Dieters' Rules for Grocery Shopping

The rules for grocery shopping are fairly simple:

1. Plan what you're going to buy - make a list.
2. Stick to the list.
3. Do not shop while hungry.

It's a rare occasion when I actually brave the supermarket to do a grocery shop. Normally I will do it online, in the safety of my home. No distractions and no impulse purchases.

Before I left the house, I planned my week. Dinners for each night between Sunday and Thursday - loads of healthy fresh produce and mostly lean produce.

The shops were absolute mayhem. So many people. I assume that, like me, people avoided doing groceries on Saturday because of the massive storms we had. But it is no wonder I avoid it as much as possible. People really are idiots en mass. A group of university-aged lasses were blocking one aisle, giggling and having a grand chat. People leaving their trolleys unattended whle looping back half an aisle to get an item they had forgotten. It was slow going.

So slow that I worked up an appetite while shopping and started adding things to the trolley that were not on my list. A pack of snickers pods and a packet of soy crisps were the two main culprits.

By the time I'd finished shopping (almost 90 minutes later), I was famished. To the point of feeling ill. The soy crisps were opened when I got to the car and several handfuls consumed before I drove out of the car park.

The pods were downed in about 15 minutes in front of the computer. 866 calories just like that. Another 900 calories consumed from snacking on the soy crisps. I wasn't even hungry, but the taste was too good - out of control I continued to shovel them into my mouth until I felt ill.

I was so stuffed from the pig out I didn't want dinner. So, I didn't cook it.

Ended up being hungry at about 10pm and had a slice of cheese on a sandwich thin. Went to sleep feeling miserable.

But I have a plan for the rest of the week - today I go back to PT, and the rest of the week I walk/cycle to or from work at least one trip each day. Healthy meals have been sorted and I have pampering time scheduled.

As I was once reminded, I didn't get fat overnight, I'm not going to get thin overnight. There will be bumps in the road but I can't keep beating myself up everytime I screw up.