Oh Noes!

Here's an interesting link for you folks. I was rambling around the internet as I am wont to do, and saw a headline that grabbed my attention: Why Counting Calories Is Hard. I figured it would be yet another excuse-filled screed from someone who is just not yet ready to commit to change - which is OK, because you've got to want it to succeed, and trying when you're not ready isn't very productive.

Anyway, it was a bit about how nutrition information on packages and in restaurants isn't necessarily accurate. Crazily off sometimes.

Before you freak out, remember one of the things I said this week. When you track, you needn't be perfect. A lot of times you're going to be tracking with estimates. And that's OK. Keep in mind that the simple act of reading labels and asking for nutrition information is itself a behavior change for most of us. Were you doing that before when you didn't need to? Probably not. And an estimate is better than nothing - not tracking at all.

Having said that, when you find a food product whose nutritional profile seems too good to be true, keep this article in mind. Many veteran WWers know that we've been burned in the past. Pirate's Booty comes to mind immediately - their initial packaging information was deemed to be incorrect, and the public outcry was amazing. Always keep a skeptical eye, and remember that in addition to calorie counts and all that, you can keep an eye on your food intake in another way: stopping before you get too full.