Nutrition: The Junk - Food

It has all been said before, don't eat this, don't eat that. You know what I'm talking about. And no I'm not going to advocate or tell you what to do but I am going to let you know what you are eating when you pick up those around town favorites.

First off, let me explain what a calorie is. As we go throughout our day doing simple things like brushing our teeth or walking to the car we burn energy. Calories are the amount of energy in a piece of food that we are putting back into our bodies. Now if we eat too many calories, more than we burn off in a day, then the extra energy can be stored as fat.  There are different kinds of calories and many things that can effect what happens to that energy once it enters our bodies.

This is a rather short version of the process of what calories are. If you would like a more detailed description of what calories are there is a link at the end of the blog.

Foods that are high in fat and high in calories can give anyone a huge number of complications with their health. And simply, it's time to take action. If you eat foods that are high in fat, sugar and calories you are at risk for problems, no matter if you are a healthy weight or not.

Daily Nutrition Guidelines For Women

Recommendations	Women under 50	Women over 50
Calories	2,000	2,000 or less
Protein	50g	50g or less
Fat	65g or less	65g or less
Carbs	304g	304g
Fiber	25g-35g	25g-35g
Cholesterol	300mg or less	300mg or less
Iron	18mg	8mg
Sodium	2,300mg or less	1,500mg or less
Calcium	1,000mg	1,200mg

For Men

Recommendations	Men over 24
Calories	2,700
Protein	63g
Fat	88g or less
Carbs	410g
Fiber	25g-35g
Cholesterol	300mg or less
Iron	8mg
Sodium	2,300mg or less
Calcium	1,000mg

Now back to food. It is never easy to become aware of what exactly we are eating, but it is possible. An easy way to remember that the low-fat yogurt with the delicious berries' instead of the box of waffles is to write it on the top of your grocery list. If you never use a grocery list, it may be a good idea to start. When you create a grocery list it forces you to be more aware of what you are purchasing. And take a moment to look at the back of the box. Poptart's come in packages of two, and each Poptart has a surprising amount of calories, that I myself never would have guessed.

Challenge
Next time you go to the store pick three items you usually purchase (potato chips, cheese, juices) and look at their sugar and fat content compared to what is recommended daily. Then decide if that's what you want your beautiful body to be running on.

Links, Sources:

What is a calorie? http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/healthieryou/html/chapter5.html

Nutrition charts: http://www.easy-weightloss-tips.com/weightlossfacts-3.html