We all know the golden rules of the supermarket – take a shopping list with you, don’t go shopping when you’re hungry, and definitely don’t even go NEAR the lolly aisle.
But if your focus is on losing weight and therefore healthy eating, these five little tips might just help take your results to a whole new level. Try them for yourself and see if you can fill your trolley with the best possible items.
- Meal Planning: shopping lists are all well and good, but what if you don’t know what to write down? Planning your meals for the week means you can not only save money at the checkout (as it helps you to avoid impulse buys) but you can also ensure you are enjoying a wide variety of food. Start off slowly, maybe even just focusing on weeknights if that’s easier. It could be as simple as starting with: Monday – vegetarian; Tuesday – chicken; Wednesday – beef; Thursday – fish; Friday – soup. You can then expand on the specific meals and side dishes depending on your family’s tastes and schedules.
- Special Offers: if you see food on sale that you buy regularly, stock up! If you have the room, buying things like meat when it’s on sale and freezing it for later use is a great way to save money, and also it ensures you have healthy food in the house. You can then use what’s in the freezer as the basis for your meal plan for the following week. Canned goods are often on sale and you might find that if you have a pantry cupboard full of essentials such as lentils, tomatoes, tuna and chickpeas you will always find a healthy option for a meal or snack.
- Round The Outside: it’s a good option to stick to the ‘outside’ aisles of the supermarket which is where the fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, breads, yoghurts and cheeses are kept. Then pop into the other aisles to get your other essentials. Avoid packaged and processed things like soft drinks, chips and biscuits altogether! By focusing on fresh foods you can be sure that you are limiting any nasty preservatives and additives that can hinder your weight loss.
- Do It Yourself: it may seem like a time saver to buy things like pre-sliced mushrooms, but you can save money by doing it yourself. Also, whole foods have a longer shelf life than their pre-cut cousins, and often a higher nutritional content.
- Leave The Kids At Home (if you can): of course it’s not always possible, but if you can go shopping without your little friends it may prove to be a healthier trip. It’s unlikely you’ll have time to peruse the nutritional labels of three different yoghurts if you’ve got a toddler pulling on your leg. Plus you can avoid the dreaded ‘please mum, can I?’ at the confectionary-laden checkouts.
Have you got any tips for shopping when trying to lose weight that you’d like to share?
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