Food shopping tips for losing weight or eating healthily
WATCH: If you're trying to lose weight or eat more healthily you need to know how to shop. Here are some tips that could ensure your success.
Have you ever consciously thought about how you navigate your supermarket when you’re shopping for food or do you just rush up and down the aisles?
If you’re trying to lose weight or eat more healthily this is worth pondering.
The most natural and nutritious food can be found around the store’s perimetre. If you mostly shop in the middle aisles, you may be loading up on processed foods that are high in calories, sodium, fat and cholesterol.
Shop for healthy dried and canned goods in the middle aisles – rice, pasta, oatmeal, legumes (dried and canned), canned tomato and tuna, flour, spices, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, peanut butter, coffee and tea as well as olive and other healthy oils. The frozen sections also carry healthy options like frozen fruit, vegetables and fish.
Shop around the edges of the store from the entrance for fresh produce including fruit, vegetables, eggs, dairy, fish, meat and baked goods.
Plan your grocery shopping
It’s not a good idea to walk up and down the aisles unprepared. Never go grocery shopping if you’re hungry. The temptation to buy items you don’t need is just too great.
Plan the meals you want to make and compile a shopping list that reflects your budget, health aspirations, time frame and cooking abilities. Avoid going on a diet fad tangent and buying expensive items that you are not familiar with and will probably never use.
When making your list, group all similar ingredients together to minimize your risk of forgetting an item. If you shop at the same supermarket you know the layout of the store which makes it a lot easier. Put all your vegetables and fruit in one column, all the meat and seafood in another and group the dairy, dry and canned goods together.
Supermarkets place items strategically for maximum sales. Stick to your list. Stock up on the items from the centre that you need, avoiding highly processed and prepackaged meals, and add fresh ingredients from the perimetre of the store.
WATCH: Shopping the Perimetre – Mayo Clinic
