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Fitness Tips: The art of smart shopping

by David Garred,
Club Manager Dusit Resort Sports Club.

Welcome back. Since last week I’ve been asked a number of times how to cut down on fat intake. This is a good and somewhat timely question as by now we know how to “burn off” the unnecessary fat that we are currently carrying. If we then cut down on fat intake, we can notice some changes in our general health and well being.
This was the best question I was asked: I understand that a healthy diet is 30% fat or less, but how can I apply this guideline when I’m grocery shopping?
The choices you make at the grocery store are an integral part of our low fat lifestyle. Reading food labels is the most helpful tool for determining the fat content of foods you see on the store shelves.
Recently, however, food labelling practices have been inconsistent, leaving many consumers confused and frustrated.
By the early 90s, most western governments have issued labelling guidelines describing a label format that affects all but a few exempted food products. Some of the exemptions include: Any packages smaller than 12 square inches (e.g. small candy bar) are not required to carry nutritional labels; Labels on food for children under the age of two are not required to carry fat related information on their labels to prevent ill informed parents from depriving their infants of the higher intake of fat that they require.
On all other labels, information should be displayed as such:
* Serving sizes that realistically reflect the amount that an average person actually eats. Previously, a manufacturer could reduce the portion size to make a food qualify as low-calorie.
* The number of calories per gram of fat (inc. a breakdown specifically for saturated fat), carbohydrate & protein as well as the number of grams of fiber. The label does NOT tell you what percentage of this particular product is fat.
* The “% Daily value” shows the consumer how this food fits into an overall healthy diet. E.G. 1 serving of this product provides 20% of the recommended fat intake for a 2000 calorie diet.
* At the bottom of the label are guidelines for what constitutes a healthy diet.
Balance is the key to your decision making. Sometimes even lowfat recipes may call for ingredients which are higher that the recommended 30% fat or a completed recipe may end up higher than 30%. Your goal is to shoot for an average of 30% over the course of a day or a week, etc.
Plan a weekly menu that is low in fat and build your shopping list around that menu. Once your menu is planned head off to the grocery store with your detailed list, which names specific items & quantities.
With a well planned menu, detailed shopping list, calculator & some nutritional savvy, you can translate your lowfat lifestyle into a cart full of healthy choices that will please not only yourself (& your waistline) but all your family also. Do it today.
Yours in fitness, David Garred, Club Manager.

Fitness Tips