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Atkins Shopping Tips
When you
start the Atkins diet, you are entering a new world of eating. And
nowhere is that more apparent than at the supermarket. Suddenly, all of
your stand-by foods like macaroni and cheese, pasta and bread are no
longer on your shopping list. When you go shopping for the first few
times you may feel like a fish out of water. However, with a bit of
practice you’ll feel just as comfortable as you were with your previous
shopping lists.
Successful
Atkins shopping starts before you reach the store. There are many
resources for shopping lists online and in Atkins books. Before you
head for the store, make a list of the week’s recipes and then decide
what you’ll need to make each meal. Make sure to purchase low-carb
snacks for in between meals.
Also,
plan for modifications to the meals for other people in your home. You
won’t be able to make totally different meals for yourself and your
family for the long term. The best approach is to use the main meat
dish for your meal for the entire family and then a carbohydrate side
dish for your family. For example, if you are eating meatloaf you can
add half a potato for the other members of your family.
Once
you’ve made your meal plan for the week, its time to hit the store.
When you arrive, buy your protein items and produce first. This may
sound very simple and like it won’t make much difference, but it will.
Once you’ve filled your cart with all of the acceptable foods, there
won’t be room for much more.
Consider
buying your meat in bulk. This will save you lots of money if you know
where to get family sized packages of meat. When you buy meat in large
quantities, you can also cook it in bulk as well. Taking time a few
days per week to cook meat makes it simple to follow the Atkins plan.
You can cook your meat before hand and have it ready to go when you
need it. You can purchase ground beef, chicken pieces, small steaks and
even seafood in bulk.
Cheese,
if you can tolerate it, can also be purchased in bulk. Many stores
offer store-brand cheese in large bricks. You’ll need to make sure to
read the labels before you purchase any cheese. Make sure that when you
eat cheese to eat some fiber (salad or raw veggies) as well. Having
large blocks of your favorite cheeses on hand can make it easy to grab
a quick snack between meals.
As you
walk around the store, stick to the outer edges. The outer aisles have
the freshest food. Think about your neighborhood grocery store. Most
often the deli, the meat counter and the produce section are all along
the sides of the store with the packaged items in the aisles. This is
especially important if you are in the initial phases of the Atkins
diet. You’ll want to stay away from all packaged foods during
induction, even if they are low carb packaged foods. Once you add more
carbohydrate grams to your daily limit, you can start to experiment
with low-carb packaged foods.
That
leads to the next important tip – read the labels! Just because an item
says it is low carb, it may have hidden sugars. Do your investigative
work at the grocery store so you won’t get home with products that
cause you to gain weight.
Shopping
for the Atkins diet will take some time to get used to. You’ll be
navigating parts of the grocery store that you may not be familiar
with. You’ll also be purchasing items you’ve never cooked before.
However, with planning and dedication low carb shopping will become
easier. Just remember to make a list before you visit the store and
stay toward the outer aisles of the grocery store. In no time, you’ll
be an experienced low carb shopper.
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