4-27: Labels (Build a Nutrition+Hydration Habit)
Well, good morning. Hello, mornings. This is Kath Lee, and welcome to April 27th. This month, we're talking all about fuel. How can we make sure that we're giving our bodies the nutrition and hydration that they need so that we have the energy to do all the things that God is calling us to do with excellence and joy.
Kat Lee:Some of us are taking care of our families. Some of us are working in an office. Some of us are volunteering in our community. Some of us are doing a couple of those or all three of those. Whatever your life looks like.
Kat Lee:Our bodies are her vehicle through which we can bring glory to God and bring his love to those around us. So we wanna take care of it so that we feel like going out and doing the things that God's calling us to do, and we have the energy to do them well. So today's tip, it kind of bounces off of yesterday. Yesterday, I talked a little bit about paying attention to portion sizes in what we eat. And today, it's just to read the labels.
Kat Lee:Again, in every single tip that I'm sharing this month, it is never about restricting or saying anything is bad or good per se. It's simply about noticing so that we can design our decisions to be good ones. So when we're reading labels and ingredients, if you are eating a food that has a label on it, it's probably the first thing you wanna notice, it's probably not a whole food. So apples don't have labels on them. A banana doesn't have a label on it.
Kat Lee:Package of nuts might. So just be conscious that the more there are nutrition labels on what we're eating, the more we have to be conscious about whether this is a highly processed food or not. So here are a few things that you can look for in your nutrition labels. First of all, like we talked about yesterday, the serving size. Sometimes a package that looks like it's for 1 person is actually for 2 or 3 or more.
Kat Lee:So pay attention to that, then check the calories. How many calories does this have? Sometimes, you might have a choice between 2 different snacks, and you might enjoy them just as much, but one is really calorically empty. It has a lot of calories and not a lot of nutrition. And another one is very calorically dense, meaning it has maybe the same number of calories, but a lot of great nutrients.
Kat Lee:So you can pay attention to the calories and make your decision based on that as well. Then you wanna look at the macronutrients. That's the amount of fat, protein, and carbohydrates in the food, and those are going to give you some energy. They're going to, give you some satiety. So the protein in the food is gonna help you stay full, and, there are gonna be a lot of micronutrients in there as well.
Kat Lee:You You also want to pay attention to the sugar content. Sugar is one of those things we just don't need more of in our society. So if you again have a choice between 2 things that are equal for all intents and purposes, but one has drastically higher sugar content, go for the other one. You can also consider whether or not the food has whole grains. If you look through the ingredient list and you can't pronounce most of it, maybe pick something else.
Kat Lee:It's good to pay attention to the ingredient list. Is it a short list? Can you pronounce everything? Again, we are not restricting. We are not declaring foods off limits.
Kat Lee:We're just noticing. And when we notice, we can be intentional. And when we're intentional, we make better choices. So a simple tip, pay attention to the labels and nutrition in the foods that you eat. Pay attention to the serving size, the calorie count, the macronutrients, the sugar content, and just read the ingredients.
Kat Lee:Alright, friends. If you've not had your 3 minute warning, you're not too late. You're right on time, and it is coming up next.
