The Simplicity of Wellness Podcast
The Simplicity of Wellness podcast is about learning how to bring your body into balance so that you get leaner, stronger and healthier as you age. Each week I'll share thoughts and ideas that help my clients build the self-awareness, self-confidence and self-reliance to lose weight, shed inches, manage muscle mass and master their mind so that they can stop dieting and enjoy living at their healthy weight with optimal wellness.
The Simplicity of Wellness Podcast
Decoding Nutrition Labels: Your Guide to Protein-Rich, Fat-Burning Foods
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Want to uncover the secret to a leaner, healthier physique? Tune in to this episode of the Simplicity of Wellness podcast, where I reveal how mastering the art of reading nutrition labels can transform your diet and support your weight loss goals. We'll break down the protein-to-energy ratio, showing you how to easily identify genuinely protein-rich foods and steer clear of high-energy traps. Using real-life examples like protein bars and sausages, I’ll guide you through my quick, three-pass process for evaluating food labels, ensuring you make smarter choices that promote muscle maintenance and fat loss.
Discover how optimizing your protein intake can be a game-changer, especially if you’re over 40. We delve into the world of sausages, dissecting the nutritional content of typical pork and beef options, and presenting healthier alternatives like chicken sausages with better protein-to-fat ratios. I’ll share insights from my daily food intake, demonstrating how a balanced, protein-rich diet can be both satisfying and effective for sustainable weight loss. So, join me on this journey to becoming leaner, stronger, and healthier, all while enjoying the foods you love!
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Welcome to the Simplicity of Wellness podcast. I'm your host, board-certified holistic nutritionist and professional life coach, amy White. The purpose of this podcast is to share information that you can use to become leaner, stronger and healthier by losing weight, shedding inches, maintaining muscle and managing your mind, all while living your normal busy life in this modern, sugar-filled world.
Speaker 2:Hello, simplifiers, let's talk about nutrition labels what to look for and then, based on your body and health goals, how to use that nutrition information to evaluate if you want to buy or put back whatever it is you're considering. I'm going to walk you through my process how I read a food label and why this information is so helpful when it comes to keeping my appetite satisfied and my body in balance. When I'm at the grocery store, I'm on a mission. I want to go in and get out as fast as possible, which means most of the time I don't linger over nutrition labels. I look at a nutrition label in three passes. My first pass is two seconds. If what I see at first glance looks good, then I'll stop and give it a closer look. That first two second glance is for the protein and fat.
Speaker 2:I look at everything through a protein to energy ratio. Calories are energy. Energy calories come from fats and carbohydrates. Those are our body's dietary energy sources fats and sugars. I want to make this very clear when I say energy, I mean calories. Saying a food is a high energy food doesn't mean yippee. If I eat this thing, I'll have tons of energy and be bouncing around all day. It just means a greater percent of the calories in that food are coming from either fats or carbs, not protein.
Speaker 2:Most Americans eat a lot of high energy foods, meaning they get most of their calories from fats and carbs. Overeating this type of food causes the average, mostly sedentary person to gain weight. Most of us are sedentary. I exercise regularly, but most of my day is still just sitting. Even with regular daily exercise, I still fall into the category of a mostly sedentary person. Keep that in mind when considering how active you really are.
Speaker 2:Protein to energy ratio is a way to evaluate whether a particular food or meal will help you burn body fat or put more fat on your body. This is exactly why I read a nutrition label the way I do, starting with how much protein and then looking at the amount of fat. Is the food high protein or high energy? Will it help me get and stay lean or will it cause me to pack on extra body fat? Okay, let's get back to the nutrition label. As I said, I scan for grams of protein and if that looks good, then I glance up to compare the grams of fat. My first, two second glance is evaluating whether or not what I'm holding is a good protein source, meaning a high percent of the calories are going to be coming from protein. Just because you're looking at something that appears to be, or even says on the label that it's a good protein source, doesn't mean it is. Even if the nutrition label shows a decent amount of protein let's say 12 grams of protein or more per serving if it has more fat per serving than protein, it will be an expensive protein source, meaning you'll be getting a lot of calories from fat to get those grams of protein. When looking at this through the protein to energy lens, it may not be the best source of protein.
