Essentials to Maintaining a Clean Diet
Posted by connie b on

- Never go to the grocery store hungry! This seems to be a huge factor in unnecessary purchases once you hit the check out counter. If you’re hungry you’re more likely to grab items off the shelf that look good to eat. Remember, MIND OVER MATTER!
- Bring only cash! How you pay for your groceries may actually influence how much impulse buying you do on cheat foods, according to research from Cornell University. The researchers looked at register receipts over a six-month period from a random sample of 1,000 loyal shoppers at a supermarket chain. The scientists studied what types of foods were purchased in 100 different food categories as well as the payment method. They reported in a 2011 issue of the Journal of Consumer Research that when shoppers used a credit or debit card, they made more impulse buys on “unhealthy” food products than when they used cash.
- Read the labels! More times than none people don’t even read the labels on packaged food. Food companies advertise that their food is healthier by using marketing tactics like writing “Low Calorie” or “Fat Free” etc. on the front of their product. Well, although they may be low calorie or do not contain and fat, read the label because chances are it’s packed with all sorts of stuff you probably can’t even pronounce! Trust me, just put it back on the shelf and walk away. This leads me to the next topic…
- If you can’t pronounce it, it isn’t good for you! The less “ingredients” a food has, the better it is for you. For example, a bag of Hot Cheetos contains 46 ingredients. FORTY-SIX! Now, if you ask me I’d much rather have a snack that contains ONE ingredient like an apple. Not only is an apple extremely nutrient dense (meaning that it provides substantial amounts of vitamins and minerals and relatively few calories), but it doesn’t contain ingredients like enriched corn meal, ferrous sulfate, and thiamin mononitrate (the first three of 46 ingredients found in a bag of Hot Cheetos).
- Avoid the isles! If you want to stick to a clean diet, then shopping on the rim of the grocery store is where most of your shopping will take place. Fresh fruits, vegetables, and lean meats! Your shopping in the isles should be limited to beans, rice and legumes.
Elizabeth Brown is 22 years old born and raised in San Jose, California. Sheis a full time student in the process of transferring to San Jose State University to complete her Bachelors of Science degree in Kinesiology. As Bodybuilding.com’s 2012 Fit USA Winner, Fitness Model, Spokes Model for Bodybuilding.com’s upcoming B-Elite clothing series, NPC Bikini Competitor, and newly Certified Personal Trainer with the National Academy of Sports Medicine, she aspires to build a career in the Health and Fitness industry to further help and inspire others to achieve their fitness goals.