FitSugar

Organize Your Health

FitSugar — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 13:30:00 -0700

On the road to becoming the healthy, happy you, it pays to be organized. Keeping a mental list of all your various projects can be overwhelming. There is just no way to remember all those things you need and want to do.

Many of us use day planners for work, so why not use a planner as a tool for your personal life as well? I came across these from lobotoMe.com. Talk about organization! They make notepads for everything.

My favorite is the Feed ME meal planning to do list. It's a pad of 50 sheets ($8) and helps you plan out your meals for an entire week. On the right-hand side, there is a preprinted grocery list so you can keep track of all of the ingredients you need so you are organized when you go to the grocery store. This way you don't wander into the cookie and chip aisle, and hopefully the organized list keeps you from having to make multiple trips back to the store for forgotten ingredients.

I also like the organizeME Weekly Planner ($16 per pad of 60). It's a way to organize all the chores and errands you need to get done in each day, and a way to remember to take care of yourself too. It has a spot to write down what healthy dinner, exercise, and "me time" you have planned Monday through Sunday. It even has a little spot on the bottom to check off when you've had your 8 glasses of water a day. These sheets can tear off and fold to fit in most daily planners.

Taking care of yourself is something you need to do everyday, and sometimes you need to plan for it in advance. I'm all for anything that can make eating healthy, getting exercise, and staying stress-free easier. There's a lot to keep track of, and these day planners can help keep you on track.

Diet Tip: Make a Grocery List

FitSugar — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 10:15:00 -0700

If you are watching what you eat, counting calories or dieting, a trip to the grocery can be really challenging. All those tempting foods shelved right at eye level by your strategic grocer. This is why you need to make a grocery list and stick to it! No picking up those potato chips, which are marked down and prominently displayed at the end of an aisle. Nope. Just follow your list and you will leave the supermarket with the foods you need and not random foods loaded with empty calories!

Making a list and checking it twice is not just for St. Nick. You can and should do it too. It is really helpful if you can plan a few meals while you make your list. That way you will head home with all the necessary ingredients.

When it comes to grocery shopping I find it is also helpful to just shop the perimeter and to avoid shopping hungry.

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Do You Grocery Shop the Same Day Every Week?

FitSugar — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 03:30:12 -0700

I like to go to the grocery store a couple times a week so I can pick up fresh produce and use it up before it goes bad. I typically go the same days - Sunday and Wednesday. What about you?

Send Your Man to the Grocery Store With This List From Men's Health Magazine

FitSugar — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:00:00 -0800

Men's Health is always looking for ways to expand your horizons and not just between the sheets, but on your plate, too. They believe, as do I, that you should try new things and one of those things is exotic and not so exotic foods. The magazine recommends 10 foods to add to your grocery list, and following their lead I thought it would be a good idea to send your man to the grocery store to pick the following items up:

Beets
Cabbage
Guava
Swiss Chard
Cinnamon

If you're curious about the other five foods that made their, read more.

Purslane
Pomegranate Juice
Goji Berries
Dried Plums, aka Prunes
Pumpkin Seeds

To find out why these foods are good for you, check out the article "The 10 Best Foods You Aren't Eating." Some of these foods may already be a part of your diet or in your spice rack (I'm sure Men's Health can make a double entendre out of that one), but if there are some new ones on the list, like purslane (a weed that's high in omega-3 fatty acids), then give them a try.

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Diet Tip: Don't Grocery Shop Hungry

FitSugar — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 12:30:00 -0700

Recently, I read the saga of some chocolate covered raisins over at The Weighting Game blog. It's entertaining and informative with the moral of the story being - you just shouldn't enter a grocery store on an empty stomach, no matter what.

Whether you are dieting or not, chances are you will listen to the grumbles in your tummy rather than your common sense as you walk up and down the aisles. A hungry shopper buys snack foods for quick fixes, completely forgetting about the grocery list designed to make well balanced meals.

If you plan to shop post workout, post work, or pre-meal and are starving, do yourself a favor and buy a little snack first. Get yourself a yogurt, nuts and/or a piece of fruit. Sit in your car and calmly eat your snack. Then reenter the store with normal blood sugar levels and shop with the discipline you have been working on. When you get home, your bags will not be filled with unhealthy snacks, but wholesome good food.

Low in Calorie or Low in Cost?

