Our clients come to us for a medical weight loss plan that will help them drop unwanted pounds and keep them off. But just as with any other nutrition plan, medical weight loss only works as well as you understand and follow the strategy. So when we talk about calories, carbs, protein, and fat, learning about nutrition is only the first step. You must know how to read and interpret food labels, or else things (like your daily calorie allotment) simply won’t “add up”.
So as you get familiar with your new eating plan, learn to read these parts of food labels.
Serving size. Make sure to check serving sizes before diving into a snack. You might glance at the number of calories, see a relatively low number, and make a grand assumption about a particular food item. But if you’re eating far more than the recommended serving size, you’re also eating far too many calories. You might be surprised at how small some servings actually can be.
Servings per container. Don’t make the mistake of thinking one container equals one serving! This is a common mistake that leads to scarfing down two, three, or more servings of snack foods.
Calories. This, of course, is perhaps the most important number on a food label. Once you’ve determined the appropriate serving size, evaluate how many calories are contained within a serving. When we meet to discuss your medical weight loss plan, we will help you determine how many calories you should eat in one day. Then you can decide how each of your favorite foods will fit into your nutrition plan.
Proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. These nutrients are the final key to your medical weight loss plan. You need to eat enough protein to stave off blood sugar crashes and cravings, enough healthy fats to keep your body nourished, and enough carbohydrates to fuel your workouts. When we prescribe your eating plan we will help you set daily goals for all of these nutrients.
You might not love the idea of doing math every time you eat. But we promise, it gets easier and more intuitive once you learn appropriate serving sizes! Call us to schedule an appointment, and we’ll help you decide if a medical weight loss plan is the right strategy to help you reach your goals.
