Grocery Shopping Tips for Weight Loss

Navigating the grocery store when you are trying so hard to meet your health and weight loss goals can seem like a losing battle, right?

Everything looks super enticing, and the aromas wafting from the pastry and deli sections make you feel hungrier than when you first walked into the store. Here's how you can stick to your weight loss goals, even while grocery shopping:

1. Avoid shopping on an empty stomach
   
   
   
   Shopping for groceries when you haven’t eaten does, in fact, influence your food choices.
   
   
   
   Studies suggest that shopping on an empty stomach puts you in a more acquisitive mood for food and you are more likely to buy calorific, unhealthy products.
   
   
   
   So, avoid it like the plague, especially if you're hoping to shed unwanted pounds.
   
    
2. Shop around the periphery of the grocery store
   
   
   
   The layout of every store is different, but one thing they have in common is that fresh produce like fruits and vegetables, including the fresh meat and fish departments, tend to be located in the periphery.
   
   
   
   To dodge the temptation bullet, start off your grocery trip along the outside.
   
   
   
   Steer clear of the unhealthy aisles and after making a complete trip around the periphery, head straight to the checkout, so you don’t get distracted by those last-minute and unhealthy impulse buys calling out your name.
   
    
3. Avoid going to the store without a shopping list
   
   
   
   This needs planning ahead. Write down only healthy essentials and stick to the list no matter what.
   
   
   
   Wandering aimlessly down supermarket aisles without a shopping list as your guide can be dangerous.
   
   
   
   To make it easy for yourself, simply stick a post-it note on your fridge and write important items on it throughout the week.
   
    
4. Order groceries online
   
   
   
   One advantage of online shopping is that the very best grocery sites deliver high-quality and fresh produce to minimize complaints.
   
   
   
   Additionally, you can browse the virtual shopping aisles 24/7 without leaving the comfort of your home.
   
   
   
   Plus, some sites have online assistants that can give automated answers to the most common problems.
   
    
5. Read nutrition labels and beware of product packaging
   
   
   
   People today want healthy food, which is a fact that the food marketing industry has come to realize.
   
   
   
   Read the serving sizes, the food labels, and steer clear of processed foods with jargon ingredients, products containing trans fats, and those that are high in added sugars, such as high fructose corn syrup.