Val Fujii, a local Folsom fitness expert and boot camp instructor, is not happy with how the fast food industry misleads consumers by giving them poor information on their food and its fattening effects. It happens all too often in today’s society. According to Fujii, there are guidelines to help cut through all of the misinformation.
Fujii mentions that one of the largest fast-food restaurants, Kentucky Fried Chicken, recently claimed that it switched cooking oils to eliminate all trans-fats from their products, but upon further review of the actual nutritional facts posted on the KFC website, this doesn’t seem to be the case. “Partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oil were listed, which is simply another word for trans-fat. Trans- fats are synthetic fats that are essentially foreign agents in our bodies. There is truly no room for them in a healthy diet,” Fujii says. Fujii goes on to say that a great rule of thumb is that the fewer ingredients in a food item the better it is for you, ideally less than five ingredients tends to be a good marker. “If you count the ingredients in this supposed ‘health’ food, there are well over 20!,” Fujii is quick to point out.
Fujii rants on further saying, “Even the high calorie side dishes accompanying the chicken are filled with refined starches and sugars and unnecessary amounts of saturated fat, which are just as much, if not more, damaging to our waistlines. It’s like ‘Congratulations!
Here are some great user-friendly guidelines to help you cut through all of the misinformation out there when it comes to fast-food and convenience stores:
Beware of “Fat-Free or Low Fat” Foods:
These food choices are often high in sugar or contain added sugar to make up for taste lost which wreak havoc on your energy levels and prevent fat loss.
Look Out for “Sugar-Free”
These food choices are typically made with artificial ingredients and sweeteners and/or are sometimes higher in fat to make up for taste lost and/or often contains sugar-alcohols that tear up your digestive system.
Stay Away From “100 Calorie” Items:
These low calorie bags contain ZERO nutritional value with little to no protein and are low in fiber and natural, healthy fats. Plus, these weight-gainers by another name do not fill you up between meals.
Val Fujii, NASM CPT, PES, is the owner of Superwomen Boot Camp and is a local Folsom and El Dorado Hills fitness professional. He is available for interviews or to discuss other story ideas related to women weight loss and fitness. He can be reached at 916-337-4780 or via email at SuperwomenBootCamp@
