Grocery store nightmare

BodyByButter

I make a list at home and stick to it. It's just a note on my phone where I add things as we start to run out. But I never go and just browse at the store. That would lead to a lot of extra and unplanned stuff added to the cart. This way the advertising doesn't really impact me.

Liftng4Lis

dbmata wrote: »

Nightmare?

How dramatic.

Now, my grocery store is just a repository of items I may choose to purchase, or not.

BAM!

ekstrt

Yes, it can be tricky to shop in the grocery store - to not overspend and to get the things you initially came for or really want to buy in the first place. The store is laid out with consumer psychology in mind. You're right, you almost have to have tunnel vision to get through the store to buy the foods that are better for you. I've been shifting my "diet" over the years as I learn more about nutrition. I have just started with myfitnesspal and have appreciated the different nutrients I can keep track of like potassium - an important nutrient for heart health. As far as the grocery store trip goes, here are some tips I've learned over the years:
The key is to be purposeful. Make a list before you go (knowing my store's layout, I group the items on the list by location in the store). Eat first or have a big drink of water at least. When you get there grab the small cart (unless you're shopping for a family). Start in the produce and then use the list to know where to go next. Stick to the list as much as possible and get done. No meandering - the longer you're there the more you'll find, the more you'll spend. There are foods that I avoid because like the others mentioned in this post, I will eat it all in <12 hours. It's ok NOT to buy it. There is so much more out there that satisfies and that my body would work better consuming anyway.
Thank you sharing your thoughts melifairy

LavenderLeaves

KitkatcuteNYC wrote: »

It doesn't matter how much vegetables and fruit you eat..it won't make you fat at all. Eating processed chemical junk, excess oil and dairy can however make you fat!

Lol really? I've been consistently eaten at a deficit for 45 days now, dropping weight every week. Ate much less than average this week and I had chicken finger subs, cheesecake, cupcakes. I eat cheese every day.


To OP: I think once you begin to develop a normalized view of food you'll find the store much less intimidating. If I'm in a bad state and hungry, then yes it can be bad. I know for me, lists help a ton. I know /exactly/ what I need and want that way. Having any food, no matter the calorie/fat content, in my house can be something I overeat of if I let myself fall prey to a bout of emotional eating or binging, so I'm just trying to learn to see all foods as equal nothing as bad or good.

kristen6350

Basic Plan for Grocery store - stick to the outer ring. Produce, Meat, Dairy. I avoid the frozen section and visit the rice, noodles, ethic isle occasionally. Most of my cart is fresh produce. I have a large freezer at home so I stock up on meat when it's on sale. The rest is cheese, almond milk, yogurt and cottage cheese EVERY trip. I realize there will be things you will need in the inner part, but if you do 75% of your shopping on the outer ring you will find groceries are much easier.

PearlAng

I used to get anxiety while food shopping. After I stopped banning certain foods from my life and telling myself I could have them, the anxiety went away. Nothing is off limits. I now have biscoff spread, ice cream, and some others foods that I used to have trouble having in moderation. That's not to say that's all I eat, because I also have a large variety of other foods that I've always been able to eat in moderation (vegetables, pomegranate, chobani yogurts).

neanderthin

Grocery shopping for me is exciting, it's an excursion that I look forward to every time.

Sugarbeat

I know what you're talking about OP. If it's not the grocery store, it's potluck at work or family get togethers. It would be nice to be able to eat a tiny portion of whatever and still be healthy but I, personally, cannot. As far as the store goes try to shop after a meal and if possible at a time that isn't so busy. You might also try a smaller store. One of the reasons I prefer Aldis is because a smaller store equals fewer options. That said my Aldis has a great selection of healthy foods. It's hard and no one is perfect. If you overindulge or buy something you know you can't portion out just track, forgive yourself, and move on. If it were easy I think MFP wouldn't be so active.

EmmaFitzwilliam

I don't find the grocery store daunting, but I do find I shop very differently.

