Weight Loss Pitfalls
The secret to losing weight is knowing what things you need to avoid as much as you know the things you need to do! While Its great that we is that we live in a world that has become more health conscious that also means that there are more and more company’s and manufacturers out there looking to take our money on the back of promises of better health from using their products.
That is why increasing your knowledge about things like nutrition and exercise is so useful and can save you a lot of wasted time and energy. If you respect weight loss as a science then you are going to be less likely to fall into some of the common traps and pitfalls that others make. This does not mean having to spend hours and hours learning complex formulas and ideas. All is means is learning about some basic facts so when it comes to choosing what foods or exercise products to buy you can cut through the BS and make an informed decision. No more is this more important than when it comes to looking through some of the ‘BS’ that passes for information on food labels.
A lot of country’s have begun to enforce clearer food labelling instruction guidelines on to food manufactures. In the UK this has seen the introduction of the ‘Traffic light system ‘ where red indicates something is high in either fat, sugar or salt and green indicates it is low. However, the guidelines only extend to products made off the premises that the product is sold in. That is why bakers that make their foods ‘inhouse’ do not put nutritional labels on their products. The problem with this is that certain products that are not that healthy can be labelled as ‘freshly made’ or ‘ ‘ made with natural ingredients’. This is perfectly legal and may well be correct. However that tells you nothing about things such as its saturated fat levels or the quantities of sugar and salt contained within.
That is why you need to be careful of what you eat on a lunch break. You should know by now that mayonnaise is heavy in fats and is something that should be avoided like the plague of you are serious about losing weight. Keep an eye out on products high in mayo and see if there are any other sandwiches that you can replace them that have flavourings such as mustard in them.
Alternatively make your own sandwiches and salads! Not only is it much cheaper in the long run but you can be exactly sure of what exactly is going in to them. Four chicken breasts can provide enough meat for a weeks worth of chicken salads. Cook them up on a Sunday night, put them in the fridge and they should last you the week if they were fresh before you cooked them.
We spoke earlier about food manufactures and how to avoid the BS. Now I don’t want you to start thinking that all manufactures of food are out to manipulate you. What I am saying is that there are something’s you need to watch out for. Basically looks can be deceiving – take salads for example. When out shopping for lunch many people understandably pick a salad believing it to quite obviously be the healthy option. However, sometimes you may be better off getting a big mac and large fries! This is no exaggeration. A recent study has found that some so called healthy options sold in certain supermarkets such as prawn salads contain more calories than the aforementioned Big Mac and fries. Some salads have been found to contain a staggering 880 calories and over 30 grams of fat! For a women that’s nearly half the amount of calories and fat recommended on a daily basis.
It is important to read between the lines when it comes to what you buy.
Something being fresh or even made from ‘healthy ingredients’ is meaningless if it is smothered in fatty dressings or sauces. As an example, a certain supermarket claims one of its salads is dressed in a vinaigrette rather than mayo. However upon close inspection it is revealed that this ‘vinaigrette’ is made up of egg yolk, vegetable oil and lemon juice. Which if you don’t know are three of the principal ingredients of mayonnaise! Basically what you need to remember is this, sometimes the truth is a lot harder to find than it should be. Rather than be seduced by the front of the packet – try to take the time to find out exactly what it is that you are putting in to your body.