Speaker 2:Depending on your body and health goals. If you're trying to shift your body composition so that you have less body fat, a leaner source of protein will be more helpful. A leaner source of protein will be something that has more grams of protein per serving than fat per serving. Becoming leaner means shifting your fat to muscle ratio. You want less fat compared to the muscle on your body. If you've been on social media and seeing all the posts about eating protein and building muscle, don't get discouraged. Building muscle is great. We should all aspire to build more muscle, but don't forget you already have muscle. The muscle you have just needs to be uncovered. Excess fat hides muscle. When you eat food that has more protein than fat, you're helping your body burn off excess body fat, and that's how you'll get leaner and reveal the muscle you already have. Increasing the amount of protein-rich foods is one of the easiest and best ways to reveal your muscle mass. Protein-rich foods help you feel full so that you eat less without even trying. Eating less allows your body to dig in and burn off stored body fat. As you burn off stored body fat, you improve your muscle to fat ratio simply by reducing fat. Being able to read a nutrition label so that you can identify foods that are a good source of protein versus foods that are actually high energy and only masquerading as high protein is key to managing your fat to muscle ratio. One of the easy ways to check this out is the next time you're at the grocery store, look at the nutrition labels on protein bars. See if you can figure out which ones are really protein bars and which ones are just high energy candy bars in disguise. Today, I'm going to use sausage as my protein to energy example.
Speaker 2:My family loves sausage, but most traditional sausages are made with pork or beef. I love these types of sausages because they're fatty. Now, this isn't true for all pork and beef sausages. There are leaner types of sausage. So take your time and read nutrition labels. Most typical pork and beef sausage that you find at a regular grocery store do tend to have more fat than protein, meaning most of the calories you're eating will come from fat, not protein. If you're trying to reduce the amount of fat on your body, eating protein foods that are calorically dense with fat won't help you. In fact, this could easily be one of the things that makes you feel like you're doing it right, but that it's not working.
Speaker 2:I did a quick search for typical sausages that you find at a normal grocery store. Jimmy Dean's popped up as one of the brands, and then another brand called Jones Dairy Farm Sausage. All-natural mild pork sausage links was another. A quick glance at the sausage links showed me 7 grams of protein. That alone would have me looking at the fat, because 7 grams seemed low for a meat product. So of course, I'd wonder well, what could the fat be? One serving is seven grams of protein and 24 grams of fat. This is a high fat food masquerading as protein. It's a food that will make you fatter, not leaner. I did mention that my family loves sausage, so I wasn't going to give up on sausage. I spent a lot of time reading labels, looking for high protein, lower fat sausage, and I'm happy to tell you I was successful.
Speaker 2:We have a local grocery store here that carries their own brand of chicken sausage. They have a bunch of different flavors, but here's the nutrition information for their tomato, basil and mozzarella chicken sausage. One link and this is a dinner size link, not a mini link 13 grams of protein, three grams of fat. Another brand that I really like is Sabatino smoked mozzarella with artichoke and garlic chicken sausage. We get these at Costco. Again, this is a full size sausage link, not a mini link. There are 16 grams of protein and nine grams of fat, which makes this a high quality protein source, with 40% of calories coming from protein.
Speaker 2:I've seen protein recommendations that say you should be getting 5 to 35% of your daily calories from protein If you eat a 2000 calorie diet, that is, 50 to 170 grams of protein per day. You may not like this, but I'm going to tell you that 50 grams of protein per day is not enough to prevent muscle loss as you age. At the very least, all women over 40 should be getting no less than 100 grams of protein a day and, quite frankly, if you're over five feet tall, you should be shooting for a minimum of 125 grams of protein a day. More if you're active, let's look at this with a 1500 calorie diet If you're shooting for 100 to 150 grams of protein a day more. If you're active, let's look at this with a 1500 calorie diet. If you're shooting for 100 to 150 grams of protein a day, that means 400 to 700 of those 1500 calories are coming from protein.
Speaker 2:If you want to do the math, each gram of protein is approximately four calories, the same for carbohydrates. Each gram of carbohydrate is four calories four calories, the same for carbohydrates. Each gram of carbohydrate is four calories. Fats are different. For each gram of fat, you get nine calories. This is why, when you eat foods that are high in fat, you also get a lot of calories. The fat calories add up faster than the protein or carb calories. If you're eating 100 to 150 grams of protein a day, that means 400 to 700 of your 1500 calories are coming from protein. The remainder of your calories will be from fats and carbs.
Speaker 2:100 to 150 grams of protein on a 1500 calorie diet means the percent of calories coming from protein will be between 27% to 40%. I'm torturing you with this math to help you understand what you're looking for on that nutrition label. The easy protein math is look at the grams of protein, multiply that number by 10. If that new number the protein grams with that added zero on the end is equal to the calories per serving, you know you're getting 40% of your calories from protein. Super easy. If the protein times 10 is more than the calories per serving, then you're getting more than 40% of your calories from protein. If it's less than the calories per serving, then you're getting less than 40% of your calories from protein.
Speaker 2:So let's take a closer look at those Jones dairy sausage links that I mentioned earlier. A serving is 250 calories. Each serving has 7 grams of protein and 24 grams of fat. 7 times 10 is 70, which is a whole lot less than 250 calories. So we know the percent of calories coming from protein is way less than 40%. So just for fun, let's figure this out. There are 4 calories per gram of protein. Seven grams of protein times four equals 28 calories. If you divide 28 by the calories per serving, 250, you get 11%. Only 11% of the calories you're eating are coming from protein.
