20 January, 2012
Have you had a long period of feasting and celebration over Christmas? Was your New Year’s resolution that 2012 will be your healthiest, fittest and best year yet?
Did you answer yes and yes? Then between January 30 to Febrauary 3, Australian Healthy Weight Wee k is a great time to start thinking about a healthier lifestyle and achieving and maintaining a comfortable weight.
To help you on your way, why not become a supermarket sleuth during Australian Healthy Weight Week? Start reading food labels using the guide to nutrient claims* below and learn more about the foods you are buying:
- Low fat = this food must have 3 g of fat or less per 100 g. Extra tip: Check the label to make sure they have not replaced fat with sugar! Are the kilojoules the same as the ‘full fat’ product? (Note: for liquid, like milk, low fat is 1.5 g of fat or less per 100 g).
- Fat free = this food must have 0.15 g fat or less per 100 g food.
- Lite or light = this may mean it is ‘lite’ in fat, salt or sugar, but also may mean the food is ‘lite’ in colour!
- No added sugar = this food has no 'added' sugar, but may still be high in sugar. Check the label to be sure.
- Low joule or diet = this food is either low in sugar and/or fat and it may be artificially sweetened.
- No added salt = like ‘no added sugar’, this food has no 'added' salt but may still be high in salt. Check the label for the salt content.
- Salt reduced = this food has 25 per cent less salt than a similar product. Lower salt is good, but the food may still be high in salt. Check the label.
- Low salt of low sodium = this food must have less than 120 mg sodium per 100 g and is a good choice.
- High fibre = this food must have more than 3 g of fibre per 100 g and is a good choice.
Learning how to read labels is one step in achieving a comfortable weight. Achieving a comfortable weight is also about listening to your body, your appetite and your fullness signals, as well as understanding your needs (and preferences) and how to best satisfy them.
Being a healthy weight is a balancing act: having a good knowledge of nutrition is important, but we also need to understand the reasons for why we eat, how we eat, what we eat, who we eat with and where we choose to eat. Believe it or not, there is a lot more to reaching and maintaining a comfortable weight than counting up kilojoules!
Mater Health and Wellness dieticians are available to help you achieve your goals either via our premium
Nutrition Coaching weight loss package or with one off consultations.
Nutrition Coaching is an evidence-based weight and lifestyle modification program developed by Mater dieticians, aimed at guiding you in discovering what drives your food choices.
For further information or to make an appointment, contact Mater Health and Wellness on 07 3163 6000. Make one of your resolutions this year to get involved with Healthy Weight Week 2012!