Have you guys ever noticed that when you hit your local supermarket with a rumbling in your tummy brought on by hunger, add to that a low blood sugar and suddenly you turn into a desparate, uncontrolled buyer of all things bad! 

It happens without really knowing it until you get out into the parking lot with 4 bags of potatoe chips, a big bottle of your favorite soft-drink, a box of cookies (they were on sale after all) two loaves of homemade white bread (yummy…it was even hot!) and…oh yes, you just had to pick out that candy bar since you need something to tide you over until you get home right?

No doubt about it, the supermarket can be a very dangerous place when you have even the slightest hunger – so here are a few tips on how to avoid ruining your weight loss program by losing control at the grocery store:

1. Eat something healthy before you go – ideally with protein so that you curb your cravings through the 1-hour or so it may take you to get through your grocery buying pilgrimage

2. Head to the grocery store with a well thought out list (without the chips and chocoloate of course) and stick to your list.

3. If you need something to consume as soon as you are done at the grocery store, pick up a piece of fruit, a protein bar or a fruit smoothie drink that most grocery stores carry these days. 

4. Make your grocery shopping the first stop on your errand run instead of the last so that you don’t end up getting there on an empty stomach running low on fuel making you more susceptible to buying unhealthy food not in line with your weight loss goals.

5. Do you shopping at healthier grocery stores where you can.  I typically head to our local Farm Boy which specializes in produce, fresh fruite and vegetables, organic foods, whole grain breads, fresh salsa.  The ration of good food to bad is much higher than in typical grocery chains. 

Most of all…understand that a trip to your grocery store is not an excuse to avoid your weight loss goals, you must practice the same discipline you would planning your daily meals.  

Try this, think back to all of the exercise, effort and energy you have put into losing weight so far, put yourself in the place you were after your last exhausting run or exercise session – now, is it really worth blowing it all for a 5-minute breakdown in discipline on a Saturday morning at your grocery store?