Hi guys,

I wanted to bring you guys along with me on a recent trip to the grocery store (one of my favorite places to go on almost a daily basis) and share some tips on how to maintain healthy habits and promote weight loss.

Tips for healthy grocery store habits:

Take a list with you – Having a list keeps you on track, helps you stay focused and only get what you need. Meal planning and making lists for the week helps you be organized and save time and money.

Don’t go hungry! – When you’re hungry sometimes your eyes are bigger than you belly.  You could end up getting extra stuff that you shouldn’t have stored in your kitchen. Also, if you’re hungry right then and there you’re more likely to get stuff that is quick and easy and not always the healthiest.

Use a basket not a cart (if you can help it) – Using a basket keeps you moving in the store and not lingering through the aisles, it also helps to avoid putting any unnecessary items in there because you’ll think twice before adding more weight to your basket.  Bonus benefit – you can work on your bicep curls while waiting for check-out 😉 haha

Shop the perimeter of the store first – The healthiest items in a grocery store are kept around the outside of the store (produce, dairy, deli, etc.) and the processed foods are kept in the aisles of the store.  If you fill your basket with clean food first you’re less likely to pile on any unnecessary calories.

Avoid “healthy” snacks – If you have a lot of weight to lose and are serious about weightloss, I suggest you avoid those pre-packaged,”low-calorie” or “no sugar added” snacks.  You just don’t need them.  Having more veggies and fruits in your house or snacks that take a little preparation or thought before indulging will help you avoid mindless snacking and emotional eating.  A lot of times these so-called healthy snacks aren’t even very filling, so your also more likely to binge and take in unnecessary calories.

Make grocery shopping a priority! – It’s best to have a scheduled routine for grocery shopping – make time to do it twice a week if possible (if not, at least do it every week).  Clean foods that are healthiest are most often the foods with the shortest shelf life so shopping on a regular basis keeps the food in your home fresh, keeps you consistent and mindful of the stuff your putting in your body AND if you go frequently then each trip can be short and sweet and less stressful. Also, it’s not always possible with people’s busy schedule but, if you can avoid going during peak times then you’ll spend less time in line staring at the junk candy!

Trust your butcher – finally, one more personal tip I wanted to share is to be mindful of where your meat and fish come from.  I like to get stuff from a farmer’s market or a specialty butcher that puts pride and care into their products.  Just to make sure they don’t have any antibiotics, GMOs, they’re fresh and not previously frozen for 6 months to a year, things like that.

Are there any additional tips you guys have personally benefitted from, or is there anything you think I missed?  Share you thoughts with the community 🙂

If you need more nutrition advice or healthy recipes (like some delicious, in-season, peach salad recipes) check out my Nutrition Page.