Merciless Marketing

cazyoga
cazyoga Posts: 12 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
So I'm in my house doing great with my refined sugar freeness and being careful with my eating and exercise. Then, I have to go to the supermarket to shop. Everybody's gotta buy food, right? Urgh...now I have to 'run the gauntlet' of everything that's £1 or on special offer being inherently 'bad' for you! Is the broccoli ever on special?!?!??! Is it me? Or is it a conspiracy to keep everyone eating processed fatty sugary food?...

Replies

  • Montepulciano
    Montepulciano Posts: 845 Member
    Not sure about the stores in the UK, but I find less of it when I walk around the outside aisles of the store where they keep the produce, meat, dairy, etc. Hope it helps.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Loads of BOGOFs and 3 for 2s in the veg aisle

    It's perception

    As is food being bad for you
  • cazyoga
    cazyoga Posts: 12 Member
    Thanks! I don't know if that's true here, but I'll check it out and see if it's the same
  • socioseguro
    socioseguro Posts: 1,679 Member
    I go to the food store with a list (based on the recipe I will cook) and I only buy from my list. I checked the store web page in advance, so I know about the coupons and " weekly specials". @cazyoga , you are right, basic staples are very seldom "on sale". No matter. I follow my nutrition plan.
    I have learned that buying something just because it is "on sale" means I will throw it away, eventually. It was not part of my nutrition plan.
    Good luck in your healthy journey
  • pootle1972
    pootle1972 Posts: 579 Member
    Cabbage and broccoli 39p aldi
  • spiritlevel9
    spiritlevel9 Posts: 48 Member
    I have found it easier since shopping at Aldi. They don't seem to have the array of junk food and mostly there are healthy snacks near the checkout.
  • cazyoga
    cazyoga Posts: 12 Member
    Awesome strategy. I usually work on the 'if it's not on the list don't buy it' but it's still hard when you're bombarded with clever marketing distractions.
  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
    cazyoga wrote: »
    So I'm in my house doing great with my refined sugar freeness and being careful with my eating and exercise. Then, I have to go to the supermarket to shop. Everybody's gotta buy food, right? Urgh...now I have to 'run the gauntlet' of everything that's £1 or on special offer being inherently 'bad' for you! Is the broccoli ever on special?!?!??! Is it me? Or is it a conspiracy to keep everyone eating processed fatty sugary food?...

    Aside from spoiled foods or those with trans fats, what foods are "inherently bad for you?"
  • cazyoga
    cazyoga Posts: 12 Member
    Ahhh Aldi and Lidl. I have to make a weekly trek to get to either of those (the supermarket in our village is tesco) but maybe a weekly shop isn't a bad thing rather than mooching round every few days buying things I don't need...
  • jaga13
    jaga13 Posts: 1,149 Member
    Definitely switch to weekly shopping. Going more often may lead to off the list choices.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,053 Member
    smartshop6.jpg
  • spiritlevel9
    spiritlevel9 Posts: 48 Member
    It is a bit out of our way but we go with a list and save a lot!
  • cazyoga
    cazyoga Posts: 12 Member
    spiritlevel9 wrote: »
    It is a bit out of our way but we go with a list and save a lot!
    Ok. I'm into this. Trying out this week and hopeful for the shopping not to be so challenging!!
  • cazyoga
    cazyoga Posts: 12 Member
    Jruzer wrote: »
    cazyoga wrote: »
    So I'm in my house doing great with my refined sugar freeness and being careful with my eating and exercise. Then, I have to go to the supermarket to shop. Everybody's gotta buy food, right? Urgh...now I have to 'run the gauntlet' of everything that's £1 or on special offer being inherently 'bad' for you! Is the broccoli ever on special?!?!??! Is it me? Or is it a conspiracy to keep everyone eating processed fatty sugary food?...

    Aside from spoiled foods or those with trans fats, what foods are "inherently bad for you?"
    Everything that's at the end of the isles and usually on special offer in our supermarket are sweets, chocolates, biscuits and high fat & sugar treats.
  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
    cazyoga wrote: »
    Jruzer wrote: »
    cazyoga wrote: »
    So I'm in my house doing great with my refined sugar freeness and being careful with my eating and exercise. Then, I have to go to the supermarket to shop. Everybody's gotta buy food, right? Urgh...now I have to 'run the gauntlet' of everything that's £1 or on special offer being inherently 'bad' for you! Is the broccoli ever on special?!?!??! Is it me? Or is it a conspiracy to keep everyone eating processed fatty sugary food?...

    Aside from spoiled foods or those with trans fats, what foods are "inherently bad for you?"
    Everything that's at the end of the isles and usually on special offer in our supermarket are sweets, chocolates, biscuits and high fat & sugar treats.

