A high cholesterol level leads to hardening of arteries, which
in turn, may lead to heart disease or attack. Keep your intake
of food healthy, limit the amount of sugar you eat, and have
your cholesterol checked. If it is higher than 200, ask your
doctor for ways to reduce it.
If you think about losing weight, more importantly than weight
is the amount of body fat you are carrying around. This fat is
measured with what is called Body Mass Index, or BMI. For women,
if you are fit, your percent of fat should range from 21% to
31%. If you are in incredible shape, that could be as low as
10%. For men, fit should be between 14% and 25%, and excellent
shape, as low as 2%.
If you want to calculate you're the fat part of your body, write
down how much you weigh (be honest - no one will see this but
you). Multiply your weight by 703. Next, write down your height,
in inches. Multiply by that same number. Then you will divide
your weight number by your height number. That is your BMI. For
example, if your weight were 150 pounds x 703, your weight
answer would be 105,450. If your height is 5'4", that would be
64 inches x 64 for a total of 4,096. Taking the 105,450 divided
by 4,096, you come out with a BMI of 25.7.
Read Food Labels Carefully
You should get into a habit of reading the labels on food. While
they may have messages such as "Low Fat" or "Reduced Calorie"
written all over the front of the package or can, when you read
the label and understand what you are looking for, you will
probably be surprised. Regardless of what the claim may be, the
label may tell another story. The FDA provides these important
guidelines, therefore, should be what you look for. If the
message and label do not jive, move on to a different product.
Low Cholesterol: 20 mg or less cholesterol per serving and 2
grams or less saturated fat per serving
Cholesterol-Free: Less than 2 mg cholesterol per serving, and 2
grams or less saturated fat per serving
Sugar-Free: Less than 0.5 grams of sugar per serving
High-Fiber: 5 grams or more fiber per serving
Less fat: 25% or less fat than the comparison food
Low fat: 3 grams or less of fat per serving
Light (fat): 50% or less of the fat than in the comparison food
(ex: 50% less fat than our regular cheese)
Fat-Free: Less than 0.5 grams of fat per serving, with no added
fat or oil
Lean: Less than 10 grams of fat, 4.5 g of saturated fat, and 95
mg of cholesterol per (100 gram) serving of meat, poultry or
seafood
Extra Lean: Less than 5 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat,
and 95 mg of cholesterol per (100 gram) serving of meat, poultry
or seafood
Saturated Fat Free: Less than 0.5 grams of saturated fat and 0.5
grams of trans-fatty acids per serving
Low Sodium: 140 mg or less per serving
Very Low Sodium: 35 mg or less per serving
Sodium-Free or Salt-Free: Less than 5 mg of sodium per serving
Reduced Calorie: At least 25% fewer calories per serving than
the comparison food
Low Calorie: 40 calories or less per serving
Light (calories): 1/3 fewer calories than the comparison food
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