This is the first website I've used to assist me with losing weight. I'm going grocery shopping tonight to make sure I have what I need to eat healthy. Does anyone have any suggestions on what items would be great to start with? Thanks!!
Lots of veggies and fruit - depending, of course, on how many you are shopping for. :)
what i like to do is plan out all my meals for the week ahead of time and only buy what I need for that plus a few extra things.
seems like a lot to plan out, what, 35 meals plus snacks, but it's not too bad.
my breakfast, lunch and snacks tend to be the same Monday - Friday most weeks to it's only the dinners I plan. Plus I don't plan the weekend, since I never know what I'll be doign :-)
it all depends on what you like :-)
Thanks! thank goodness i like veggies and fruit... it's just hard to find variety sometimes. Take care! 
I wrote a Grocery Shopping the Dieters Way on my blog. Maybe my little list would help. It's not quite "healthy" but more "alternative ways to satisfy my 'fat' brain"
Hungry-Girl also did a Grocery Shopping List that might be helpful. I love HG! She's where I get my ideas from.
Original Post by x17star17x:
I wrote a Grocery Shopping the Dieters Way on my blog. Maybe my little list would help. It's not quite "healthy" but more "alternative ways to satisfy my 'fat' brain"
Hungry-Girl also did a Grocery Shopping List that might be helpful. I love HG! She's where I get my ideas from.
Those lists are great!! thanks for sharing!
I second what an earlier poster said about staying away from the processed foods. I recently stopped buying them and not only do I feel healthier, but I've found that I'm saving money on groceries too!
Another thing to keep in mind is that if it's in your home, you'll eat it. When I take something off the shelf in the store, I stop and think about whether it's good for me or whether it's just a 'junk' craving. It's a LOT easier to resist temptation at home if there's no junky food to tempt you!
Finally, I would really suggest things that come in 'snack' or '100 cal' packs. If you want a quick snack, it's super easy to grab one of the packs and they are pretty much the perfect small portion size. I also like the 100 cal packs or 100 cal ice cream (Slim-a-bear makes tasty ice cream sandwiches and fudge bars which are 100 cals each!) as my 'splurge' dessert if I'm craving at night.
Good luck with your shopping!
No problem :)
HG just came out with a cookbook too. I haven't bought it yet, but I hear it's awesome. You can probably find it in the grocery store book isle.
Welcome to CC btw :)
Here's a list of the world's healthiest foods, you probably want to pick some of these up. :)
The people I know who've had the most success have cut out the white stuff: no flour (or rarely, but then whole-wheat), no sugar, no dairy, no rice (or again, rarely, but brown short-grain).
Sadly, I am not that strong, but I'm working on it. :)
the best tip I have ever recieved is to shop only (or as much as possible) around the perimeter of the grocery store. That is where all of the fresh produce, meats etc etc are and it means you avoid all of the junk food. That's not so much of a list as it is a guideline, but it helps you pick better foods if you stay out of the junky aisles.
Good Luck!
A few things that work for me:
Plan at least a few meals ahead of time. If you are like me and get grumpy if you are tied to a plan you no longer want, leave wiggle room. Bake up several chicken breasts, but only minimally season them to start. That way your leftover can become chicken fettuccine or BBQ chicken instead of chicken caesar salad on a whim.
I always get a basket, not a cart, but I think that's for my budgeting and small refrigerator.
Start in produce and get lots of veggies. That way, your basket starts getting full and heavy with good stuff-one benefit of the basket! My staples include:
-Green Beans-easy to blanch and toss with some almonds
-Broccoli-great steamed and you can cut some up raw for snacks at work
-Carrots-go well with the raw broccoli as a snack
-Apples-who doesn't love em? Jonagolds and honeycrisps are my favs
-Potatoes-a lot of nutrition in them, so many varieties
-Romaine hearts-keep surprisingly well and great for a quick salad
Rice is my friend. Great base for so many meals and if you make a couple cups(dry measure) it will last in the fridge for a few days. Also helps with changing your meals on a whim. Microwave rice cookers rock! Pick up some orzo and low sodium chicken stock to make homemade rice pilaf without so much fat and salt!
Lean protein-chicken and pork are my favs. Most people shy away from pork, but it is extraordinarily high in some nutrients and you can cut the fat off the outside of a chop easily. Aidell's chicken sausages come in a wide variety and are just decadent enough to sate a craving for rich tasting food, but not as bad as you would think.
If you are going to venture into the frozen section, know exactly what you are getting (frozen veggies, ice cream, etc). That way you won't get tempted by microwave meals, pot pies, a zillion flavors of ice cream, pound cake, fries, get the picture? For ice cream, the skinny cow sandwiches are pretty darn good.
Avoid, if you can, processed foods. Even sauces and marinades are high in sugars and sodium, both diet killers. I tend to make things like marinara from scratch in large batches and then can or freeze single servings for later.
Help yourself out a lot by going to a healthier store like Sprouts, Whole Foods, Wild Oats, Trader Joe's and the like instead of a traditional grocery store. Your choices for better foods will be made automatically easier, but still read labels and shy away from white flour (enriched or not!) and sugar. Look for natural sweetners like cane juice, agave nectar, and brown rice syrup. Read every single label before you buy anything.
For breads, I like sprouted grain and live grains.....anything Ezekiel. They make all kinds of suff without flour....bread, even cinnamon raisin bread, buns, tortillas, lots of great stuff. Take butter and/or margerine completely out of your diet. You simply don't need them or their many calories.
Here's an easy one.......go to your fridge and throw out every salad dressing and sauce. Then go replace them with Walden Farms brand. Everything they make is ZERO calorie. Granted, per serving some contain a "trace calorie" so if you used the whole bottle you would have 10-15 calories to deal with (big whoop!) They make salad dressings, BBQ sauce, jams, even chocolate sauce! I know a couple people who lost several pounds in a couple months and this is the ONLY thing they did!
Look at your choices, be creative......use calorie free 1000 island instead of mayo for instance. When you get creative with your eating, it will be more fun and way less tedious and you will enjoy getting healthy and lose the weight you need to all while still eating yummy stuff!
The best advise is to take your time while shopping, don't go while starving, and enjoy all the choices you are presented with......then make wise choices.
Lastly, as an ice cream lover I can tell you the soy creams and rice dreams that are out there now are really good and a good idea. I LOVE SOY DELICIOUS cappacino.....YUM! You can make a hot fudge sundae with any of them, use the zero cal chocolate sauce and go crazy with SOY whipped cream (yeat anothergreat invention!) for less than 250 cals. Some flavors eeven put you under 200!!! And you will be satisfied. Fun, huh? Losing weight can be! 
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