Tag: obesity

Hello – and thank you for coming back for more. I hope you found something in Part 1 that might at the very least make you stop and think for a few seconds before reaching for the easiest supermarket option – even if ultimately you choose not to change anything! You always have a choice and there’s no one size that fits all, but we all know the saying ‘If you always do what you’ve always done, then you’ll always get what you’ve always got.’ Perhaps I can urge you to ditch the habit of a lifetime – even for a couple of weeks – and see what happens? Outside the supermarket, the biggest ever key to successful weight loss is variety and change – so why not inside, too?

Remember that warning about being a bit blunt? Erm …. a few of the points set out below are particular bugbears of mine – traps that people have been tricked into via clever marketing. Excuse the occasional hint of a rant.

Happy shopping!

• If you can’t pronounce the ingredients on the back of a jar or packet, put it back on the shelf.

• The closer the words ‘sugar’ or ‘syrup’ are to the top of the ingredients list, the greater the sugar content. Have you checked where it is on that ‘supposedly’ fabulously healthy, fibre-filled cereal you’ve been breakfasting on for years – like Weetabix, for example? And you wonder why you’re hungry a couple of hours later?

• Diet sodas. Seriously? You want to lose weight but you’re still buying these? Time to reassess your goals. Let’s be honest. You’re obviously not THAT committed to losing weight. Does YOUR weight loss company promote these as acceptable drinks? Calorie-free? Great option with a meal? Hmmm. I wonder why these companies are still in business. Let’s think about THAT for a moment. Moving on to the next aisle …

• Beware celebrity brands. They’re not always best – and certainly not the best for your wallet. More expensive does not mean better – not when you’re in the supermarket. If you’re buying sauce in a jar, for example (because this blog is not about judging cooking skills!), read the ingredients. Some of the celebrity brands are packed with salt and sugar – compared to supermarket brands. Do your research. Your body will thank you.

• There is absolutely no reason – EVER – to walk down the Frozen Meals aisle. If you can’t cook, eat raw food. No problem! Don’t have time to cook? Oh! You work 24/7? You NEVER have time off? Cook up a batch of YOUR meals (including your rice or whatever) and freeze in portions. Frozen meals should only ever be frozen by YOU. End of.

• Remember that fresh food is stacked with the shortest shelf-life items at the front – because naturally these are the ones they want to sell quickly. Delve a little deeper and find the longer shelf-life.

• Speaking of shelf-life … it’s important to know the difference between BEST BEFORE dates and USE BY dates. BEST BEFORE is about quality. The products are perfectly fine to use after these dates. They just won’t be at their absolute best. A USE BY date is not one to be ignored. This date is for safety reasons. Even if a product looks or smells fine, you should not be tempted to eat it after its USE BY date.

• If perchance you’ve left your shopping list at home but absolutely need to get the essentials, enter the supermarket and work your way around the outside. You’ll find the fruits, veggies, meat, fish and dairy generally line the outer areas of most well-stocked supermarkets. The further in you travel, the more junk food you’ll find, so for quick ‘essential’ shops, stick to the edges. Those inner stocks are designed for impulse-buying and will be your downfall.

And there you have it. Be prepared and let your shopping do some of the work for you!!

Do PLEASE comment if any of the above has helped you in any way. Feedback is always welcome (and don’t forget YOUR tips for successful supermarket shopping).

I will say cheerio, good luck with your weight loss journey (and your shopping, of course) – and I’ll leave you with this:

Foods for thought – by Amanda Hyatt

Tomatoes and onions and carrots and yams,
Oysters and artichokes, mussels and clams,
Salmon and spinach and lemons and lime,
Rosemary, pumpkin seeds, sprigs of fresh thyme,
Coconut flour, rye crackers and, best-of-all,
Ripe avocados – to lower cholesterol,
Full-fat Greek yoghurt and almonds galore,
Bananas, nut butters, trail mixes and more,
Such fun, packing trolleys with all that is healthy,
There’s everything here – and not just for the wealthy,
Good food’s changed my life. Now, I must get some fish,
(Did I mention I’ve got a new man? What a dish!)

***

Fish fingers and nuggets, fried deeply in oil,
With potatoes and peas – turned to mush as they boil,
Served with Camembert (battered) and mountains of chips,
And crisps and roast peanuts and crackers and dips,
And chocolate and chocolate and chocolate and sweets,
And puddings and cream cakes and all sorts of treats,
And packets of soups and tinned this and tinned that,
Well, who the hell cares if I’m going to get fat?
He left me, the weasel, went off with some tart,
So why should I bother with food for my heart?
It’s already broken. I’m not in the mood
To think about healthy, nutrition-packed food!