FitSugar — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 11:00:00 -0800

It is commonly known that high-calorie foods tend to cost less than lower-calorie items at the grocery store.
If you look at canned soup, meat, pasta and etc., the items that are better for you are almost always more expensive (aside from fruits and veggies). When faced with choosing between two items, one low calorie and the other low cost, I typically chose the one low in calories - though it is often a difficult decision to make when looking at my food budget. Of course I am curious about you guys - are you more inclined to go with an item based on its calories or cost?

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If You Want Something Done Right...

FitSugar — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 02:00:00 -0700

...then don't send your husband to do it.

No, honestly I don't believe that theory at all, but after reading a recent report on Yahoo News, I feel the issue should be addressed when it comes to grocery shopping.

Apparently, when it comes to the grocery store, our male counterparts are totally and utterly overwhelmed. On top of that, they have tunnel vision when it comes to groceries and may end up buying only what they know best, aka meat, meat and more meat. Not exactly fitting into Meatless Mondays, now is it?

I can see it now, "Organic raw almonds? Oh, I just remember we needed nuts and [proud look comes across his face] these tins of honey-roasted-candy-coated peanuts were two for one, so I got four." So what's a busy woman in the 21st century, who's trying to keep to a healthy diet, to do? Well if you feel like the male grocery shopper in your life is coming home in a cold sweat armed with, well cold cuts then just make him a detailed list of the things you must have. This way you'll be sure to get all the low calorie, healthy and organic goodies you are accustomed to getting yourself, without actually having to get them yourself. Heck, Men's Health even has a pre-made list you can download here.

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Computerized Shopping Carts? For Real

FitSugar — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 02:00:00 -0800

Lost in the grocery store? Not anymore.
Check this out. It's still being developed, but it's great knowing that people are working on a computer interface with LCD screen that's attached to the shopping cart. Talk about high-tech food shopping.

This handy little device will keep a running tally of all of the items in your cart, which will save you time when you go to check out. Plus it will help you keep track of your list - did you get toilet paper or not.

Looking for organic ketchup? No problem - it'll help you locate items too in the maze of ailses. I know when I'm wandering down aisles looking, I pick up a few unnecessary snacks along the way and get frustrated because I can't find what I'm looking for.

It'll save you time and hopefully create an overall pleasant grocery shopping experience. You'll be able to get in, get what you need, and get out.

Get the Most Nutrition For Your Dollar

FitSugar — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:15:08 -0700

It can be hard to find healthy foods that don't break the bank - as I've mentioned before, nutrition often comes with a high price tag. A new tool may be what consumers need to find the biggest health bang for their buck.

The Affordable Nutrition Index (ANI) is a rating system that evaluates food based on its health and price value, and over 300 foods were evaluated and given a nutrition-value-per-dollar score. Basically the ANI is a list that lets consumers know what items are the most nutritious while also having the smallest price tag.

The food scores were based on the levels of nine essential nutrients - protein, fiber, iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium, and vitamins A, C, and E - and what to avoid - saturated fat, added sugars, and sodium.

To see which foods ranked high on the ANI, read more.

Though the complete list has not been released, highlights of it were introduced at the American Dietetic Association's Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo:

Carrots, sweet potatoes, and broccoli are at the top of the ANI scale. Other veggies that rank high are peas, string beans, squash, and lettuce.
Oranges and bananas are the top fruits, while raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, grapes, nectarines, and apples also rank high.
Vegetable soups especially of the low-sodium variety are also seen as being good values.

Diet Tip: Shop the Perimeter

FitSugar — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 03:30:00 -0700

Location is everything in the grocery store. Food placement aisle by aisle, shelf by shelf, has been studied to almost a science. Have you ever noticed that when you need to run into the grocery to pick up just a gallon of milk or some eggs you have to walk through the entire store, past cookies, chips, and soda pop just to reach the dairy aisle.

Yep, the layout of the products is literally designed to test your willpower. So my tip to you is when you visit the grocery for a full shopping excursion SHOP the PERIMETER of the store. This is where you will find all your essentials: produce, meat, dairy and eggs. If you must venture into a center aisle for some Dijon mustard (say you are making your own low fat salad dressing), stay focused. Select what you need and move on. Don't be tempted by sale items like donuts placed strategically next to the whole grain breads, or the two-for-one super sized bags of Doritos next to the spelt pretzels (which are truly high in fiber!!!).

Fit's Tip: I know this seems obvious, but don't go to grocery store without a list. If you have a list and don't stray from it, chances are slim of coming home with a food item you really don't need.