Grocery Store Confusion
Today is not like yesterday…
You’ve woken up in the same bed, put on the same clothes, and tripped over the same toys your kids have left in the hallway, but YOU aren’t going to be the same person you were yesterday.
That’s right, YOU have decided to make a change in your life and it begins right now. You’re going to start exercising and eating properly because doggone it, you’re sick of being disgusted with yourself when you look at yourself in the mirror. I mean, why on earth does there always have to be a mirror in the bathroom when it is the only place in the house when you’re going to see yourself in all your glory when you step out of the shower. All you know is that you’re no longer going to have to dive across the bathroom like a soldier dodging a grenade to grab your housecoat before your eyes capture a glimpse of that extra roll around your midsection. No, today is different.
You’ve made the decision and nothing is going to stop you. You jump in the car and off you go to the grocery store. As you walk across the parking lot you can hardly wait to get inside and get started on your new lifestyle.
And then it happens…You walk inside and there’s food EVERYWHERE!!!
What do you eat?
Isn’t there something good about grapefruits? You should probably get ten of those.
How about that new whole wheat bread that looks and tastes like white bread? That must be good right?
You’re definitely going to need some cereal for breakfast. Special K is good for you isn’t it? That’s what they say on the commercials. But what about this glycemic index diet you’ve heard about? Isn’t Special K a high glycemic index food?
Okay…so that’s too confusing. What about tuna? You obviously can’t go wrong with tuna. You need protein don’t you? But wait! Didn’t you hear about the mercury in the tuna? It’s probably going to make your brain melt or something. Better put that back.
At least there’s cold refreshing fruit juice. That’s safe. It comes from fruit so it has to be good. Sure it’s packed with sugar, but at least it’s better than pop…or is it?
Finally you reach the end of your ego deflating shopping trip you have ten grapefruits, 17 pieces of skinless chicken breast, rice cakes (because they HAVE to be good right?), and a bag of prewashed lettuce. Yum yum. This lifestyle change is going to last a long time.
The truth is that shopping for healthy foods doesn’t have to be like this. If you know what to look for you can easily survive the hazards and pitfalls of the typical North American grocery store and still come out with a fantastic physique.
Faulty Solution - Perimeter Shopping
Some people suggest that the answer to your confusion is to shop solely around the perimeter of the grocery store to get everything you really need. Unfortunately, many grocery stores have wised up to this and started putting tempting stuff in the middle of the aisles on the perimeter of the store. Did you ever notice how they put that really yummy tasting caramel apple dip right above the apples? A grocery store I frequent even has their frozen food aisle with all the ice cream right on the perimeter of the store. This paradigm obviously doesn’t work.
While I can’t possibly give you all the keys to a healthy lifestyle in a single article I’m going to give you some very important tips that will help you shop for a sustainable lifestyle.
Grocery Store Tip #1 – Focus on P&P shopping
Protein and produce are the two most important things to purchase whenever you enter a grocery store. While this might sound like the perimeter shopping idea, it eliminates some of the confusion about what you should and shouldn’t be buying as you march around the perimeter of the grocery store.
Protein, for the record, is anything that has a face of comes from anything that has a face. Meat, fish, and dairy all fall into this category. Of course, there are some kinds of protein that are better for you than others, but that is beyond the scope of this article. Suffice it to say that real meat is good and cold cuts are not. Even those lean “turkey breast” slices you’re eating are best fed to your dog (and that’s only if you really don’t like the poor little guy).
The easiest rule for produce is to focus on the colours of the rainbow. The greater variety of colours in your cart the more different types of nutrients and antioxidants you’ll be consuming.
The colours of the rainbow are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. Each represents a different array of health benefits from Cancer prevention to fat loss.
Red: Tomatoes (lycopene), Watermelon (lycopene)
Orange: Carrots (beta-carotene), Oranges (vitamin C)
Yellow: Bananas (potassium), Yellow Peppers (beta-carotene)
Green: Broccoli (indole-3-carbinol and diindolylmethane), Spinach (lutein)
Blue: Blueberries (anthocyanin)
Violet: Grapes (resveratrol)
Of course, many rely on multivitamins to replace the nutrients in these fruits vegetables because they “just don’t have time”, but the garden variety drug store brand multi has more chance of coming out whole than it does of equaling the nutritional goodness of real produce.
