According to law, every pre-packaged food item needs to have a label that tells you, the consumer, what each ingredient contained in the package consists of. It also must state how many calories, carbohydrates, amount of sodium, etc. the food contains. You need to read these labels carefully to know what you are eating and what you are up against when purchasing packaged food.

1. Did you know what it really means when the package may say the product contains 0% trans fat? It may mean that the amount of trans fat the product contains may not really be zero. The government controls say that anything less than .5% can be rounded down to 0%. That is when you have to look at the serving size to know how much trans fat (or calories or whatever) you may actually be eating. Is the serving size realistic? In some cases it is not. Be aware and be careful.

2. You should also be aware of the suggested number of servings in the container or package and gear the amount you eat to that. For instance, if a package of pudding says it is a 6-serving size and you eat half of the amount made, you have eaten three portions. Because of this, you may be eating more that you think.

3. The % Daily Value (%DV) tells you whether a food is high or low in nutrients. A food label that reads 20% Daily Value (20%DV) means the food is high in nutrients, whereas one that read 5%DV or less are low in nutrients. Food labels can help you limit the nutrients you may need to cut back on in your diet, but they can also help you to get increase the nutrients that are important in your diet.

4. Sodium on a food label simply means the salt content. Foods that contain more than 20%DV are high is sodium. High sodium intake is linked to high blood pressure. You should look for foods that have low sodium (5%DV or less) or sodium-free (no sodium).

5. Although some food labels may say ‘low-fat’, ‘reduced-fat’ or ‘light’, this does not always mean that the foods are low calorie. Fat free does not mean calorie free, so be careful. Those calories do count.

6. When reading food labels, look for foods with a low %DV for total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium.

7. Your DV goal is 100% for total carbohydrates, dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals. You don’t have to get this 100% amount all from one food. You can add up a combination of foods to get the right amount.

8. The daily values indicated on food labels are listed for a person who eats 2,000 to 2,500 calories a day. If you are eating less than that on your diet, your personal DV may be lower.

9. Be aware of the grams of sugar in each package and the amount of carbohydrates. High sugar and carbohydrate numbers mean more calories. Again, sugar-free doesn’t meat carbohydrate-free, so be sure to read the labels carefully.

10. Food labels can help you weed out certain foods that may be detrimental to your diet. But they can also serve as a guide to free foods that you can eat. A free food would be one with fewer than 20 calories and less than 5 grams of carbohydrates per serving. Some examples of free foods would be: diet sodas, sugar-free flavored gelatin products or sugar-free chewing gum.

To recap, reading food labels can really help you to lose weight on your diet. You do need to read the labels carefully and pay attention to serving sizes especially, and how they relate to the type of diet you are on and what foods you are allowed.