Before you get in the check out line, review your shopping cart one last time.  

Weight Loss Tip 51 – Scan Your Shopping Cart

You made a list and you think you stuck to it.  Then you get home and realize you just fell for the snack trap.  What is the snack trap you may ask?  The snack trap is the grocery

Potato Chips

store.  They purposely place items you don’t need and are of questionable nutritional value on end caps and islands in the store so that you have to walk around them to get to the healthier choices.  These are what I refer to as Temptation Islands.  They are purposely placed in those locations to catch your eye and, if you are hungry, they are nearly irresistible.  

So what is the solution?  You could just not shop and stop eating altogether or even eat all your meals at restaurants.  They would not be healthy for your waist or wallet.  The better solution is to practice a little self-control in the grocery store.  I highly recommend that you review the list and shopping cart for 30-60 seconds before you check out.  I am 100% confident that you will find some unneccessary items in your cart that are not on your list.  Do you really need five boxes of snack cakes that are on sale or the candy that was on clearance?  Put it back and make a move toward better dietary choices.  A study in the British Medical Journal found that ultra-processed foods comprised 57.9% of energy intake in the United States and contributed 89.7% of the caloric intake from added sugars[1].  The American diet historically is made up of about 25% snack foods[2].  If you eat 2000 calories a day, that would be about 500 calories.  Just removing them from your diet is 1 pound of weight loss per week and 52 pounds per year if you don’t add anything back.  If you add two small to medium apples, you will still lose about 26 pounds in a year.  Think about the impact this will have on your health.