Healthy Grocery Shopping

A key step for losing weight, keeping the weight off, and staying healthy is learning how to buy the right foods at the store.

Smart shopping
Avoid buying foods in bulk and shopping in warehouse-type stores if you can. Getting a good deal can lead to overeating. If you do buy large amounts of a food, divide it into smaller portion sizes and store what you will not use right away.

Know how to read food labels
Learn how to read the Nutrition Facts labels on food packages.

Know what the serving size is and the amount of calories, fat, protein, and carbohydrates per serving.

Learn how to tell the difference between foods that are truly organic. Two words on labels that can be misleading are "natural" and "pure." See also: Reading food labels

Plan ahead
Before you buy food for the week, think about your schedule:

• When and where you will be eating over the next week?
• How much time will you have to cook?

Then, plan your meals before you shop. This can keep you from buying whatever foods look good to you, whether or not they are healthy.

Make a shopping list. Remember to take it with you, and promise yourself you will not buy things that are not on it.

Never go food shopping when you are hungry. You will make better choices if you shop after you have had a healthy meal or snack.

Be sure to check out our Weight Loss Health Guide for more information, resources, health and behavior assessments and other tools to help you learn more about how to lose and keep off excess weight.