's motd Sat 5/29/2010

[Guest guest]

WALK ON BY

Saturday, 29 May 2010

Oh, Saturday...it's the day of temptation. That is, when it comes to food! See, Saturday is the big grocery shopping day for many Americans. And grocery shopping has changed a lot since I was a kid. Gone are the days of the little mom-and-pop markets of my past. Most of us do our grocery shopping these days at one of the big chain stores.

Walmart Supercenters are combination department and grocery stores. Target does the same combination in it's Super Target stores. Then there are the big membership chains that sell groceries in bulk, like Sam's Club and Costco. These stores are huge! I wonder how many of the old corner markets of yesteryear would fit into one of them...probably a hundred!Now you know what happens when you shop at many of these grocery giants, don't you? Well...you eat! Oh, you know how it is. Most supermarkets set up little stands throughout the store where you can taste free samples of food...lots of them! The store has employees manning each little stand handing out one food sample after another. "Would you like to taste Nestle's new chocolate-chip cookie, Mam? All you have to do is slice them from the roll of dough, pop them in the oven and when they're done, here's what you get. Try one!"

At the entrance to the frozen foods section, there's someone else. "Good morning, Mam. You've got to try this fettucini alfredo from Stouffers. The sauce is divine. Try a sample. You'll want to buy a box to take home, I'm sure."You walk past the meat section and, wouldn't you know, someone's handing out buffalo wingettes to sample. "Oh, wait 'til you try the sauce we put on the wings. And it's on special this week, too...only $1.99!"And there you go, walking around the store tasting this food and that food. And when you taste something you really like, a package of that food could very well end up in your shopping cart. (Hey, that's their plan!) Before leaving the store, you could easily end up consuming hundreds of calories on your innocent little Saturday visit to the supermarket. I even know people who go to the market on Saturdays and end up having lunch, without even spending a dime!Hey, I thought those small neighborhood grocery stores were tempting but today's superstores make it nearly impossible not to snack as you're shopping. And you're likely to see more of those food samples on Saturday than any other day of the week. (The stores know when they'll have even more shoppers.)

So what should you do? Well, maybe you should have lunch before you go grocery shopping. Or you could shop with tape covering your mouth. LOL. Hey, you could even wear a T-shirt that reads...Please do not feed this shopper! Look, you should go to the supermarket, shopping list in hand and shop only for the foods that're going to help you stay on program. And you know what those foods are, too. (No, it's not a small plate of meatballs smothered in mozzarella cheese.) The best way to shop and not snack your way through the store is to simply say "No, thank you," when you're offered a sample mini-chocolate eclair.And the more often you say no, the stronger you'll get when faced with samples in the supermarket. Stores offer samples to promote their foods and to get you to spend more money while you're there. And let's face it, the majority of those samples are very fattening. If you buy and bring them into your home, you can recreate the scene at the supermarket and if you do that, there will be a weight-gain coming your way.Now please, don't bring these foods home with you when you're working to stay on program. If you're out grocery shopping on this Saturday and run into some of those food sample stands in the store, remember to...walk on by!Love,

[Guest guest]

Even when I was at my worst eating periods, I had a few fast rules of eating behaviour. One was to never eat at work (unless it was in the lunch room) and that meant no donuts, bagels, potlucks, candy or food at my desk. The other was no taste tests at the super market. Another was not eating in the car or at the computer. Anyways, it was just to keep eating from becoming a all day event or to keep from all the mindless eating.

It's amazing to me I could have rules like these and stick to them, but once I walked in the door at home, I had NO rules of eating! Lol.

Taste tests in the supermarket clog up the flow of cart traffic and annoy me. I think there are times it would be nice to try a bit of a product before buying it, but for me to try it, it would have to be a serious consideration in buying it, not using it as a source of food for the day.

Oh, and I agree, eating before shopping is vital! It has saved me many times from impulse buying. I also use a list and stick to it!

   

annh

My Weight Loss Journal: The Little Bowl

-- 's motd Sat 5/29/2010

WALK ON BY

Saturday, 29 May 2010

Oh, Saturday...it's the day of temptation. That is, when it comes to food! See, Saturday is the big grocery shopping day for many Americans. And grocery shopping has changed a lot since I was a kid. Gone are the days of the little mom-and-pop markets of my past. Most of us do our grocery shopping these days at one of the big chain stores.

Walmart Supercenters are combination department and grocery stores. Target does the same combination in it's Super Target stores. Then there are the big membership chains that sell groceries in bulk, like Sam's Club and Costco. These stores are huge! I wonder how many of the old corner markets of yesteryear would fit into one of them...probably a hundred!Now you know what happens when you shop at many of these grocery giants, don't you? Well...you eat! Oh, you know how it is. Most supermarkets set up little stands throughout the store where you can taste free samples of food...lots of them! The store has employees manning each little stand handing out one food sample after another. "Would you like to taste Nestle's new chocolate-chip cookie, Mam? All you have to do is slice them from the roll of dough, pop them in the oven and when they're done, here's what you get. Try one!"

At the entrance to the frozen foods section, there's someone else. "Good morning, Mam. You've got to try this fettucini alfredo from Stouffers. The sauce is divine. Try a sample. You'll want to buy a box to take home, I'm sure."You walk past the meat section and, wouldn't you know, someone's handing out buffalo wingettes to sample. "Oh, wait 'til you try the sauce we put on the wings. And it's on special this week, too...only $1.99!"And there you go, walking around the store tasting this food and that food. And when you taste something you really like, a package of that food could very well end up in your shopping cart. (Hey, that's their plan!) Before leaving the store, you could easily end up consuming hundreds of calories on your innocent little Saturday visit to the supermarket. I even know people who go to the market on Saturdays and end up having lunch, without even spending a dime!Hey, I thought those small neighborhood grocery stores were tempting but today's superstores make it nearly impossible not to snack as you're shopping. And you're likely to see more of those food samples on Saturday than any other day of the week. (The stores know when they'll have even more shoppers.)

So what should you do? Well, maybe you should have lunch before you go grocery shopping. Or you could shop with tape covering your mouth. LOL. Hey, you could even wear a T-shirt that reads...Please do not feed this shopper! Look, you should go to the supermarket, shopping list in hand and shop only for the foods that're going to help you stay on program. And you know what those foods are, too. (No, it's not a small plate of meatballs smothered in mozzarella cheese.) The best way to shop and not snack your way through the store is to simply say "No, thank you," when you're offered a sample mini-chocolate eclair.And the more often you say no, the stronger you'll get when faced with samples in the supermarket. Stores offer samples to promote their foods and to get you to spend more money while you're there. And let's face it, the majority of those samples are very fattening. If you buy and bring them into your home, you can recreate the scene at the supermarket and if you do that, there will be a weight-gain coming your way.Now please, don't bring these foods home with you when you're working to stay on program. If you're out grocery shopping on this Saturday and run into some of those food sample stands in the store, remember to...walk on by!Love,