occasion, I won't eat foods containing partially hydrogenated fats (artificial trans fats - which are in many processed foods labeled trans-fat free, coincidentally).
  • Jewels211
    Jewels211 Posts: 184 Member
    I definitely look to the ingredients. The nutritional info can be hard to decipher, esp. sugars because for instance dairy foods have naturally-occurring sugars, so the sugar info might look high, but there is no added sugar, so it's not going to mess w/your body's blood sugar levels like added stuff would. Watch out for the "oses"--sucrose, fructose, dextrose, etc (sucralose is Splenda, and I'm okay with that one) or any other thing that tells me sugar has been added (syrup, cane juice, etc.). I also watch for "enriched" flours etc b/c that tells me they're not whole grain & have been stripped of their fiber and nutrients so stuff has to be added back. And I watch where salt falls in the list of ingredients. (That is also something I do look at the nutritional info for.) I also watch for what type of fat is used, to try to stay away from the hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated stuff.
  • sleepytexan
    sleepytexan Posts: 3,138 Member
    Never never never eat anything with Partially Hydrogenated Oils or processed Corn Syrup (high fructose, or other) or "corn sugar".

    These things will derail your weight loss, keep you fat, hungry, and addicted to more.
  • ShannonMpls
    ShannonMpls Posts: 1,936 Member
    Never never never eat anything with Partially Hydrogenated Oils or processed Corn Syrup (high fructose, or other) or "corn sugar".

    I love that they're calling it "corn sugar" now. Lol.
  • jess213tx
    jess213tx Posts: 85 Member
    I like to eat lean meats - so I usually look for chicken/turkey/fish that is grilled or roasted. Broccoli and edamame are my vegetables of choice - so I eat alot of those.

    However, I think the nutritional information is always a little more important. What's worked best for me is increasing my protein (to about 100 grams a day), and keeping my sugars and sodium in check. Too much sodium and you start to retain water. Too much sugar and my butt and belly get bigger :)
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
    I just look at nutritional info.
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
    I just look at calories and macronutrients.

    However, I do try and consume nutrient dense foods, lots of fresh fruit, meats, vegetables. So, while I don't look at ingredients and do eat processed crap now and again, it's not the bulk of my intake.
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
    I mostly just check the label.

    Sodium content is the big one. I hae a heart condition, so excess sodium is not really a good thing for me.
    Sugar is the second. Sugary foods make me hungrier so I have to be a little careful with them.
  • Misiaxcore
    Misiaxcore Posts: 659 Member
    For the most part, I just look at the nutrient table. When I'm shopping I already spend a good amount of time comparing and looking at them, so if I started looking at ingredients, I'd be in the store a VERY long time. Sometimes I'll glance at the ingredients at home though, and at the store if I'm iffy about a food. If I /notice/ a long list of ingredients, I usually tend to not buy it.
    I think I'm gonna try to start looking at ingredients more before I make purchases. Key word: try.
  • BeckyRayJohnson
    BeckyRayJohnson Posts: 88
    This was very helpful for me. Especially the "craving for more" part. Thank you.
  • mandagurlee
    mandagurlee Posts: 22 Member
    Anything partially hydrogenated is on my no's list :sick: and any mono amd polyunsaturated fats on my yes list.:wink:
  • Raf702
    Raf702 Posts: 196 Member
    And why? Or do some of you not care about the ingredients and only look at the nutrition information?

    Discuss.

    Personally for myself, I don't look at the ingredients. I focus on the calorie value per serving and the grams in fat/carbs/protein.
  • ShannonMpls
    ShannonMpls Posts: 1,936 Member
    For the most part, I just look at the nutrient table. When I'm shopping I already spend a good amount of time comparing and looking at them, so if I started looking at ingredients, I'd be in the store a VERY long time. Sometimes I'll glance at the ingredients at home though, and at the store if I'm iffy about a food. If I /notice/ a long list of ingredients, I usually tend to not buy it.
    I think I'm gonna try to start looking at ingredients more before I make purchases. Key word: try.

    If you have a smartphone, check out the Fooducate app. You scan the barcode and it gives the product a grade and lets you know of anything odd lurking in it - artificial sweetener, food dyes, trans fat. It also alerts you if it has a ton of sodium or sugar or is ultraprocessed. AND if will let you compare products or look for alternatives with a better grade. Your shopping trip will still take longer, but I find the app very useful.
  • fiberartist219
    fiberartist219 Posts: 1,865 Member
    Personally, I try to avoid preservatives, especially MSG like nobody's business. I will end up eating it occasionally, but I try to avoid it in my daily life. That doesn't really affect my weight loss, but my mom and my Grandma have some sorts of health problems, and I've been told many times to avoid preservatives. Therefore, I only eat certain brands of soups, and I avoid lunch meat.

    As far as weight loss goes, I try to eat a lot of whole grains when I eat bread, rice, or pasta. There is extra fiber and nutrients in whole grain foods. The fiber helps move things along.
  • HMonsterX
    HMonsterX Posts: 3,000 Member
    Never never never eat anything with Partially Hydrogenated Oils or processed Corn Syrup (high fructose, or other) or "corn sugar".

    These things will derail your weight loss, keep you fat, hungry, and addicted to more.

    That's odd. I eat things with it in, and i'm losing weight, losing fat, not at all hungry or addicted, and I've never felt better. Be more careful with such sweeping statements.

    All i look at is the calories. Since I'm practically a carnivore protein is never an issue for me anymore. :) I don't believe any of the scaremonger rumours about various additives. Only the paranoid do that.

    Why overcomplicated what is, for 99% of people, a very simple process if you actually take it down to the bare bones.
  • Aussie4870
    Aussie4870 Posts: 120
    a few things that i look for are sugar content per serving...anything over 11g per serve i stay away from...

    for all of my bread/pasta products the first ingredient has to be whole wheat flour...nothing enriched...

    i also look at salt...i dont add salt to anything and since adopting a healthier lifetyle i am always amazed at the salt content of some foods that i never even considered have a high salt content...

    i prefer to make most of my food from scratch...though i do eat stuff like Fiber One bars, Sugar Free Italian Ice and Snack Well Brownies for treats or snacks...
  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member
    i cut out HFCS/corn sugar about a year and a half ago .. also artificial colors (they make my kids crazy hyper). ive been trying to cut out hydrogenated oils and such, and have been eating less and less processed stuff.
  • Rilke
    Rilke Posts: 1,201 Member
    I don't bother with the nutrition label except for sodium. I only read ingredient lists.

    I don't eat anything with hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors, artificial flavors, artificial sweeteners, preservatives, sodium nitrate or nitrite, brominated vegetable oil, or added MSG.

    I also avoid corn syrup, corn oil, soy *anything*, canola oil, and cottonseed oil that isn't organic or labeled non-GMO.
  • jmeeej
    jmeeej Posts: 125 Member
    Besides HFC..........Sodium Nitrite in meats and anything with MSG in it.
  • rm830
    rm830 Posts: 531 Member
    Never never never eat anything with Partially Hydrogenated Oils or processed Corn Syrup (high fructose, or other) or "corn sugar".

    These things will derail your weight loss, keep you fat, hungry, and addicted to more.

    Those are the things I look out for, they're BAD BAD BAD!!!
  • firewatergoddess
    firewatergoddess Posts: 16
    I look at both, best way to keep the weight loss flowing is try to keep your foods whole, don't eat alot of prossesed good.........as I think a good saying is the longer the list of unrecognizeable ingredants the worst it is for your total health not just your waist line.
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