Many years ago, I took a supermarket tour as part of a political movement looking at who has control of our food. BUT, that is another topic. But I had this idea when I was shopping the other day.
The fresh veggies, and meat are on the outside of the store. On the inside, on the shelves, are foods that I don't generally want in the cart. Also, the amount of space taken up by fresh whole foods is totally eclipsed by the bad stuff.
It was amazing to me how much space was taken up by desserts and baked goods that we should avoid. No wonder we have problems with these foods!


I found it very hard to shop that day, and now I know in the future, I will be avoiding most of the aisles, except for specific items on my lists.

Ah yes - "Shop the perimeter" is a time honored piece of healthy eating advice. It's really true! While there are some things I need from the aisles (pastas, spices, etc), most of what I eat every day can be found along the outside edges.

I've noticed this myself because I always shop the perimeter and only venture in the aisles for specific items (like EVOO). Can you imagine how small our grocery stores would be without all the crap in them?

There's a good book out there by a woman named Marion Nestle called What to Eat and she goes through the grocery store section by section identifying foods, what's in time, if they're good for you, etc. Very helpful for folks just getting started in learning to eat healthier.

Now that I'm more aware, there's little to even buy at stores. We're all more on a budget these days with the economy, for a time I was going to health stores but Safeway and even Walmart now have more organic foods. I've studied the best healthiest brands and just stick with certain items.

Marion Nestle is awesome. I once read an article how an editor-in-chief of some prominent women's magazine spent a day with Marion in New York. They had breakfast, lunch and dinner together and in between meals, they visited grocery stores etc. and discussed all things food-related.
I read it a long time before I embarked on my weight loss journey, but it was an eye-opener. At breakfast, the editor ordered the usual eggs/bacon/toast brekkie while Marion ordered oatmeal. When her plate arrived, she immediately divided the oatmeal into four portions and indication that one was a serving. She ate the one portion and did not touch the rest. She did the same thing at lunch and dinner (she would eat veggies first, and only then meat and maybe a few nibbles of potatoes).
She said she never had cravings for sweets (!!?!?!?!).

Thanks WaterRat for mentioning her name; I don't need to read the book but I think I will get it from the library and read it anyway.

Very true when I'm in a regular supermarket. In the Whole Foods I like to explore the inner aisles as there are good, low cal, low sodium and low fat items to be found.

Really, the South Beach people are right, if you can refrain from sugar/sweets for about 10 days, the cravings will at least lessen if not cease. My problem, and probably that of a lot of folks, is that seeing the stuff often sets me off. But I know that if I have one piece of whatever, especially candy, I'll want more. The trick is to say NO to the first piece. I find it much easier to pass on a dessert served after a meal than to ignore a dish of candy set out at work. Unfortunately it's between me and the restroom. I need to put on some mental blinders.

I'm not doing South Beach, but I've found this to be so true, and the key to my staying on plan.

I stopped eating all sugar, pasta, spuds, rice, and whatnot for a full fortnight (that was 6 weeks ago), and I haven't been remotely tempted by sweet stuff since. Hubby bought a lot of candy that was on sale after Hallowe'en, and it's just sitting in a big box gathering dust. For the first time in memory I feel in control when I'm around food. A lot of mental and physical ailments have dramatically improved for me too, but that's another story....