Sunday, June 12, 2011

Chapter 2 page 340 - grocery shopping

This blog has never been and most likely will never become a weight loss or food blog, but I have been known from time to time to write some posts on those very subjects.  It's worth noting that I totally know HOW to loose weight and WANT to loose weight, but had what Oprah would call an "a-ha" moment several weeks back.  In addition to eating less and exercising more, there is ONE big factor in one's success - PLANNING.  I live in a small town - we have a Wal-Mart (which I almost entirely refuse to go to) and a Kroger and we have a meat market.  That's it.  We don't have any national chain sit down restaurants (like Applebees or Outback).  We have several common fast food restaurants like McDonalds, Wendys, Burger King, Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut. We have 3 causal dining family style restaurants:  2 are geared 100% to old people so there is a LOT of applesauce being served.  The other is aimed at hard working folks who like to eat or family's with many kids so it's BIG portions and "low fat" dose not exist.  In addition to 3 pizza restaurants, we also have 3 Mexican restaurants and 1 AWESOME Chinese buffet. 

Although one can make healthier decisions at all of these places - the number of high fat/high calorie options FAR outweighs the lighter, healthier options.  This was not my "a-ha" moment.  But that was when I realized the impact and importance on PLANNING AHEAD has on weight loss success particularly when given the above eatery options.  As everyone knows, the "planning ahead" starts with menu planning, then grocery shopping, then meal prep, and lunch packing.  I fail a the "Planning Ahead" step and thus my weight loss (nor my nutritional health) isn't optimal.  Once I have the healthy food in my home, it's what I eat, but it's getting it in the house which more often than not fails to happen.  I often do not find the time to grocery shop let alone prep meals - this is the FIRST step so without the first step, it makes the rest of the journey rather difficult if not impossible. 

Yesterday I went to the big city and made a trip to Fresh Market, Sam's Club, and Meijer.  Big city dwellers take those options for granted, but I drove more than 70 minutes (one way) to get to Sam's Club.  Those stores have so many more cheaper and healthier options than we have locally. 

The next couple of posts will feature some of the deliciously healthy foods.

How do you fit in grocery shopping, meal planning, and meal prep?  Do you shop for the day, week, or month?  What % of your meals are planned and accounted for versus how many do you leave "open" to pick up something on the way home?

4 comments:

  1. I cook four times a week, eat leftovers once or twice and go out once. I plan meals for the week and grocery shop once a week. I do a lot of prep in the morning before work (if I can) and do rely on Mark with some stuff. The slow cooker is also my friend. A quick pick-up meal is a rotisserie chicken from the grocery, a box of mashed sweet potatoes and a bag of frozen veg. And the great thing is that you can use the leftover chicken on a sandwich for lunch or with buffalo sauce for tacos the next night.

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  2. Nice update!

    Yeah I went into one of the old fogey joints in B-Town when I was down there for a story on all those homicides in 2010. Blech.

    Anyways... I do like Meijer and Kroger. Don't shop at the other places. I love Trader Joe's but they don't have one here. Poo.

    My advice is to eat in more than eat out. That's how I get by to be honest. Hardly ever eat out, then you know what is going in your body and you save $$ too. :)

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  3. I absolutely hate Wal-Mart and refuse to shop there, too! I watched its presence destroy all the cute specialty shops in my hometown.

    I tend to plan my grocery shopping for two weeks' worth of food.

    My parents have a garden and I'm lucky I only live 100 miles away from them because I raid it for delicious veggies whenever I visit them. Definitely cuts down on the grocery bill. This summer, I'm especially blessed because I'm visiting them so frequently due to wedding stuff. :)

    I second Holly's advice... eat in more than you eat out.

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