Temptation While Shopping
 

I know i'm not the only one...
I go to buy my granola bars (oats and honey, not the chocolate-dipped ones that are still basically crap) and the shelves opposite them are full of cookies.

Across from my sugar-free preservative-free honey-sweetened yoghurt is ice cream in buckets and bars.

The cereal aisle also hold bags of candy, from lollipops and kit kat bars to caramels and ferero rocher and everything inbetween.

To get to the rolls for your turkey burgers, you have to walk past cakes and donuts.

And what's next to the egg whites? Bacon!!




I seriously am starting to hate grocery shopping, especially as my local grocer's has a hot food bar. I always smell the fried chicken when i'm there. And the mac and cheese. *drooooooooool* So. Not. Fair!



Is your grocer's set up as temptingly as mine? Do you have to walk past thousands of calories worth of yummies just to get to the most basic of necessities? What do you do when you're faced with temptation, which is usually cheaper than the healthy stuff? Do you notice that the junk is usually cheaper than the good stuff? (Example: 7 days worth of chocolate bars in a bag = about $1.50, 1 days worth of fresh raspberries = $3.50+)

Yes and it's disgusting! I am truly blessed that my very disciplined husband usually does the weekly shopping, so I am not subjected. I did go with him yesterday and commented more than once in how easy it is to just remain fat with so many bad choices to choose from. I did have my Weight Watcher scanner, which really did motivate me to make the smartest choices I could.

well i have food stamps so i kinda have to do the shopping. last time i let my bf borrow it to buy some bread and milk, he also came home with a $15 container of protein powder he "couldn't resist" because it was on sale... and i only get $200 a month so spending $25 dollars on him thinking it would only be $10 kinda annoys me. and my grandmother is hopeless when it comes to credit cards and stuff. but if i have something written on the list that my grandmother knows which brand i prefer (nature valley granola bars instead of quaker oats, for instance) she'll get it for me. i'm also loving fiber one brownies but i can't find them at my local grocer's, so thats one less chocolate substance i'm having in the day. in fact i'm in a pretty irritable mood today as i have no chocolate. now i can't stop chain-smoking and staring at the semi-sweet chocolate chips and the pancake mix xP if i had a ride to a store that accepted food stamps right now, i'd probably buy $20 of chocolate.

When I go shopping with my mom it's the cookies and chips that drive me nuts. I don't think PERSONALLY that it's wrong to have a little junk food in your life-just not your entire diet. I was a picky eater as a kid so all I ate was junk. I am just now liking veggies and fruits but i am not in the habit of eating them. I am trying to integrate them into my diet. And while I have cut out the junk completely it's only temporary-I plan to add a little bit of junk food into my diet when I gain back my self control.

But to answer your question YES! OMG THE JUNK FOOD DRIVES ME CRAZY! My mom is nice enough to try to avoid those sections if possible and if not then go in and go out quickly to get what we need. I don't eat much these days though so lol I don't need much.

i see nothing wrong with a little junk either, it's just the ridiculousness of TEMPTATION TEMPTATION EVERYWHERE. and sometimes it's hard to not eat a whole box of oreos at a time. "oh i'll just have 2 oreos with a 1/2 cup of milk" turns into "damnit i ate 13 oreos and i still want more chocolate" or at least that's how it is with me. the only "junk" i really eat anymore is bacon and chocolate, though i do have stuff like pizza or fries on occasion.

I've found that the stores I shop at the most tend to keep the healthier stuff at the ends of the aisles & that makes it way easier for me to resist the cookies, marshmallows, ice cream, etc. But even at the health food store, I still have to resist a lot of stuff!

Last week, I seriously had a staring contest with a package of peanut butter oreos in the middle of a Brookshires, & I totally won. :)

I've mentioned this in a post before too. It's like the "world" doesn't want you to succeed. The grocery stores are full of garbage. The portions at restaurants are ENORMOUS. There is a fast food chain on every corner.

We live in a place that seems to encourage unhealthy habits.
I wonder if this .gif will work...
http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt...map-GIF-jh.gif

So I just shop at natural grocery store, where I don't have to be subjected to the bright bags of chips and candy.

you're lucky, if you're close to one. it's a 40-minute drive to the nearest Whole Foods, and Shoprite is only 15 minutes away by bike. plus, Whole Foods is more expensive and i only get $200 a month for food.

Stores are set up like that on purpose and it works very well for them! If you shop at the larger chain places, its best to stick to the outside rim. Produce, meats and dairy are all out there. I know you still gotta make the trek to those aisles to get your granola bars and stuff, and when I have to do that, I will sometimes leave my cart at the end of the row, book it to the thing I need and book it back! Less chance to fill my cart with junk that way :D

MMM Bacon. Here is a tip that I just learned and thought was pretty brilliant. Next time you buy a package of bacon spread it all out on wax paper (so all of your slices are separated) and fold it up and keep it in the freezer. That way when you need some bacon you can just take out the slice or two or three that you need and are less tempted to cook (and then eat) the whole package (I may have done that at least once)

I was going to suggest farmers markets if they are open in your area, but I realizes that they probably wouldn't take food stamps :(

As for the healthy stuff being more expensive... you just kinda gotta decide if you are willing to pay a little more to be healthy... Also, learning to find what is "in season" helps, as those things will generally be less expensive that those that are not in season. (Raspberries are some of the most expensive I find... Strawberries IMO are the best bet! Better bang for you buck I think)

ETA - MAKE A LIST AND STICK TO IT! - that is one of the biggest helps for me.

Good luck :D

ah im pretty good with the bacon, i'll only have a slice at a time. the freezer idea sounds good though.

and yeah, theres a farmers market less than 2 miles away from me, but they don't take food stamps.

I totally hear you! The grocery store I shop at is designed to entice me left and right (or so it feels). I have used several strategies including sending my hubby and buying my groceries online. When I have to go to the store, I make sure that I've eaten and am full before going in. I then buy only things that are on my list. And the list always includes my Skinny Cows so that I don't feel totally deprived. Good luck to you.

I'm a big believer in shopping around the perimeter of the store. If I have to go to an interior aisle I try to get in and out as fast as possible. I kind of make a game out of it.

I also am happy to have a Trader Joes between work and home - i find it much easier to stay healthy there.

I generally don't have an issue with this - we ate 100% organic vegan for so long that I just ceased to see the processed crap as food. Like others have said, I shop around the outside of a conventional grocery store - I hit up produce, meat, eggs, and I'm done. I think the only things I've had to go down aisles for are olives and spices.

I don't mind axing food that doesn't fit in my budget and shopping for the produce that's on sale - no way would I buy raspberries at $3+! I also don't look at the prices of things I don't intend to buy - it doesn't really matter to me if nutella is cheaper than almond butter, since I'm not going to buy it and eat it even if it's a quarter a jar.

Truth.