The message here, Ladies – Have you already guessed?
Do NOT do the shopping when feeling depressed!
It’s bad for the heart and not good for the figure
And worse – ALL your problems will only get BIGGER!

Because without a single doubt both weight gain and weight loss start at the supermarket. Forget the baby steps. Get your shopping right and you will already be taking a giant leap towards your goal. This cannot be stressed enough. I struggled with my weight for years (still have my moments!!), did the big-weight-loss-company thing, even became a leader for one of them! I started to delve deeper into the whys and wherefores of losing weight so I could pass on something a little more modern and a little less ‘standardised’ to my class members – and only THEN did the lightbulbs start burning! I resigned as leader (the last straw was when the weekly magazine advertised a fried white bread jam sandwich as a suitable snack!!! Yes! Really!), I made some informed changes and I reached the goal weight I’d been chasing for years! Go figure!

This is not the place for the science. That’s a whole other blog. I am simply here to help and I think I can make your weight loss journey a little easier if you keep the following tips in mind the next time you’re browsing around the supermarket aisles (Tip 1: Never ‘browse’ in a supermarket).

Warning: If you’re serious about your weight loss you won’t mind me being VERY blunt in places, will you?

Here we go, then:

• If you can afford the charge to have your shopping delivered you will already be avoiding countless supermarket tricks to lure you in and buy lots of food you might ‘think’ you need – but you don’t! Make a list and shop online.

• The key to successful shopping is to have meals planned and to WRITE THAT LIST! After that, all you need to do is put blinkers on and STICK TO YOUR LIST! Nothing more, nothing less.

• Never shop when you’re hungry – or when you’re craving ‘treats’ – and try to avoid your main shop when you’re stressed, sad or grumpy. Mood is crucial to shopping success.

• The more fresh food that’s in your trolley the better your shop. If tins and packets outnumber the proteins, fruit and veg, it’s time to reassess your meal plan.

• More vegetables than fruit (with the exception of berries – feel free to indulge). It’s easy to fall into the trap that you can eat loads of fruit because it’s healthy. Yes, it’s healthier than other options, but in terms of weight loss it is still full of sugar. Less processed, perhaps, but sugar is sugar is sugar.

• Put the blinkers on when you see the 2-for-1 offers and/or BOGOFs. If budget comes before health, we’ve got a problem! Remember that the supermarket offers are not there to help you. Really! They’re not! They’re there to help the supermarket! Do NOT be a victim! There are exceptions (naturally) – but beware. If it’s fresh food and you’re sure you’re going to be able to eat it, fine. If it’s a ‘treat’, do you really want two of them in the house? How is that going to help you? And before you put them in the trolley, do the maths. Calculators at the ready (if your mental maths abilities aren’t up to scratch). You might find that buying two of those products separately actually costs less than the ‘offer’. Sad, but true.

• When you’re moving down the aisles, remember to look up and look down! The products that are easiest to reach are the ones they want you to buy – and are often the least desirable in terms of weight loss. Shop from top and bottom shelves.

• Avoid branded weight loss products and anything that says FAT FREE. There’s a reason these companies are all still in business!!! This is quite possibly the most significant change you could make to your shopping – and the most beneficial in terms of your weight loss. Branded weight loss products are frequently more expensive than other similar products – and are often loaded with hidden ingredients (‘fat’ is what gives these products flavour and has to be replaced with something to make them palatable). Since these products are lacking in vital ingredients that serve a real purpose in our diets, you will also find you eat more of them because they are not nutritionally balanced and don’t fill you up. Time to challenge the brain-washing and start eating food that hasn’t been tampered with!

• Don’t be fooled by seemingly healthy options like ‘Reduced sugar’ or ‘No added sugar’! Reduced from what? 6 teaspoons instead of 7? Is that what you consider healthier? And pause a moment to think what ‘no added sugar’ really means. Not added to what? The original version of this product? The one that already has 7 teaspoons in? Ah! No need to ‘add’ any, then.

That’s all for today. More tomorrow. In all honesty, I hope you’ve read this and have been able to say ‘I do all that already!’ Perfect. You’ve got this shopping-thing sorted and given yourself the greatest chance of success. Weight loss is not just about following rules. It’s about learning – all the time. If there’s anything here that’s new to you then that’s brilliant news, too. I hope it helps. Look out for Part II. Till then, stay focussed, shop smart and keep questioning!