One of the best decisions you can make if you want help with weight loss or just want to improve your overall health is to keep only healthy foods at home. The chances of your consuming unhealthy snacks and convenience meals are greatly increased only if you keep them in your home.
The best way you can resist this temptation is to use smart grocery shopping strategies when you go shopping. The problem however is that most people don’t know how to switch to a healthy grocery shopping routine and often fall back into their old habit of buying potato chips and cookies instead of healthy dinners and low calorie foods.
With the help of these tips, you will be able to go shopping with healthy choices in mind.
Stick to the store edges
Try to stick to the perimeter of the grocery store as much as possible as this is where you can find fresh produce like cauliflower and beets, lean meats, low-fat dairy and low calorie foods. Just avoid the bakery section as its white flour, hydrogenated oils, sugar and butter bakery products only carry empty calories.
Avoid processed foods
The aisles with packaged convenience meals like ramen, sods, unhealthy snacks and high-sodium canned goods are usually in the middle, and are best avoided. You don’t want to take these unhealthy foods home.
Do some reading
In case you decide to go shopping into the grocery store’s inner section, make sure you always read the food and nutrition labels of the foods before placing them in the cart. Check to ensure the foods do not contain high amounts of Trans fat, sugar, artificial sweeteners or chemical-based ingredients with names you cannot pronounce!
No frozen foods
Avoid the frozen foods section as there are many items you need to avoid here like frozen pizza, high sodium frozen meals, pastries and ice cream. Instead stock up more on frozen whole foods and choose vegetables like mushroom, fruits like blueberries, fish and chicken from the frozen food section to cook up a healthy and quick meal. Once again, read the ingredients to make sure you don’t’ buy anything full of preservatives.
Buy in bulk
Buying in bulk helps you save lots of money. The best place you can pick up foods like beans, pumpkin seeds, spices, oats, nuts and rice is bulk bins. Never go shopping when you are starving as the chances of your placing guilt-pleasure foods into your cart are much higher when your stomach is growling.
Buy during sales
It’s more economical for you to buy your groceries in bulk when the healthy pantry goods are sold at discounted rates like during sales. You can also reduce your grocery costs by freezing fresh produce that you buy on sale to ensure you have healthy food always on hand for you.
Conclusion
So the next time you go shopping, make sure you shop properly, thinking about every food item you place in your cart. Whatever food item does not belong in your diet plan should not enter your shopping cart. If it does, the chances of your eating it are 99.9%.
Though you may think you are buying a box of cookies for someone else at home, just think, will you be able to resist the temptation of eating one or two as well? So remove all temptations and be honest to yourself.
Just stick to buying and eating natural food products while shopping in the grocery store by visiting the produce, meat and dairy sections so that you set yourself up for success.
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