    I understand that you want to avoid them. No problem with that. But what's inherently wrong with them?
  • KrisiAnnH
    KrisiAnnH Posts: 352 Member
    Aldi and lidl are very cheap, as a student if I could get there I'd shop there every week (unfortunately due to a lack of a car I can't). At the moment we shop at Asda, which are pretty good for deals on veg etc. They don't tend to have BOGOF or anything but it's almost always 'cheap'.

    Another option, if you struggle with temptation, is to order online. If you write a list out and type each thing into the search box, it's a lot easier to only get what you need. There's a much lower risk of impulse buys if you cant see all the deals plastered everywhere.

    As others have said though, aside from wanting to avoid eating too many biscuits/cakes etc, I don't personally see what's wrong with them. I've lost 44lbs so far and I couldn't have done it without my almost daily kitkat or oreo snack pack (alongside a balanced diet of course). Maybe going nuts and buying everything on the reduced/offer shelf isn't the best idea, but getting one or two 'treat' items isn't going to be the end of the world! Live a little! ;)
  • vivmom2014
    vivmom2014 Posts: 1,649 Member
    Oh come on, there's produce specials all the time!! I really don't get what's so difficult about making a grocery list and sticking to it.

    Or maybe you shouldn't restrict yourself with so many forbidden foods. Do you really plan on going "refined sugar free" for the rest of your days?
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    There are no "bad" foods.
  • cmtigger
    cmtigger Posts: 1,450 Member
    cazyoga wrote: »
    So I'm in my house doing great with my refined sugar freeness and being careful with my eating and exercise. Then, I have to go to the supermarket to shop. Everybody's gotta buy food, right? Urgh...now I have to 'run the gauntlet' of everything that's £1 or on special offer being inherently 'bad' for you! Is the broccoli ever on special?!?!??! Is it me? Or is it a conspiracy to keep everyone eating processed fatty sugary food?...
    I'm in the U.S., but I currently have e-coupons for frozen and fresh veggies.
  • Optimistical1
    Optimistical1 Posts: 210 Member
    You make it through the grocery store having avoided all temptations. Although your wallet is a little lighter, you are feeling great and extra motivated about your super healthy shopping trip.
    All of a sudden, out of nowhere there is a loud knocking at your front door. You are so busy putting away your organic groceries that you forgot to check the peephole before opening the door. You open the door and find to your dismay, a Girl Scout staring up at you with her sad puppy dog eyes.

    To be continued.........
  • socioseguro
    socioseguro Posts: 1,679 Member
    Optimistical1 wrote: »
    You make it through the grocery store having avoided all temptations. Although your wallet is a little lighter, you are feeling great and extra motivated about your super healthy shopping trip.
    All of a sudden, out of nowhere there is a loud knocking at your front door. You are so busy putting away your organic groceries that you forgot to check the peephole before opening the door. You open the door and find to your dismay, a Girl Scout staring up at you with her sad puppy dog eyes.

    To be continued.........

    I only buy Girl scout cookies from my neighbor's daughter to support her efforts. I immediately put the box at my car trunk so I can share the entire box with the office colleagues who like cookies. I do not, unless I bake them myself (Oatmeal cookies with raisins is my favorite)
    Good luck in your healthy journey
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    Asparagus, broccoli, and strawberries have had great prices here since spring. We have been partaking heavily.
  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
    DeguelloTex wrote: »
    Asparagus, broccoli, and strawberries have had great prices here since spring. We have been partaking heavily.

    This. Produce is cheaper when it is in season. Tables like this can help you to know what to look for each month.

    I also prefer to get most of my produce at the local farmers markets from spring to fall and I grow a few things ,like fresh herbs, in containers.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    Weight loss begins n the grocery store! Don't buy junk and you won't eat junk!

    I haven't really found that eating healthy is more expensive. I think a lot of that is believed because it's repeated so often. If you can afford Crunch Berries, you can easily afford oatmeal. If you can buy Stouffer's, you can buy some chicken and veggies. Water is not as expensive as soda.

    I've found that, generally, eating healthy is actually cheaper.
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    edited October 2015
    Besides knowing when things are a good bargain, I've found there's items that form the basis of most of my meals and they're basically always a bargain for the nutrition you get, though they might rarely go on real sale (some of them do). Calorie for calorie, I find nuts and seeds to be a good bargain.

    Lentils, dry beans, peanut butter, raisins, carrots, romaine lettuce, tomato paste, canned tuna, oats, cocoa powder, flax seeds, almonds, eggs, frozen chicken breasts, potatoes, cottage cheese, milk, onions, banana, rice.

    Add in whatever fruits and veggies are a good price that week, and you're good to go. Sale meats, too, if there's extra money in the budget.
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