You’re walking down the aisles, tummy grumbling, eyes patrolling every shelf and then you reach for anything that you think you can devour in that exact moment. Cookies, cake, some brioche buns, maybe a single bar of Cadbury. No wait, I’ve just seen the offers shelf
and I can buy a big block of 2 500g bars for a cheaper price. Chuck the single bar back, pick up the 2 big bars and envision getting home, relaxing on the sofa in front of Netflix and devouring at least 12 squares of yumminess. The biggest mistake people make? Shopping when you’re hungry. Rule number 1: never go to the supermarket when you’re hungry. I can guarantee if you do, you’ll be coming home with all sorts of shit that weren’t even on your original shopping list and probably spending more than you expected too. What remains? A load of shit food that will stay in your cupboards until you slowly eat away at them (mostly of an evening or after a stressful day at work) and you will keep telling yourself that it will help you relax and will make you forget about the highly demanding day you’ve had.
If what I’ve described is a bit of you, you might want to think again about how you shop, what you shop for and maybe even the time that you shop.
What is interesting is that as we grow up, we get taught a whole variety of things: how to drive a car, how to pass your GCSE exams, how to read, how to apply for a job. But, one of the most important things of everyday life that they never teach you, is how to shop for food and what a balanced diet really looks like. In my opinion, the education system fails our kids because they are not taught anything about nutrition, yet as adults you are constantly berated and reminded of the ongoing obesity problem in the country. Maybe your parents taught you to shop for food (what to shop for, how to have a variety of fresh fruit and veg in your trolley) or maybe they didn’t. I recall from memory my Mum encouraging Anton and I to participate in the food shop eg picking certain items off the shelf. However, we would always turn it on and beg for sweets and chocolate to be put in the trolley instead. The disappointment we felt after Mum saying no that we didn’t need said items only led to us both sneaking them underneath all the other items, hoping she would give in at the checkout and maybe let us eat some in the car on the way home.
I honestly believe in most cases, our parents or whoever brings us up has a huge impact on our eating habits later on in life and the kind of diet that you adopt as a lifestyle as you grow into adulthood. Parents, think again. -Your children are a product of you, so set good examples. I feel quite fortunate that in my childhood, my Mum stressed to us the importance of eating 5 portions of fruit and veg a day, drinking enough water and encouraging us to try everything (probably why I like most things now!) I also feel lucky that as a typical Greek mother, all of our food was homecooked and tasted delicious, but was healthy as well, so I have her to thank for that.
Another memory I recall in later teenage years (and owning a debit card for the first time) was enjoying the late night Tesco trip with friends on a Saturday night (for movie or cinema night). That excitement and naughty feeling of grabbing what I wanted to devour (without thinking of consequences) reminds me of that innocence and fun associated with binge eating when you’re young. Gosh, I remember never sticking to 1 or 2 items but always getting a variety of chocolate, then 1 or 2 varieties of cake and then maybe 2 different sharing packs of different flavoured crisps. I recall once eating a whole Sour Cream and Chive Pringles tube! Thankfully for most of us, maturity and common sense reminds us that doing that often is probably not the healthiest idea and that there are consequences for eating too many calories – such as our increasing waistlines.
But, as adults that we are now, it becomes harder to maintain the body we always want, a lot of this down to sedentary lives and poor diet. How much of this is affected by how you shop or even determines how you shop?
THE SUPERMARKET SWEEPER I’VE BECOME:
For people in a fat loss phase or even for those of you who do care about what you eat, it is vital to really think about your shopping habits; recognise and reflect on them. For me, I NEVER shop when I’m hungry, otherwise all matter of sweet treats would end up in my trolley (yes, I have a huge sweet tooth as I mentioned in my last Blog post). Secondly, I always do just one shop a week, (as I know how much I eat within a week) and I will always write a list beforehand and stick to it, mostly to remind myself of only buying what I need and to also be mindful of how much I spend. Sticking to that list also reminds me of what good food choices look like. Another top tip might be to avoid certain aisles if you know for a fact you don’t want to purchase certain things within those aisles. Why do I consistently eat a meal or snack before I do my weekly shop? Well, gone are the days when I used to shop at starvation point, purchase all manner of ‘junk food’ and devour a box of 20 mini doughnuts from the bakery in the car journey home, (to then be too full to even eat my dinner!)
What is also really important to note and an observation I made whilst doing my weekly shop during Lockdown 1, that despite the empty aisles where toilet tissue, pasta and rice were raided by morons, the aisles with chocolate, sweets and crisps were always full. I just remember thinking to myself that maybe that first lockdown taught people the importance of 1. shopping for what was actually needed rather than what they wanted and 2. to minimise their shopping trips to avoid hour queues.
Please take heed that this post is not about avoiding certain foods or emphasising that there are good and bad foods because there aren’t. Everything should be in moderation and I’m hoping everyone has a rough idea about what healthy eating looks like. But, the next time you tell yourself you want to start eating more healthily, maybe avoid shopping when you’re hungry (eat beforehand) and try writing out a list of items that show balance, variety and things you actually need in your diet. Give it a go.
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