Shopping for Weight Loss
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When your goal is weight loss, your efforts begin in the store where you do your shopping. Learning to shop by these simple rules will make weight loss a little easier.
- Read Food Labels Carefully: Packages may contain more than one serving. If a package contains two servings, for example, you'll need to eat only half, or you'll have to double the numbers given for calories and nutrients.
- Select Foods with Minimal Processing: As a rule of thumb, eat fruit, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, reduced-fat dairy products and lean cuts of seafood, poultry and meats 95% of the time. Indulge in "extras" no more than 5% of the time.
- Shop the Perimeter of the Supermarket: Remember that in a typical supermarket you'll find the healthier, fresh foods around the perimeter of the store. The inner aisles contain the unhealthier, processed foods, which are often high in saturated fats, trans fats, preservatives, sodium, and calories. Of course you won't need to worry about where you shop if you stick to a list.
- Plan Your Shopping with a List: Keep a running list in your kitchen and add to it as you see your staples running low. Then before you go shopping, plan your meals so you'll know what you need to buy. The discipline of a well-planned shopping list will decrease the possibility that high calorie, tempting foods will slip into your grocery cart.
- Never Shop on an Empty Stomach: If you find that being hungry makes it difficult to stick to your shopping list, plan ahead and don't go shopping on an empty stomach.
Your weight loss begins with your food choices. Make the effort to ensure that they are good ones.
Healthy regards,
Megan Porter, RD