A friend of mine is doing a different plan, but some of his maxims work: no food with a television commercial or from a place with a drive thru. There are exceptions (milk, eggs, etc.)

But that made me more aware of the choices I was making.

It also helps that my roommate, who is following a different diet plan than I am, is lactose intolerant and has a negative response to wheat based foods.

Now, I shop the outside aisle of the store - mostly produce and meats, and a brief venture to the dairy section.

I buy some crackers (water crackers and Wasa crackers), and one cereal (it's one of my treat foods), and soups. As well as simmer and dipping sauces. Other than that, I skip the baking, cereal, snack, bakery and "prepared food" aisles.

It's not cheaper, but I shop much healthier now.

melimomTARDIS

I love the grocery store! I love food!!!

Francl27

melimomTARDIS wrote: »

I love the grocery store! I love food!!!

Yeah I'm excited every time I go now. Can't wait to see all the new yummy stuff they come up with.

dragthewaters

Nope, I love grocery shopping! I have always loved the supermarket for some reason...I just think it's really peaceful...or something. I have the Buy Mode music from the Sims stuck in my head when I go there...LOL.

As for being tempted by stuff, that's why you make a list. I buy one or maybe maximum two of junk food items per week. I already eat most of the foods I love regularly, so I don't really get tempted by anything in there that's not on my list. If I'm really in a rush, I can get the shopping done in about twenty minutes.

arditarose

I think the grocery store is heaven, personally. At least the food part. I hate the peoples.

And I don't think of them as putting advertisements for "unhealthy" food right in our path. I don't even know what that means. They advertise delicious food I suppose but not unhealthy. Sometimes I can go for that tempting new cookie or chocolate, sometimes I'm a hot mess that week/day and have to pick a substitute.

AmazonMayan

Sticking to the outer ring of a store can help avoid the less nutritious choices, but I know the stores here are wise to that and the ice cream and chips are now right next to milk and cheese LOL. A lot of frozen processed foods are on end caps now of that outer ring.

I tend to hit up the fresh produce pretty hard first and load the cart, then go for meats and dairy, eggs, always lots of eggs, frozen veggies because I'm not fond of the taste of canned, then I go back and get maybe some pickles or olives, beans, whole grains, cereals, nuts, any oil or spices I need...by that point my budget is mostly blown and I have little left for the higher calorie less "healthy" choices.

I always make sure I do include little something snacks like maybe dark chocolate for now or later just because my goal is long term loss then maintenance and not deprivation then bingeing. I still eat anything I want SOME of the time and definitely much less of it than I used to.

As far as junk pre-prepared being easy to cook, I have to eat more of it to stay full, so it's mostly off my list now. My cooking tastes way better than any of that stuff anyway. I portion meats and keep some raw, some cooked and freeze, and chop peppers and onions and freeze those too for convenience. Many of the more elaborate meals I try to make extra and freeze extra portions, label them with contents and weight/calories, then I have my "fast food".

ana3067

lemurcat12 wrote: »

Going when not hungry is really excellent advice, however.

I honestly love going when hungry because that's when I"m more likely to buy new and never-tried snacks/foods or buy snacks in bulk. Like in the summer I wound up buying about 5 boxes of popsicles. I think those lasted until like... November or December lol.

trisH_7183

I grocery shop at least twice a wk because we prefer fresh produce & bread.Early morn suits me.....I take only the amount of money I plan to spend & no credit cards.
Produce 1st,looking for salad fixins & fruit for smoothies.Then to dairy for eggs,cheese,milk & cottage cheese.....plus yogurt.Next is frozen veggies & a couple goodies for my husband.My list changes with what we have,what is needed. Sometimes I want deli sliced turkey,or maybe tuna.

Having a 3 C smoothie before leaving works for me.Good luck,you will work it out.

sympha01

melifairy wrote: »

I'm glad you can eat all these bad foods and still lose weight. I hope to be able to do that someday too. I guess my main point was, all the advertisements and the way they position things in the store is to get you to buy the unhealthy stuff. Why don't they make it harder to find the "bad" stuff and easier to find the good stuff?

