Pizza… mac and cheese… frosted flakes…
When we guys do actually get to the grocery store, we aren’t exactly adept at maneuvering the aisles, filling up the cart with good stuff, and doing it cheaply.
Those of us trying to lose weight attempt to just eat a little less of the same junk, and those of us trying to gain weight will just pile a bunch of protein powders and other supplements onto the same old same old, when switching to a diet of primarily real food (as opposed to processed food products) is all we really need to focus on.
With thousands of different products in the grocery store, and most of them making absurd (and untrue) health claims, it can be really hard to know what to get when you decide to start eating better.
No more.
Darya Pino over at Summer Tomato recently posted this flowchart on how to find real food at the supermarket (which is more difficult that you might imagine.) I thought it was too good to not let you guys in on it. This “cheat sheet” is really the closest thing to a grocery list you’ll ever need.
I don’t think it’s necessary to spend $100 per week in order to eat good, I don’t think you need to stick with organic/local/grass-fed food, and I don’t think you need to hit up the grocery store with a long list of ingredients. This flowchart will help you get there with less burned-up willpower.
Oh yeah, but make sure you get a little bit of the “bad stuff” you really like as well. That’s what cheat days are for!
Jack LaLanne
As a quick aside, I’d like to acknowledge Jack LaLanne, who recently died at the age of 96.
He was one of the first people to push people to stop taking their health and fitness for granted, and to start taking proactive steps to improve them. Here’s a video on the dangers of sugar that was way before its time:
I'm a science geek, food lover, and wannabe surfer.
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Funny flow chart but I’ll definitely use it next time.
In Australia we never really heard of Jack LaLanne but of course last few days I’ve heard a lot about him.
He has wonderful insight into fitness and you are dead right ‘ahead of his time’ what a loss.
I’m going to make an effort to read more about him and his ideas and that’s my way of catching up and honouring his memory
Raymond
Darrin,
When I go grocery shopping, I try to get as much “real food” as possible. Sometimes I look around at other people’s carts and I’m amazed at how much processed junk they buy. And they wonder why they can’t lose weight. I will admit pizza and mac & cheese are my favorite foods, but I use these as outside cheat meals and never really buy them at the supermarket.
R.I.P. Jack.
Alykhan
I need that shopping list for sure. I am trying to cut out most of the processed foods in my diet. I am definitely feeling more energized since I have significantly cut processed foods out of my daily intake.
Thanks for the interesting video on Jack Lalanne and sugarholics. Sugar isn’t good for building muscle, I have learned that from experience;-)
@Raymond
Darya definitely has a sense of humor here. But the application is still rock solid!
@Alykhan
I definitely love pizza and ice cream as much as the next guy, but if I kept it around all the time I’d definitely be writing about fitness from a different viewpoint than I am here!
@Mrzhutch
Thanks for stopping by! Lots of Jack’s old videos are on YouTube. Definitely fun to see how ahead of his time this guy was.
Crazy timing on this Darrin. I just put together a video and put it on my blog where I go through what foods I bought at the grocery store one week. It’s pretty similar to the flowchart. Take a look:
http://mikenavin.com/diet/healthy-grocery-shopping-list/
And I agree on the issue of organic. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with eating organic but, at the same time, I get a little miffed at some of the organic crowd that almost scare people to death that if they don’t eat organic, they’re going to die from chemical treatments. I think I’ll take my chances on just eating a non-organic apple rather than a box of Oreo cookies.
@Mike
Just checked out your post. Looks really good to me!
Love the flowchart! Grocery shopping certainly isn’t my expertise. I’m safest making a list for my wife and letting her do the shopping so I avoid all temptation around me. That or ensuring that I’m completed full before going.
That flow charts pretty gnarly. The advice I’ve always followed, can’t remember where it came from, is just stick to the outer edge of the supermarket and don’t go down any of the aisles. That’s where all the real food is.
I like the flow chart, it’s pretty funny. Luckily I have a wife that is in to fitness as much as I am who does the shopping, and cooking, and so much more. That reminds me, I have to go tell her how awesome she is! 🙂
-Kelly
Love the chart!
@Dave
I’m jealous. Putting up with the crowds at the grocery store on Sundays is not one of my favorites. Then again, it’s better than cleaning the house and doing laundry!
@Brad
Thanks for stopping by, man! “The Perimeter Plan” is another easy-to-remember hack that will make it easier to load up on meat and veggies at the expense of processed carbs.
@Kelly
Haha. You’re such a good guy!
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