The apartment manager of my complex, a new friend now, shared with me an awesome food shopping tip he got from a trainer he used to work with that also once used to work at a major retail grocery store chain.
The trainer's tip: The freshest and healthiest foods are all located on the perimeter of the store, so shop along the perimeter and avoid the aisles. The foods in the aisles besides things for cooking & baking like spices, flour, oils are typically:
- Junk foods like cookies, candies, chips, and sodas
- Canned, boxed, or frozen foods which contain preservatives & additives for packaging
- High-carb like pastas and cereals
After talking to my friend, I went to a Safeway and a Whole Foods, and sure enough, he was right. The stores have slightly different layouts, but the locations of the freshest and healthiest foods were indeed along the perimeter of the store. I could buy what I needed for dinner, and not walk into any of the aisles. I got even more curious and went to other chain grocery stores, and whadya know...
Most diet plans want you to eat vegetables, fruits, and proteins plus some dairy products, and you literally do not have to go into the aisles to get any of those foods. The highest quality produce is going to be the fresh versions versus the frozen or canned versions because the fresher the produce is the higher its enzyme quality. Nutrients too can be affected by commercial processing.
Now, not all foods that sit along the perimeter are going to be junk
food free, or high-carb, high-fat free. Let's take the bakery section
for example. Bakeries are always on the perimeter and besides the hot
loaves of bread, there are lots of fresh baked sweets like cupcakes,
cookies, and desserts which you don't need to eat.
As well, on the end caps and at the check out counters, you will see lots of high-carb or junk food type foods because these ares easy "impulse buy" zones. I usually get bamboozled into buying a small piece of chocolate at the checkout stand because it just looks better at the checkout counter for some reason. So, in these "watch out" perimeter areas, try and avoid buying the sweets and carbs.
So, next time you're at the grocery store. Try doing all your shopping along the perimeter, and let me know what you find.
