Even though it doesn’t feel like March, it is and that means it’s also National Nutrition Month. This, and really any excuse to talk more about nutrition than usual (if that’s even possible), warms my little RD-heart. It seems like no coincidence the FDA announced last week that they plan to make some changes to nutrition facts labels on food packages.
I go back and forth about my thoughts on the changes. Let’s take a look:
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By just looking at the two and comparing, I wasn’t very impressed. But in reading a bit more on how the labels will look for different foods and the different areas chosen for emphasis, I do think they are an improvement. Most notably, the serving size of different products (listed at the top) is not only going to be displayed a bit differently, but recalculated to be more realistic for certain foods. The example Marion Nestle used in this New York Times article is my favorite – ice cream may not continue as the typical 1/2 cup serving size, because who actually only eats 1/2 cup of ice cream? By painting a clearer picture of calories in relation to portion size, it may help with portion control in the long run.
I’m lukewarm about the added sugars change because I think it can be confusing for some people – total carbohydrates vs sugars vs fiber vs added sugars – unless you’re taught the difference between everything listed. My main concern with nutrition facts labels, both old and new, are that without some guidance and education on how to read them, they may be useless for a lot of the same people that they are being updated for. A huge sum of money was spent to revise the nutrition facts labels, and I can’t help but think what even half of it could have done for nutrition education in both at-risk individuals and the general population. But, any step in the right direction is a good step, right?
brief training recap (week of 2/24)
After the unfortunate ice incident two weeks ago, the knee was feeling tender last week but not terrible. I wasn’t sure how it would feel on the long run because that’s when it started hurting the previous week, but it ended up being totally fine and I got in a good workout. “Crisis” averted, hopefully!
- Monday: 1.25 miles, 50 minutes yoga (stopped easy run early due to knee pain
- Tuesday: REST due to knee pain
- Wednesday: 8.5 miles easy, strength (arms, abs) – knee felt so much better!
- Thursday: 10.5 miles, strength (abs, legs)
- Friday: 10 miles easy, strength (abs, legs)
- Saturday: 8.25 miles easy, strength (arms, legs)
- Sunday: 18 miles with 2 x 20 minutes at ~MP (8:06 pace) in the middle of the run
Total: 56.5 miles
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breakfast highlight of the week: sprouted grain cinnamon raisin toast, peanut butter/banana, Greek yogurt/berries
This week of training is going well too, and I have my first 20 miler planned for this weekend. Guess I should probably actually register for the marathon that is less than 8 weeks away?
