5 Easy Tips for Making Better Choices at the Grocery Store ...

Eating healthy is important, but making healthy food choices isn?t always easy. Misleading claims on product labels and packaging often make the choices even harder. Below are five simple steps to make shopping healthy a breeze.

Never go to the store hungry

Going to the store with a blood sugar that?s plummeting will most certainly guarantee less than healthful choices as your cravings for the quickly digested energy found in simple sugars peak.? A sensible meal or snack before shopping can be the difference between whether? Tastycakes or tasty strawberries end up in your cart.

Make a list and stick too it

Don?t leave your grocery purchases up to chance. Plan what you are going to buy before ever stepping foot inside the store. Commit to those decisions by making a list and then once in the store make sure you stick to the list.

Shop the stores perimeter

There seems to be a growing consensus among health professionals. The more processing a food undergoes, the less nutrition it provides. Lucky for us most ?fresh? items are conveniently located along the stores outer perimeter. Things like fresh fruits and veggies, meats and seafood, eggs and diary. The bulk of the foods in your cart should come from these sections.

If you can?t pronounce all the ingredients of a food item, you should probably pass

I don?t know about you, but if I can?t read the ingredients, I?m not sure I should be eating it. While many of these additives are supposed to be safe, at the very least they are another sign that a food has undergone mass processing, something we would all do better to avoid.

Pay with cash

Believe it or not, paying with green seems to increase the likelihood of buying more greens. That?s right, new research suggests that the ?pain? of paying with cash often deters impulsive behaviors, and that includes making unhealthy food purchases. But simply using your debit card isn?t sufficient since debit cards also seem to damp down this effect. In order to really feel the pain of payment you need to physically fork over the cash.

And that?s it! Simple.

Good luck and great health,
Fitness for Smart People

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Photo Credit

Shaun received her Bachelor's of Nutritional Science with minors in Chemistry and Biology from the University of Delaware in 1994 and then completed a Professional Master's in Physical Therapy also from the University of Delaware in 1997. Shaun has worked as an aerobic/group fitness instructor, a personal trainer, a massage therapist, an out-patient orthopedic physical therapist, and a consultant for an international credentialing agency that evaluates the educational documents of physical therapists educated overseas. She is currently an advisory board member for the Delaware Academy of Massage and Bodyworks and has taught continuing education for massage therapy practitioners. She also writes online fitness and nutrition articles and runs a blog titled Fitness for Smart People. Perhaps most importantly, Shaun is a mother of four who was forced to deal with a serious injury that left her with permanent nerve damage in her right foot. She understands the unique challenges we all face when trying to get and stay healthy.

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Source: http://blog.fitnessforsmartpeople.com/2011/5-easy-tips-for-making-better-choices-at-the-grocery-store/

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