Speaker 2:As a woman over 40 who's trying to get a minimum of 100 grams of protein a day, you need at least 27% of your calories coming from protein. These sausage links just don't cut it. They aren't helping you reach any kind of healthy body goal. Does this mean you should put down anything that doesn't add up to 40% of calories from protein? No, on average, over the course of a day, if you can keep your percent of calories from protein between 27 and 40 percent, you're doing a lot to help your body regain metabolic balance and burn off excess body fat. The best part you shouldn't feel hungry. If you're getting 27 to 40 percent of your calories from protein, you will feel full and satisfied. This range gives you the ability to eat a variety of foods, including foods that are higher in fats and carbs. When your body gets the nutrients and minerals it needs from your food, it stops asking for more. The food noise in your head quiets down. Losing fat so that you get leaner, stronger and healthier should start to feel easier, because it doesn't require superhuman willpower or constant self-judgment.
Speaker 2:One of my favorite types of sausage is kielbasa. It's fatty and greasy and that's why I love it. A serving of the kielbasa that I like is 120 calories. There are nine grams of protein and nine grams of fat per serving. It's a one-to-one ratio of fat to protein. When I multiply the grams of protein and 9 grams of fat per serving, it's a 1 to 1 ratio of fat to protein. When I multiply the grams of protein by 10, I get 90. That's less than 120, which is the calories per serving, but it's not a lot less. I know this is still within the protein percent range that I'm comfortable with, but to be sure, let's check the numbers. 9 grams of protein times 4 tells me that I'm getting with, but to be sure, let's check the numbers. 9 grams of protein times 4 tells me that I'm getting 36 calories from protein. When I divide 36 by 120, I get 30%. This means 30% of those 120 calories are coming from protein. 30% fits within that healthy range of 27 to 40% of calories coming from protein. If your protein grams don't equal 40% of calories, don't just give the food a quick pass. Is the protein about equal to or greater than, the fat? If so, give it a closer look, you may be pleased to discover that it fits within that 27 to 40% range.
Speaker 2:Most of the nutrition labels I look at are because I'm shopping for good protein sources. This means that the carbs and sugars are naturally low because most of the calories are coming from protein and fat. There are mixed foods that I do buy, for example, kevin's paleo meals. I love to keep some of these in my fridge and freezer for quick meal options when I know we're going to be busy. When I'm looking at something like this, I do the whole protein to fat thing, but I also look at the carbs and sugars. Remember carbs and the sugars that fall under carbs are calories the body will either burn or store as fat. When we eat too many of our calories from fats and carbs, we can end up storing a lot of those calories as body fat. This is why you want to shoot for that 27 to 40 percent range of calories coming from protein. If you're eating that amount of calories as protein, the fat and carb calories will be at a level your body can effectively burn without a lot of excess that will need to be stored as fat.
Speaker 2:Let's compare a couple of the Kevin Paleo meals. The sirloin steak tips with gravy is one of our favorites 160 calories per serving, 22 grams of protein, 7 grams of fat, 2 carbs, 0 sugars. 22 times 10 is 220. More than 40% of the calories are coming from protein. In fact, 55% of the calories in this meal are coming from protein. This means the protein to energy ratio is very high. This is a high protein, body fat burning meal. The second meal I looked at was the Thai style coconut chicken 180 calories, 23 grams of protein, 7 fats, 5 carbs, 3 added sugars. 23 times 10 is 230. 51% of calories in this meal are coming from protein. This is low fat, low carb, so a high protein to calorie ratio and another fat burning meal. If the food you're choosing to buy and eat is giving you 27 to 40% of the calories per serving from protein, then you can feel confident that it's a food that will help you burn body fat and get leaner without feeling constantly hungry.
Speaker 2:Let's talk about the other parts of that nutrition label carbs, sugars and fiber. If there's one thing on a label that will have me putting something back without a second glance, it's added sugars. If a product has eight or more added sugars, I generally just put it back. Does this mean I never, ever, buy anything with a little added sugar? No, I do and have, but it's rare I have bought and eaten that Kevin's Paleo Thai-style coconut chicken meal. It's good but, given the choice, I generally choose meals that don't have any added sugar. Realistically, 3 grams is no big deal. In fact, my rule of thumb with sugars in general is no more than six to eight grams of sugar per serving. This is different from added sugars, but in most cases, if a food has eight grams of sugar or less, there's probably very few or no added sugars. Sometimes you'll see something that has seven sugars and all of those sugars are added. I'll usually put this back Again. It's not that big a deal, but it's just one of my things. Everyone will have their own line. They draw in the sand when it comes to nutrition labels and ingredients. Added sugars are just one of my things. As for fiber, the more fiber the better.
