Latest bloodwork and labels

I'm still feeling great since making this change. The goal was to get my bloodwork in check for my heart health.  I was happy to see how quickly things are shaping up.  Plus, I continue to feel really good in my gut. I haven't needed to take my reflux medication after changing.  My hands and feet aren't getting puffy like they used to either.  Just an all around feeling better kind of feeling. 

I've talked about my weight loss which was a very welcoming perk to this woe.  I had tried boot camp type workouts, running and even tried Rx diet pills.  I would lose about 2 lbs and gain more frustration than anything.  I really thought that chunky was just who I was meant to be.  After all, my bloodwork was good and blood pressure low.  So, I was accepting the fact that maybe that was 'my' healthy.  Kevin loves me the way I am so I should probably stop stressing about my weight.  But my weight has plagued me all of my life, always feeling self conscious about my appearance.  Two pregnancies were not nice to my body either.  But I was trying to change my thoughts to feeling proud of my stretch marks because I carried two humans.  It's hard to keep that thought in a swim suit.  

Jump to where I am now.  I could go on and on about why I think this woe is great.  But it's an individual decision which doesn't necessarily mean that my exact woe is perfect for every person.  I like to share about what I'm learning because I'm not the only person that has struggled with weight. 

A big lesson learned is label reading....not the advertising on the package but the actual nutrition information.  Now, if you shop from the produce section along with grains and legumes then no label reading is necessary.  It's really convenient. 

I'll attach pictures to show what my primary doctor explained about fat content.  He said my goal on things packaged is under 20% fat.  Divide fat calories by total calories to determine % of fat. 

Cheese and crackers?  Who doesn't love that for a snack?  Popular brand of Gouda and multigrain crackers.  Ummm, who eats 1 slice of cheese with their crackers?  Yeah, not me.  Now, as a follower of Dr. Esselstyn's plan, I did away with oil so these are not an option for me. But it does show how much fat is in a serving size.  I used to look at calories and fat grams.  I  would have sized this up as sure, it's not too bad.  Also, it may not sound like a lot but between the two, that's 230 mg of sodium which adds up.  That's if the serving size is consumed. 

Moving on to salad dressing.  It says light so must be better, right?  Blah, it has msg in it, too.  It's 87.5% fat.  Again, I would have read this and thought meh, not bad except for msg which is why I wouldn't actually purchase this one.  

Skinny pop popcorn.  I mean with a name like that it's gotta be ok.  Wrong.  Air popped popcorn has zero fat. Even if you used oil at home to pop, it has less fat than this. The packaging looks like this is super healthy but that's a lot of fat considering popcorn has none.  

It is really a shame how marketing is placed on packaged foods. Even though the statements may not be false, it doesn't mean they are healthy.  There isn't much advertising going on in the produce department since there isn't too much competition.  😉 

I think I see why I wasn't losing weight.