Part 5: Choosing the Right Foods
This is always a tricky subject. Choosing the right foods to both eat and purchase is often strenuous and many people will either give up and simply buy whatever is on the shelf or they will go overboard and seek out only the most specific things and will never diversify their pallet. In general there are a few good tips to follow:
1. Buy lots of produce. It is generally cheap, healthy, and will last a while.
2. Buy plenty of low calorie snacks that can keep you going through out the day or make your own.
3. Sugar free and fat free can be good choices for some foods but bad choices for others (sugar free cakes are usually higher in fat and fat free Italian ices are horribly high in sugar).
4. Try to find the lowest calorie type of that food and see if it is good (you may be surprised by the quality you find).
5. If you are looking to stay fit then try to maximize the protein content of the food while minimizing the fat content and carb content.
6. Look out for the labels that claim "organic" or "multi-grain" because these often are simply used to lure you into buying an unhealthy food.
7. "Reduced fat" is not the same as "fat free".
8. Avoid most snack foods such as potato chips or crackers. These are usually high in calories and are designed not to fill you up.
9. Be weary of spreads and dips. They can often be higher in calories than the substances you are dipping.
10. Don't waste your time with weight watchers snacks or other variations (skinny cow, etc.) because they are overly priced and are usually not very healthy.
11. Look to make your own delights such as muffins, cakes, brownies because there are many more affordable healthy options.
12. Microwavable meals are usually the worst options: they are small, salty, and jam packed with fat.
13. Stay clear of any prepared sandwiches or wraps because they will almost certainly contain extra sauces and additions which make the food high in fat and low in nutrition.
14. Go for the healthy foods first! Don't waste your food budget on snacks and forget to add your dinners and lunches.