Nutritional Labels - what do you look at first?

Just curious what everyone looks for first when deciding if they will eat a certain food. I tend to look at 1) carbs, 2) calories, 3) protein......reason being is if carbs are higher than I plan for any one item, I put it away and don't even consider the calories or protein.

I tend to just look at the protein.  If I'm not getting a decent amount of protein I put it back.  Probably the next thing I look at is calories.  So what is you cut off for the number of carbs you allow in a serving??? Jennifer

1) sugar&carbs - I always look a this, plus sugar alcohols to make sure it dosn't have so much that I get in dump mode. Dumping makes me sleepy or icky sicky neither is fun. Ditto with the carbs, too much I dump or I plateu. 2) protien - because I still struggle geting in enough and I like seeing what's in everything 3) Calories

Hey Dana, 1. protein and fiber 2. sugar 3. carbs 4. fat (I stay away from trans fat and saturated fat) Unless it is raw meat which will have saturated fats. Sometimes the carbs are good carbs...so I look last at the carbs If it has protein and fiber and low sugar but high carbs, then I know the carbs are usually complex carbs. Usually but not always. I don't care about calories or fat. I look though. If something has more than 8-10g of fat and it's not a protein...I usually won't bother. If it has more than 18g of sugar I will dump...so I don't bother. I try to get as much fiber as possible with proteins...that are not meat or dairy. Another thing I do is look at the ingredients quickly...If the first thing is corn syrup , sugar or hydrolyzed oils...I won't even put it in my cart. Or if it has a mile long ingredient list with nothing I recognize...The more simple the ingredients the better chances I will buy it! I guess the order really depends on what I'm buying it for... Cheese...I look at fat grams and calories first because I already know it's a protein...with no fiber  Fruits and veggies I really don't check at all...unfamiliar fresh foods I check for the carbs (If it's really high, it's usually starch)  Otherwise all fruits and veggies are free foods...no counting anything. I do look what nutrients and vitamins they have though (free food or not...I hate empty calories...It has to offer me something good)...I try to eat five colors of fruit and or veggies...It's my personal rule...Five colors gives me a rainbow of vitamins daily. The richer the color the richer the nutrients usually ... The only other foods I really buy are some crunchy snacks that I try to buy as whole grains or soy crisp things...and I like the new boxes of whole grain sides by Rice a Roni and other brands. I've just been grocery shopping!!!  LOL That is probably waaaay more info than you really wanted...sorry! :::big toothy grin::: Anita

Like Anita said, it kinda depends on what I'm wanting the food for.  But in general, I'd say I look at calories 1st, protein 2nd, fat 3rd, carbs 4th.  Carbs don't make me dump, so that is not a huge concern, but if I'm eating something esp. high in carbs, I try to make it something decent.  For ex., the Kashi cereals--like Autumn Wheat or Cinnamon Harvest--are absolutely obscenely high in carbs (45 g./serving!!), but they are good sources of fiber (5 g.), have some protein (5 g.), and only 1 g. fat--and I love this stuff for a dry snack!! But usually, I'm most concerned w/ total calories & protein.

I look at sugar, protein, calories, then carbs.

Like everyone else I kind of check out everything. I definitely look at protein, sugars, carbs, calories. I don't have a huge problem with carbs as long as I stick with the good ones from whole grains, fruits and veggies b/c of my exercise schedule so I don't stress too much over them. I do like to get the most "bang for my buck" so I like to see high protein and high fiber w/hopefully low sugar, LOL!

Protein first, then calories from fat, then total calories. I subtract the fat calories from the total, then divide by the number of fat grams.  If the resulting ratio is less than 20 calories per gram of protein, then I'll usually buy & eat the item. It's the DS math thing again...

sugar and fiber I don't  worry so much  with cals or protein anymore.  I find as long as I portion control  the cals  tend to be  managed for me.  I make sure over the course of a few days I eat balanced fruits, veggies, dairy etc...  some days are better than others

I look at grams of protein per serving...and sometimes carbs.  when I was trying to lose weight...I looked at protein and carbs religiously...I never look at calories or fat grams....as a DSer those numbers don't mean anything to me. Scott