Slim for Life (11 page)

If you do have to venture into the center aisles for something, look on the bottom shelves. The higher-profit items—the ones that are more highly processed and that are made cheaply with fake, crap ingredients—are placed at eye level. The healthier foods that cost food companies more to produce are usually placed on lower shelves to incentivize you to buy the higher-profit item.

According to a recent study, published in the
Journal of Marketing Research,
on embodied cognition (the notion that physical
movement affects our cognitive function and our decision-making processes), if you walk the aisles of a supermarket with a shopping cart instead of a basket, you’re likely to make healthier choices. Basket shoppers are more likely to choose sweets and other empty-calorie foods over healthy and nutritious items, because holding a basket can trigger a desire for instant gratification. But when you’re pushing a cart, you’re often keeping your arms extended, a body language “repeatedly associated with rejecting undesired objects.” So the next time you’re at your local market, grab the cart over the basket. And if all else fails, you can burn some calories riding it like a scooter. That’s what I always do.

Do not, under any avoidable circumstances, go grocery shopping when you’re hungry. This is a recipe for disaster. Being hungry impairs our judgment and compromises our willpower, leading us to buy too much food and the wrong kinds. Not only is that bad for your diet, it’s also bad for your pocketbook. Be sure you put some food in your belly
before
you hit the supermarket.

Cheesy title aside, my point is that you should make a grocery list and check it
twice. This will allow you to make better decisions, because as you plan out your weekly meals, the unhealthy foods won’t be right in front of you, tempting you. In addition, the list becomes a directive, so you aren’t wandering aimlessly down those dangerous center aisles undecided, subjecting yourself to fattening impulse-buys.

If you have little ones in your life, don’t take them with you to the market, if you can avoid it. I learned this one the hard way, strolling down the cereal aisle with my two-year-old. She, of course, wanted every box of crap with a cartoon on it, and when I wouldn’t put it in the cart, a tantrum ensued. Kids are kids; we are the adults. It’s our job to protect them and make healthy decisions for the whole family. Willpower is tough enough to exert for ourselves without the added stress of coping with a tantrum that’s wearing you down. Even if your kids are past the “terrible twos” stage, do you really need the pressure of arguments over Froot Loops?

Ditch your sweats and slide into jeans on your next
shopping trip. This will serve as a reminder that you still want to fit in them, and so will incentivize you from succumbing to cravings or buying what you don’t need.

I mentioned in
Chapter 1
that you should be wary of fat-free foods because they have a ton of fillers and junk in them to compensate for their lack of texture and flavor. Conversely, you don’t need
all
the fat in the full-fat versions either. We need a certain amount of healthy fat in our diet, but fat is still high in calories (9 calories per gram, as opposed to 4 calories per gram for protein and carbs). For this reason, the low-fat option is optimal; you get the nutritional benefit without the added calories. Choose low-fat milk, low-fat Greek yogurt, low-fat cottage cheese, and leaner cuts of meat.

Get 100 percent whole-grain versions of any and all grains. Your breads, pastas, cereals, baked goods, and of course grain side dishes must be whole. Don’t be tricked by the labels
multigrain, seven-grain, twelve-grain,
or
organic flour.
This is important because
100 percent whole-grain
means that neither the nutrients nor the fiber have been removed during processing. Eating whole grains is associated with numerous health benefits, from lowering blood pressure to preventing type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Plus, the fiber content stabilizes our blood sugar and keeps us fuller longer, helping us to eat less. Be sure the front of the package says “100% whole grain” or has the orange “whole grains” stamp on it. If you still aren’t sure, check the ingredients list.

Here’s a list of common whole grains you can find. For information on each
one, what it is, and how to eat it, check out this link to the Whole Grain Council:
www.wholegrainscouncil.org/whole-grains-101/whole-grains-a-to-z
.

When you read the package label, all the grains and flours it lists should be preceded by the word
whole
. Suppose you see a package that says “whole wheat.” That’s considered whole grain, according to the Whole Grain Commission; but unless it says “100% whole grain,” chances are the product contains 100 percent refined whole-wheat flour. Obviously, 100 percent whole-grain selections are the best option. Your next best choice is 100 percent whole-wheat flour. Here are some of my favorite 100 percent whole-grain and whole-wheat selections for pastas, breads, and cereals:

Choose from these pastas:

Choose from these cereals:

Choose from these breads:

Choose from these side dishes:

Choose from these brands:

You’re not limited to the items in the lists above; I just want to give you a little direction. As long as you follow the general guidelines I’ve outlined, you’ll be fine.

Choosing seafood can be confusing, especially with regard to how it affects your health and your waistline. Here are a few simple rules to follow that will keep you swimming in the right direction without having to fight upstream:

Here’s my simple go- to list. All these choices are good, but the starred fishes are the best slim catch, as they’re the leanest and lowest in calories:

When buying
fruits and veggies, make sure they aren’t
precut. Produce that has been precut has been exposed to the air and is subsequently being “oxidized.” The fruit or vegetable is losing its nutrients and aging. Have you ever seen an apple an hour after you’ve taken a bite from it? It’s all brown, right? That’s oxidization at work for you.
Don’t be lazy. I mean really, how hard is it to eat it whole or cut it yourself? Precut fruit is more expensive and has fewer metabolism-boosting nutrients.

When you have to hack through layers of
packaging and plastic to get to your food, it’s most likely bad for you. Plus, much of that plastic packaging is loaded with endocrine-disrupting perfluorochemicals (
PFCs). Companies aren’t required to phase out the use of these harmful PFCs until 2015, but you can do it now. Try the strategy in the next tip as the ultimate alternative.

Buy foods without bar codes. Think about it. Anything healthy, fresh, and minimally processed has no extra packaging or bar code. Veggies and fruits; grains, beans, and seeds from bulk bins; and meat—they come naturally, without a bar code. So make it your mission to wear out the cashier by having him or her look up the cost of all your healthy food choices!

The inside of many food cans is laced with a toxic coating called bisphenol A (
BPA). Numerous studies have shown the effects of this dangerous chemical on our health. Research also suggests that BPA is directly linked to childhood obesity. Don’t think you’re off the hook, grown-up! It makes adults fat, too. And here’s how: BPA can act like the female hormone estrogen, and when it’s out of whack, it can throw off our endocrine system and trigger our fat cells to grow. Look for foods packed in glass jars instead of cans; get veggies fresh or frozen; buy beans from bulk bins. If you must buy
canned, try to make sure the label says “BPA-free” before you purchase the product.

As we established in
Chapter 1
, the quality of the food you eat is critical to cracking
Slim for Life
. However, when it comes to
meat, it’s not just the quality that matters—the cut of the meat matters too. Even though something may be healthy, it doesn’t mean that it’s low in calories. Here are the slimmest cuts of meat for all you carnivores out there seeking to look svelte: