Many of us don't enjoy shopping for groceries. We are not fond of dieting and well, the truth is, most of us love food. We are bombarded with flashy packaging, carefully worded lables and special prices that entice us to make purchases from impulse. This nasty habit not only sets us up for a lot of additional expense at the check out counter but we also gain weight from the unneccessary calories we felt compelled to purchase.
What works better for both the waistline and the budget is the proverbial list. One way to ensure that you have a sensible list for grocery shopping is to make a weekly menu for yourself or your family. Many cookbooks and magazines as well as online sites offer menus and receipes that are healthy and delicious choices for you and your family. Counting calories doesn't have to be such a chore or make you feel hungry and deprived all the time. There is power in knowledge! Knowing your tastes, your habits and lifestyle with the nutritional information available to us will certainly be a step in the right direction.
Choosing foods wisely and using a menu will help your budget and your weightloss program. You should plan for a breakfast meal, mid-morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, and dinner. Count the calories and keep portions as close to recommended sizes as possible. Eating several small meals is better for your body.
Purchase items such as small slices of cheeses to have on hand and fruits and vegetables should be eaten with each meal or snack. Develop a taste for whole grain healthy breads. Read labels and watch calories and fats when purchasing any pre-packaged food items.
Grocery shopping on a budget isn't easy but in hard times I personally have made meals that didn't make us fatter and tasted good but on a shoe string of less than $10.00 cash money. What did I purchase you ask? A loaf of bread, a dozen eggs, a bag of dry beans, a package of franks and, if most were on sale, I got a package of cheese slices as well. What can you do with these items? I cooked the beans and seasoned them with items already in the cupboard. I made grill cheese sandwiches for the grandsons and we had scrambled eggs and frank slices for breakfast, beans and franks for dinner. I made homemade cornbread with items in the pantry. For a special treat I made cinnamon toast for the grandsons. Milk can be added to the srambled eggs ( just a little) to make them go farther and be more moist. The meals were affordable and tasty maybe not the health concious best selections but it worked out well for us at the time.
When I look at the calories on most items I remember that a normal size candy bar usually has from 180 to 200 calories in it. The pre-packaged cheese or peanut butter crackers have almost that much or more in some cases. So when you shop for groceries do yourself a favor and pick up items for healthy snacks at or during work. Items of 90 calories or less are more affordable in the grocery store than paying up to a dollar for sugar loaded high calorie items in the break room vending machines.
Eating healthy doesn't mean giving up food, you just need to eat less at meals, eat a small snack in between meals also drink lots of water. If you stick to what you like but cut back on portion sizes and eat an apple instead of a Snicker bar, drink water instead of soft drinks you will lose some pounds. But forget diet plans that don't work, don't take pills that could make matters worse. Learn to eat healthy, nutrition knowledge is the best protection of all.
Making time to enjoy an outing with friends or family is no cause to worry. Eating out is easy just eat only half the food on the plate, save the rest for another meal or split it with a friend. We all love our burgers and pizzas, we all love the fried chicken and a sizzling steak, it is okay to have the foods, just don't starve before you get that treat. Be sure you eat that fruit plus drink lots of water beforehand and eat only half of the order of fat filled, high calorie food. If you have no discipline at all then at least work out or walk a mile or two after you cheat. Remember though you are not cheating someone else you are cheating yourself.
Shop with a plan then stick to the plan so you do not fall into the impulse purchase trap. You are what you eat, unfortunately many of us are a lot more of what we eat that we should be so be smart and shop healthy.