Speaker 2:What I've just outlined is my two pass look at a nutrition label. Pass number one check the protein. Compare the fat, evaluate the percent of calories from protein. I don't look at calories for calories sake. I don't really care about calories. I want to know if, when I eat this thing, will I feel full and satisfied. The percent of calories from protein and the amount of fat will help me determine if the food will satisfy my body and turn down my appetite. Protein that's very lean, meaning it has very little to no fat, doesn't satisfy me. White fish, whey protein, egg whites and plain chicken breast leave me feeling hungry. I need some fat to fully satisfy my appetite.
Speaker 2:Shooting for 125 to 170 grams of protein a day, which is the range that I tend to go for, gives me the flexibility to enjoy fats with my protein. Sometimes the fats are higher and sometimes they're lower, but on average I'm typically within the 27 to 40% range of my daily calories coming from protein. So pass number one is the proteins and the fats. Pass number two I look at the carbs, sugars and the fiber. I do have a third pass, and that is the ingredient list.
Speaker 2:I mostly scan for wheat and or other gluten containing grains and seed oils. Wheat and or gluten is a showstopper. I won't buy things that include wheat or gluten because people in my family are very intolerant to gluten, so it's just something that we totally avoid. Seed oils are something I try to avoid, but when buying convenience foods, there's a trade-off. Most of the time, these foods will have seed oils because those are inexpensive oils.
Speaker 2:Okay, that was a lot and I did get into the weeds a bit with the math, but I think it's important for you to understand what high protein really is. The good news is you don't need to do the math. You can use any food tracker and it'll break down all of this for you. You don't want to look at food individually. What's important is what a day or a week of food looks like. Did you hit 100 to 150 grams of protein over the course of the day? What about your weekly average? Are you hitting that sweet spot of 27 to 40% or more of your calories coming from protein? That's what's important. Are you, on average, eating food that has a high protein to energy ratio? Are you mostly eating food that's helping your body use and burn fat so that you're living lean, strong and healthy? As I've mentioned in the past, I like carb manager for my food tracker, but any online food tracker will show you your daily breakdown of protein, carbs, fats and fiber.
Speaker 2:A minute ago, I mentioned that I like fat and in order to keep my appetite happy, I need to include fat in my diet. Eating super lean protein isn't fun or sustainable for me. This is one of those big mistakes that I see people make all the time. They try to eat super lean, high protein, but it's very difficult to sustain that. Your appetite doesn't calm down, your cravings kick up and you end up binging on those carbs and fats that you've been avoiding. So, yes, protein is good, eat protein, but understand that fats and carbs aren't evil. When managed properly, they help you feel good as you get leaner, stronger and healthier.
Speaker 2:Here's a breakdown of what I ate. A few days ago For breakfast, I had a breakfast pepper. This is a bell pepper hollowed out and then stuffed with two scrambled eggs, cheese, ham and a quarter cup of cottage cheese, and then it's baked in the oven. I also had three pieces of bacon. I had one ounce of tri-tip, which is lean roast beef, mostly because it was taking forever for the breakfast pepper to cook and I was hungry. Then for lunch, I had my mini lunch, which is one and a half cups of cottage cheese with 100 grams of chopped pineapple. For dinner, I had a big piece of my high protein lasagna with my simple green salad that had half a cup of cottage cheese, balsamic vinegar and half an avocado mixed in. Overall, my day worked out to be 1528 calories, 139 grams of protein, 75 grams of fat, 82 total carbs and 15 grams of fiber. 37% of my calories came from protein, 45 percent came from fat and 18 percent came from carbs. This is just one day. Those numbers and the percents shift from day to day, but on average, the amount of calories I get from protein daily fall within that 27 to 40 percent range.
Speaker 2:I'm going to leave you with one tip when it comes to making changes with your current diet don't focus on what you think you should take away or stop your current diet. Don't focus on what you think you should take away or stop eating. Instead, don't worry about what you're currently eating. What I want you to do is think about what you're going to add. How will you increase your protein? Adding more protein-rich foods. This one simple, small thing will cause you to eat less of your normal everyday carby fatty foods without even trying. And that's the goal A healthy approach to lasting weight loss, because what you're doing is sensible, practical and sustainable.
Speaker 2:Okay, go out this week and check out the nutrition labels. See what you find. See if you're surprised by anything you read. I will be back in the next episode. Do you like the idea of eating for the body you want? Is there a piece of you that's eager to learn how to become leaner, stronger and healthier without having to overhaul your entire life? If this is you, then you're in luck, because this is what I do. I can help you reconnect and work with your body so that you can enjoy the body, comfort and confidence you deserve, eating foods you love. Click the free consult link in the show notes.
Speaker 1:Let's talk about where you are what you want and how you can get there.
