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Supermarket Slimdown

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The food that makes it from the store to your cart to your refrigerator or pantry forms the backbone of your weight-loss efforts. When healthful ingredients and snacks are readily available, you'll eat them instead of junk food. It's that simple.

To help you plot a thoughtful course, we scoured the supermarket, aisle by aisle, to identify what's healthy and slimming and what's not. You'll find general guidelines on what to look for as you shop, as well as the best and worst picks in each section.

CEREAL & BREAD SECTIONS

The nutritional key to the cereal and bread sections is to find products with enough fiber to fill you up and keep you feeling satisfied. Here's what to look for:

  • Bread that has at least 2 grams of fiber per slice. These breads will usually list whole-wheat flour as the first ingredient.
  • Cereals with at least 3 grams of fiber per serving. In addition to filling you up, high-fiber cereals can be good sources of antioxidants like vitamin E and selenium, as well as copper, zinc and vitamin B6.
  • Crackers that are not made with partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Seeing the words partially hydrogenated in the ingredient list signals that the product contains heart-unfriendly trans fats. Steer clear.

    Add to your cart
    Oatmeal A heart-healthy breakfast choice: A half-cup of oatmeal, either old-fashioned or quick oats, provides 150 calories, 3 grams of fat (less than 1 gram saturated), 4 grams of fiber and almost no sugar. One packet of instant oatmeal, regular flavor (a bit less than 1/2 cup) contains 100 calories, 2 grams of fat (none saturated), 3 grams of fiber and no sugar. (Limit or avoid flavored oatmeal, though: Some of these products have almost twice as many calories -- owing to added sugar -- as unflavored oatmeal.)

    Healthy crackers make a great snack. Try Keebler Toasteds Savory Crisps, roasted garlic flavor. They have no trans fats, and 17 crackers provide a substantial serving, for just 110 calories and 1.5 grams of fat (none saturated). Or check out Triscuit's new Baked Whole Grain Wheat Crackers, with 120 calories, 4.5 grams of fat (none saturated and no trans fats) and 3 grams of fiber per 16-cracker serving.

    Leave these behind
    Cereal "candy" bars Some cereal-based bars are really just candy in disguise: A small 2-ounce bar can contain as many as 200 calories, 6 grams of fat (3.5 grams saturated) and 21 grams of sugar!

    Most granolas Granola is commonly thought of as a health food, and if you choose wisely, it can be, but read labels carefully: 1/2 cup of Quaker 100% Natural Granola Oats, Honey, & Raisins contains 250 calories, 9 grams of fat (2 grams saturated) and 15 grams of sugar.

    DAIRY SECTION
    The dairy section is also known as your calcium corner. Some pointers:
  • Choose products that provide at least 30 percent of your daily calcium needs per serving. Thirty percent is equivalent to 300 milligrams for women ages 19-50, who need 1,000 milligrams every day.
  • Stick with low- or nonfat dairy products as well as those with the lowest sugar content. Flavored milks and sweetened milk-based drinks can be tasty calcium sources, but beware of their higher calorie, fat and sugar stats.
  • Try heart-healthy soy milk. Just make sure the brand you choose is calcium- and vitamin D-fortified. (Eight ounces of vanilla soy milk contains 90 calories; 3 grams of fat, less than 1 gram saturated; 300 milligrams of calcium; and 25 percent of your recommended dietary allowance, or RDA, for vitamin D.)

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    Shredded mozzarella made with 2 percent milk One-quarter cup (about 1 ounce) contains just 70 calories and 4 grams of fat (2.5 grams saturated), yet provides 400 milligrams of calcium.

    Light yogurt One 8-ounce serving of a flavored nonfat yogurt provides about 120 calories, 15 grams of sugar and 35 percent (350 milligrams) of your RDA for calcium. Compare this with an 8-ounce container of blueberries-on-the-bottom, full-fat yogurt: 230 calories, 2 grams of fat (1 gram saturated), 300 milligrams of calcium and a frightening 42 grams of sugar.

    Leave these behind
    Flavored milk Vanilla-flavored milk provides 70 percent of your daily calcium in one 14-ounce bottle, but at a cost: 640 calories, 14 grams of fat (9 grams saturated) and 88 grams of sugar!

    Pre-made smoothies Although many of these drinks are fat-free and contain a hefty amount of calcium and protein, some pre-made smoothies have more sugar -- 46 grams -- than a can of soda.

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    2 Reviews
    I really appreciate this article. I have really had a problem finding out what is good to buy and what is not good to buy and this article really helped me. I am trying to revamp my lifestyle and how I and my family eat isn't that great. Anyway, thanks for all the helpful advice.

    Report Abuse

    I really appreciate this article. I have really had a problem finding out what is good to buy and what is not good to buy and this article really helped me. I am trying to revamp my lifestyle and how I and my family eat isn't that great. Anyway, thanks for all the helpful advice.

    Report Abuse

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