I'm very sorry if this sounds harsh, but please consider it tough love: sometimes you need a stranger to tell you the hard truth that your loved ones won't because they can't afford the confrontation with you.

You need to drop the victim mentality and take control of your own life. Pointing the finger at the grocery store, acting like they have some sort of conspiracy going on to keep you fat, or that it's their job to nanny you into fitness because you can't make good decisions on your own, is not constructive. It's not helping you. It's never going to help you.

I'm not one of those people who thinks that people are fat because they have no willpower, or self-control, or character. I used to be fat people (I've lost 160 pounds) and honestly I could become one again, because the reason people get fat is priorities. It's easy to let other things seem more important: eating too much food is pleasurable and easy. I hope my priorities don't change again, but if they do, it won't be anyone's fault but my own, even if they shift because my job becomes more demanding or unreasonable or whatever.

I laugh when people ask me what my "secret" is but hey maybe it's this: I never asked "them" to make it easy for me. It's work. It takes effort and focus. What I buy at the supermarket is /my/ responsibility, not "theirs." And "they" can't stop me.

You can't resist advertising? how do you function in the real world at all? Forget the grocery store, because you must eat fast food all the time given the ubiquity of fast food advertising, right? Do you give in to every ad and billboard telling you what shoes to buy, what car to drive, what clothes to wear, what gadgets to use? You must be perennially cash poor, since you can't resist advertising at all.

You complained that the grocery store sells unhealthy food that is "easy to cook." like that's their fault. /You/ choose foods that you think are "easy to cook" (by the way: subjective! Fresh fruit is easy. Veggies are easy. Lean meat is easy. Eggs are easy.) I don't see AT ALL how it's the grocery store's fault and not yours if you're buying calorie dense foods instead and you can't control your portion amounts.

Oh and by the way? The grocery store would love for you to buy more fruits and veggies, actually. Their margins on those foods are really high, actually, compared to stuff in boxes and cans, and they end up throwing a lot of it out because of spoilage. The issue is that the people who make stuff sold in boxes and cans are often big companies and they actually pay the grocery store for premium shelf space, promotional displays, etc. Fruits and vegetables are sold by farmers (sometimes big agribusiness farmers, but still, it's a different thing!) and those cooperatives don't have the same promotional operatives that the processed food manufacturers have, so the grocery store is "on their own" to promote that stuff, and they don't know how.

I'm tempted to correct you too on the idea that foods fall into two categories: "healthy" and "unhealthy." Foods are neither of these things. Your diet is "healthy" or "unhealthy": meaning either you're getting a calorie-appropriate amount of food that contains a good balance of nutrients, or you're eating calorie-inappropriate amount of foods and/or nutrient imbalances. Foods are a tool (they are also delicious) that contain nutrients and calories. Some foods are rich in some nutrients and poor in others. Some foods are poor in nutrients in general but delicious (helloooooo white rice!). Some foods are calorie-dense. Some foods are nutrient-dense. No single "superfood" is going to make your diet healthy if you eat too many calories or otherwise are messing up your nutrient intake. No single demon food is going to kill you if you are eating that food as a small part of a balanced, calorie-appropriate diet. I eat a lot of veggies and beans and lean meat and dairy. I also indulge in reasonable amounts of pizza and booze and nutella on a pretty regular basis: but those foods don't form the foundation of my diet. They are indulgences and I'm responsible for controlling their place in my diet.

And if I can't control their place in my diet? Blaming the grocery store that sells them to me is weak sauce, lady. Woman up. Take responsibility for your own choices. It's empowering.

ana3067

@sympha VERY nice post, agree with everything there!

Francl27

Good post.

I do wonder also what kind of 'junk foods' are easier to cook than dropping steak/chicken/pork on the foreman grill and microwaving a bag of frozen veggies (or dropping fresh veggies in the water for 5 minutes).

malibu927

Nope. Then again, I've worked in a supercenter for the past fifteen years, and I eat the foods I like in moderation.