How you do your grocery shopping has a huge impact on how you eat in the week. If you are buying bad food, you’re going to eat bad food! Here’s a bit of help with what not to buy.
I have also put together clean eating guidelines which you may find useful.
1. Packaged Cereals
If you aren’t aware by now, most of these contains LOADS of added sugar and are high in calories and carbs. They will give you an energy spike (insulin spike) and then you will come crashing down. All of that insulin that has been released will cause any excess carbs to be stored as fat.
Avoid packaged cereals altogether. A great alternative is to buy oats/oatmeal or make your own muesli. I make a homemade muesli with whole oats, raw buckwheat, coconut flakes, chia seeds and mixed nuts, with a little bit of maple or honey to sweeten.
2. White bread or pasta
This will have the same impact on your body as eating breakfast cereals. High insulin spike which will cause your body to store fat. You will not have long lasting energy for the day. Stick to whole meal / brown versions.
3. Packet pastas, sauces and soups
These will have a LOT of preservatives and extremely high amounts of sodium. It can be tempting to just buy a packet sauce as it is a lot easier. But it’s not difficult to make your own. Honestly, I just google something if I’m looking for a healthy sauce. There are SO many healthy recipes out there to help you.
4. Pre-packaged meals
Anything that is a pre-packaged meal such as lean cuisine, frozen pizzas, sausage rolls, etc are again full of preservatives and ingredients that you can’t pronounce. It is better to make your own meals and eat fresh food to get the nutrients you need!
5. Sports drinks and vitamin waters
I don’t know why these are marketed as healthy, because they have added sugars and preservatives and should really only be used by athletes who require these types of drinks. Avoid them!
6. Typical junk food
OK you already know that you shouldn’t be buying cakes, chocolate, biscuits, soft drinks, ice creams, lollies/candy, etc. But it’s unrealistic to say that you are never going to eat these. I honestly don’t buy these foods because if they’re not in the house, I won’t eat them. This means that if I do really want them, I have to make a separate trip to the shops to get some and it will make me think twice. Otherwise I just keep it to the weekends.
7. Juice
Juice is just as bad as soft drink. It contains sugars just like soft drink but you feel like you are healthy for drinking them. They will still have the same impact on your body (insulin spike, fat storage) so make sure you read the labels. If it has added sugar (which is most of them), avoid it. This also goes for “healthy” drinks such as almond milk, soy milk, etc. Make sure you’re buying the unsweetened kind.
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