Calories and Nutrition

Americans are becoming more and more overweight. Some just keep eating, but others are making a change. One diet trend that I’ve noticed is counting calories. My mom and dad have been doing it for years.

If you have the time and money, talk to your doctor or a nutritionist to determine how many calories you should eat a day. If this isn’t possible, most websites will tell you that adults should eat about 2000 calories a day and about 300 fewer if they want to lose weight. (Obviously exercising and drinking lots of water is important too.)

If you need some help getting started and want to know more about calorie counting, I recommend the book The Calorie King. It includes the number of calories in hundreds of different foods and for dishes at tons of your favorite restaurants.

Which brings me to my next topic…

Restaurants need to make their nutrition facts more readily available. Some restaurants have healthier choice foods on their menus which do include some nutrition facts, but you still have to search for facts on the other foods.

At some restaurants, they have nutrition pamphlets on the walls. At other places you have to ask for them. My mom and I were at some fast food place and she asked for a nutrition sheet and the cashier had to ask his manager where they were. The manager dug around for a couple minutes and showed my mom a laminated copy that she had to give back when she was done reading because the manager said it was the only copy.

Most restaurants have their nutrition facts online but that doesn’t really help you pick what to eat unless 1) you know where you’re going to eat before you leave and have time to look up their menu and nutrition facts beforehand or 2) if you have an iPhone.

Word of the Day: organic