Atkins Shopping Tips

 

When you start the Atkins diet, you are entering a whole new world of eating. And nowhere is it more evident than in the supermarket. Suddenly, all your reserve foods like mac and cheese, pasta, and bread are no longer on your shopping list. 

When you go shopping the first few times, you can feel like a fish out of water. However, with a little practice, you will be as comfortable as with your previous shopping lists.

Successful Atkins purchases start before you hit the store. There are many resources for online shopping lists and Atkins books.

Before you go to the store, make a list of recipes for the week and then decide what you will need to prepare each meal. Make sure to buy low-carb snacks for between meals.

Also, plan meal modifications for other people in your household. You won't be able to prepare totally different meals for yourself and your family in the long run. 

The best approach is to use the main meat dish for the whole family's meal and then a carbohydrate side dish for the 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, it's time to hit the grocery store. When you arrive, buy your protein items and produce first.

This may seem very simple and like it doesn't make much of a difference, but it will. Once you've filled your cart with all the acceptable foods, there won't be room for many more.

Consider buying your meat in bulk. This will save you a lot of money if you know where to get family-size meat packages.

When you buy meat in bulk, you can also cook it in bulk. Spending time a few days a week cooking the meat makes it easy to stick to the Atkins plan. 

You can cook your meat beforehand and have it ready for when you need it. You can buy ground beef, chicken pieces, small steaks, and even shellfish in bulk.

Cheese, if you can tolerate it, can also be purchased in bulk. Many stores offer store-brand cheese in large bricks. You will need to be sure to read the labels before purchasing any cheese.

Make sure when you eat cheese you eat some fiber (salad or raw vegetables), too. Having large blocks of your favorite cheeses on hand can make it easy to have a quick snack between meals.

As you walk through the store, stick to the outer edges. The outside corridors have the freshest food. Think of your neighborhood grocery store.

Most of the time, the deli, meat counter, and produce section are located along the sides of the store with the packaged items in the aisles. 

This is especially important if you are in the early stages of the Atkins diet. You will need to stay away from all packaged foods during induction, even low carb packaged foods. Once you add more grams of carbohydrate to your daily limit, you can start experimenting with low-carb packaged foods.

That leads to the next important tip: read the labels! The fact that an article says that it is low in carbohydrates, it may have hidden sugars. Do your research at the grocery store so you don't come home with products that will cause you to gain weight.

Buying the Atkins diet will take some getting used to. You'll be browsing parts of the grocery store that you may not be familiar with.

You will also buy items that you have never cooked before. However, with planning and dedication, low-carb shopping will be easier.

 Just remember to make a list before visiting the store and stay in the outside aisles of the store. In no time, you'll be a seasoned low carb shopper.