Pay Attention!

So today I took my comprehensive exam for my Master's degree and we had an hour break between tests. So I went down to the little cafe in the education building at UTEP and made what I thought was a healthy choice for lunch. I got a grape and cheese cup. Some fresh green grapes and little cubes of different types of cheeses. It looked like a small portion of cheese so I figured I was in the clear. Then after eating my delicious lunch, I noticed the plastic cup actually had a sticker with nutritional information on it. Ouch! 500 calories for a handful of cheese and some stupid grapes! What was worse was that it was 110% of my daily saturated fat allowance ( and that's for people who aren't trying to lose weight) and a lot of sodium and carbs. That is one of the pitfalls I think many people trying to lead healthy lifestyles fall into. It looks healthy so why not eat it. It's imperative that we pay attention.

For me this means, if I don't know what's in something or what its nutritional value is then I am not going to eat it. Restaurants even fool us into paying the extra 2 bucks for a salad without telling us it actually has more calories in it than the chicken sandwich we actually wanted. This can be so confusing but it is also a pivotal step in making a lifestyle change.

Needless, to say I spent the rest of my lunch break wandering around in dismay. It seems like when we are stressed out we pay even less attention and can actually end up harming ourselves and breaking our goals. Lesson learned for me. Beware the wolves dressed up like sheeps! =)