Your grocery list can determine up to a good extent whether you would lose weight or gain a few more extra pounds. If you have made up your mind to lose weight and get healthier and fitter this coming year, it would be prudent to give grocery shopping a bit of importance. In this post, we will list down 8 Grocery Shopping Mistakes that can hamper weight loss and why you should correct them immediately.
1. You buy unhealthy snacks like chips and candies in bulk: Okay, so you believe in buying stuff in bulk, especially snacks and processed food that’s on buy 1 get 1 offer. Avoid opting for such offers because they are ones that are probably high in calories. Just check the ingredients list to be sure.
2. You don’t read Nutrition Labels: It would be a great habit to spend some time and check nutrition labels of food products because they would clearly depict in detail total calories, saturated fat content, added sodium or sugar levels. Also, you would be able to eliminate the possibility of transfat making into your diet by reading the label properly.
3. Shopping without a grocery list: Going without a grocery list would mean you haven’t made plans yet for meal prep and are likely to lean towards unhealthy foods that can attract with colorful packaging and fancy taglines such as “fortified with vitamins and minerals or fat-free content.” Here’s an extremely helpful grocery list prepared by Rati Beauty that would help you lose weight by eating the right kind of food.
4. You shop on an Empty Stomach: Various studies have proven this theory that when shoppers go empty stomach, they tend to pick unhealthy and ready-to-eat stuff that is usually high in calories. When you go for shopping after a healthy snack, you are more likely to read labels, make wise choices, and pick whole foods instead of junk and processed food.
5. You hardly check manufacturing and expiry dates: This is absolutely essential no matter what you buy at the grocery store, whether it’s a whole grain or just a cup of yogurt. Read the expiry date and don’t pick anything closer to that date because it would be less fresher than before.
6. You are picking Fat-Free Stuff: When fat content is ripped from food, it usually makes it bland and tasteless. To appeal to the tastebuds of consumers, companies add stuff like heaps of sugar, refined carbs, salt, emulsifiers, and thickeners which add high amount of calories to the body. Such a tendency defeats the whole purpose where one is actually going “low fat” to lose weight.
7. You are missing “Added Sugar” Label: Added sugar can be found is found in cupcakes, candies, chocolates, etc., but sugar isn’t always presented, in its simple form in processed foods. It’s extremely important to look at the ingredient list of packaged food to figure out how much extra sugar is added. Look out for these names in ingredients list. Check out some of the common food items you can find in the grocery store in which you can find hidden sugars.
8. You don’t mind testing sample bites: A bite here and there of samples might not seem much, but they do add up, and set back your calorie deficit value. Say “no” when food samples are offered to you, especially the sugary and high sodium stuff.
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