It's a common saying that "abs are made in the kitchen." Well, that's a lie. Abs are made long before you even step into the kitchen. It's impossible to eat healthy when your fridge and cabinets are filled with junk food. So before you can even think about eating healthy, you first need to fill your home with healthy foods. Today, I'm going to show you exactly how to do it!
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We're taking a trip to the supermarket so I can show you how to shop to drop the pounds. You ready?
You want to tackle shopping in a supermarket the same way you'd get through that maze__.__ That means you want to start from the outside aisles and work your way around. Why? Because that's where all the healthy food is!
You see, the way most grocery stores are set up, they keep the "whole foods" in the outer aisles: the meat, the seafood, the fresh fruit, and vegetables. The foods that are packed with lean protein and fat-fighting fiber, which should make up the majority of your diet are found in the outer aisles.
So as soon as you walk through the entrance, you want to circle around these outer aisles, picking up all the healthy food you see and using them to plan meals. Now, hopefully by the time you finish making your rounds, you find that a lot of your shopping is already done.
In a perfect world, all of your shopping would be done and you can head on home. Because those inner aisles we're going to next can be a very scary place. You see, that's where all the processed food is hiding. The junk food, with its simple carbohydrates and hard-to-pronounce preservatives. These foods are monsters that will make you fat. And what makes these foods so dangerous is the fact that they don't look like monsters! They hide in pretty packaging, in colorful bags and deliciously designed boxes that make you want to bring them home.
But you're smarter now and you aren't going to fall for their temptation. You have something to keep you safe during your dangerous journey down these inner aisles, something that will allow you to get in and out, without falling into these fattening traps.
You have: your list! One of the biggest mistakes people make is to shop on impulse. They get to the store and then decide what they're going to buy. But this makes it too easy to make bad choices. So we're going to take two simple steps to stop this from happening:
First, we never go shopping on an empty stomach. When you're hungry, you can't think straight. Everything you see looks delicious, so you find those cookies and cakes almost impossible to resist.
Second, we don't leave home without our list. This makes our decisions simple. We only get the things on our list. Anything else, no matter how delicious it looks, we walk right by. I know, it may be hard to pass up the treats in the beginning, but trust me, using this strategy will save you a lot of unnecessary frustration. It will keep you from making decisions you regret and allow you to make the progress you deserve.
So as you can see, shopping smart and healthy doesn't have to be hard. So try this the next time you get groceries.
This post was originally published on August 29, 2013