Grocery Store Tip #2 - The more colourful the box, the worse it is for you
While I’m not a big fan of processed foods, there are definitely some that are worse than others. If it helps to make this point, think of the most vibrant and appealing boxes for breakfast cereals. You’ll quickly discover that these are usually the worst for you and that you probably shouldn’t be eating them.
*Side Rant – Sensitive Material – Do Not Read if You’re Easily Offended*
Now I apologize in advance for going on a rant here, but I feel that it is absolutely necessary. If you are feeding your kids these crap breakfast cereals you need to exert some parental control here and make some better choices for your kids. I’m going to step right over the line without regard for what is and what is not polite because if you’re not going to make the decision to feed your kids healthy food then who will?!? And don’t feed me this “my kids won’t eat anything else” nonsense. I’m pretty sure they’re not buying the food so if they’re craving something it’s because you put it in front of them in the first place. Now I’m ranting at you because it is your responsibility to teach them the error of your ways and help them to make better selections for their health.
“But my kids are skinny and they’re always active”.
Of course, they’re skinny and active. They’re kids. The sad truth is that whatever you teach them carries into adulthood and they’ll continue eating the same crap you fed them. In fact, children start to form their taste buds in the womb so your parenting job actually starts even before they are born by making sure to eat foods that are actually good for THEM not what is convenient for YOU. And, just because your kids are active doesn’t mean they will always be. Eventually, their active lives will slow down and they’ll be the ones calling us for help when they’re 30.
Why not make the decision to be a real parent and teach your child something truly valuable that they can carry with them for the rest of their life? Better yet, why not lead by example?
*End Rant*
The bottom line here is that if it comes in a fancy, bright, and colourful package and needs tons of advertising to get you to stuff it in your mouth you probably don’t want it there in the first place.
Grocery Store Tip #3 – Avoid margarine like the plague
For years doctors have been telling people to avoid butter and use margarine, but there is very little evidence to suggest that butter was bad in the first place. Butter has been around since we domesticated cows thousands of years ago and the increase in cardiac risk supposedly associated with butter is comparatively recent. In fact, you’d probably find a closer correlation between the advent of margarine or cold breakfast cereals and the rise in cardiac problems.
So why is margarine so popular with doctors? Here’s a story about something I personally experienced without a word of embellishment. About a year ago I sat waiting for my fiancée in at her doctor’s office while she went for a check up. As I sat there a letter carrier walked in, reached into his bag, and pulled out what looked like a sealed margarine container just like you’d buy in the grocery store. At first I thought what a brilliant act of marketing this was by the company. The temptation to know what was inside would be too great to simply discard it.I was right. Almost immediately after I had that thought I sat and watched as the whole reception staff stopped what they were doing and gathered around to open the container. Inside was an array of pamphlets explaining how healthy this particular brand of margarine was and that it was the cure to the evils of butter. Undoubtedly, this reached the doctors in the office as well as hundreds of others across the city that day. Combined with the misinformation that is already so prevalent is there any wonder that there is still confusion? Through marketing hype and the lack of nutritional education for doctors who are focused on healing more than prevention we’ve been duped into thinking margarine is the Mecca of nutritional goodness.
However, if this still isn’t enough to get you to make the switch consider that ants won’t even go near margarine. Don’t believe me? Next time you see a bunch of ants circle them in with a line of margarine and they won’t dare cross it. If ants won’t eat it why on earth would you put it into your mouth?
The Wrap Up
There you have the beginnings of a successful shopping trip and if you follow these very simple tips you’ll be on the way to the new lifestyle you were dreaming about as you entered the grocery store.
Grocery Store Tours – Cutting through the B.S.
To help you sort through the B.S. of marketing hype and media confusion about eating healthy Nutrex Solutions Private Personal Training is going to be offering a series of grocery store tours in the Hamilton area.
To find out why you should never buy cold cuts and several other important shopping guidelines this is one trip to the grocery store that anyone serious about improving their physique can not afford to miss.
For more information about tours and times visit our Grocery Store Tours Page and call ASAP to reserve your spot.
Add comment July 30th, 2007
