James Hill:

Welcome to Weight Loss And, where we delve into the world of weight loss. I'm Jim Hill.

Holly Wyatt:

And I'm Holly Wyatt. We're both dedicated to helping you lose weight, keep it off, and live your best life while you're doing it.

James Hill:

Indeed, we now realize successful weight loss combines the science and art of medicine, knowing what to do and why you will do it.

Holly Wyatt:

Yes, the “And” allows us to talk about all the other stuff that makes your journey so much bigger, better, and exciting.

James Hill:

Ready for the “And” factor?

Holly Wyatt:

Let's dive in.

James Hill:

Here we go. Today, we're talking about one of the most important and maybe most underestimated parts of your weight loss journey. Holly, grocery shopping.

Holly Wyatt:

Yes. And here's the truth, Jim. You can have the best intentions. You can have the best meal plan. We talk about meal planning all the time. You'll prep. And even really strong motivation. But if your grocery cart is filled with the wrong things, you bring home the wrong stuff, sometimes the game is already over. You've already lost the game. The grocery store is where weight loss can get easier or I think it can get way harder.

James Hill:

Holly, you will be surprised to know that I'm not an expert on grocery stores and shopping.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah, I know that.

James Hill:

So that's why we decided to bring in somebody who actually knows what she's talking about here. Our guest today is Kelly Berg. Kelly is a registered dietitian. She's an assistant professor here with us in the Department of Nutrition Sciences at UAB, and she runs her metabolic kitchen. She may tell us what that is a little bit later on. She does a lot of hands-on training, and she's helped hundreds of people make smarter, more sustainable food choices that support real results. Kelly, welcome.

Kelly Berg:

Hi.

Holly Wyatt:

So, Kelly, I hope that you're going to be breaking down some of these strategies, giving us some shortcuts, and hopefully even a few surprises that people can take into their weekly shopping trips. I think that this is something that can be really powerful for a lot of our listeners. So, welcome to the show.

Kelly Berg:

Yes, thank you. I'm quite excited to talk about this topic. It does sound simple, but when you break it down, it can be a little bit more tricky than one may believe.

James Hill:

So, Kelly, when you think about it, making food choices, where better than to work on food choices than in a grocery store? Because that's where you're making choices that are going to affect your whole life. And so I think this is really, really very important. So why, in your opinion, should people focus on grocery shopping if they want to manage their weight?

Kelly Berg:

Absolutely. So we have a main goal of managing weight, whether that's maintaining or continuing to lose weight. And in order to achieve that goal, you have to manage behavior change. And grocery shopping is the front line of behavior change. It is the first thing that you have to accomplish, which is kind of nice in a way because we know how to grocery shop. And so from a smart tactical goal that we can't accomplish, we can accomplish that on something we already know what to do, walking into a grocery store. So walking into a grocery store is the first step. But now what do you do when you're in there is the next question, which I'm happy to talk about when we're here today.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah. So I'm going to say, what's the first, the most common mistake, just the biggest mistake you've seen people tend to make maybe when they go grocery shopping?

James Hill:

I bet I know the answer to this one, Holly, and I'm not even an expert.

Holly Wyatt:

Oh, I don't think you do. I don't think you do, Jim. That's why we have Kelly on. So let's hear what Kelly says.

Kelly Berg:

Yeah. So the first thing that comes to mind about the biggest mistake people can make when grocery shopping is not having a plan or a list. It's going in free for all, not setting yourself up for success, and then buying everything that might seem appeasing to you at that time, going over budget. But at the end of the day, you're not putting the proper nutrients in your cart to then eat at home. If you do not have the right foods in your house, you do not have the right foods to eat. Simple as that.

Holly Wyatt:

Right, right. And so, like I said, all the planning in the world doesn't, like meal prep, if you don't have the foods to meal prep, meal prepping doesn't really work for you. Jim, I know what you were going to say.

James Hill:

Yeah.

Holly Wyatt:

I bet you were going to say, don't go hungry. Don't go to the store hungry. Were you going to say that, Jim?

James Hill:

I was.

Holly Wyatt:

Ah, see, I know you so well.

James Hill:

How about that one, Kelly. Is that good advice?

Kelly Berg:

Yes, that is great advice even for a dietitian like myself when I want to buy anything especially your brains are triggered to get the most nourishment or many calories when we are starving, which is how our bodies are triggered. So, making sure you have a plan and sticking to that and also not going when hungry. So, fueling yourself appropriately throughout the day and planning your grocery store trip is just as important of planning the grocery items on your list.

James Hill:

How do you advise people to start planning? Let's say I'm going to go and do my weekly grocery shopping. What should I think about?

Kelly Berg:

So you may all have heard of MyPlate, which is the basic food groups. So you have your protein, healthy whole grain carbohydrates or grains, fruit, vegetables, and dairy. You want to make sure that you are really sticking to a well-balanced diet. We always, always hear about well-balanced, but let's actually practice that. I would recommend sticking to the proteins and produce. So kind of thinking of your two Ps, protein and produce, making sure that you're hitting the produce, which is your fruits and vegetables, getting your lean protein sources right away, and then following into what other items that are nutritious that will also meet your goals.

Holly Wyatt:

So kind of sticking back to this kind of planning on going to the store, what do you think is a realistic kind of rhythm for that? Should it be every three days, five days? Do you do grocery shopping for two weeks at a time? People always ask me that. And I'm like, oh, I don't know.

Kelly Berg:

I don't think there's a 100% correct answer to that. However, it depends on the person. So there is a correct answer for you. Now, if you are a busy mom and you can only make it once a week, that's even better. I grow grocery shop once a week because I plan. I do inventory at home. I know what's in my cupboards, in my refrigerator. I think going once a week is realistic and it saves time from going multiple times a day. It can also save you money. Going once a week will also require more planning. But the planning is the easy part. It's the fun part. It's understanding what you want to eat and what to add. So to answer your question, I would say planning to go once a week is ideal if you are not up to that mark or if that doesn't fit the needs of your busy family, saying you have many people to feed and that food doesn't last a whole week, really looking at your regimen and looking at your day and knowing that, "Hey, I'm going to meal prep or I'm going to make this last from Sunday through Wednesday. Wednesday, I have more time. I'm going to go to the grocery store or do a grocery store order or have someone pick it up on the way home." And that's, again, really what follows and meets your own needs during your own routine.

James Hill:

Now, wait a minute. You said it can be fun, Kelly. Grocery shopping can be fun?

Kelly Berg:

I think so. I'm also biased, but I mean, we also have to remind ourselves that we get to eat every day. We have to eat every day. Eating is fun. And now we're even toy around with different recipes and different flavors and utilizing, say you buy bulk chicken breast. How can you manipulate that chicken breast recipe to last you and have different varieties throughout the week?

Holly Wyatt:

I want to get into the details of all that, but I also want to go back, you know, I go shopping about every three days because I kind of need to, I don't know exactly, it's hard for me to plan a whole week in advance what I'm going to want. Things change sometimes during the week. And I was going to ask Jim, how often do you go grocery shopping, Jim?

James Hill:

Whenever my wife tells me to.

Holly Wyatt:

That's what I thought. So I thought that kind of was a great segue is what if you're not the grocery shopper in your house? We've just said this is super important. You can't plan if you don't have the right ingredient. What do you do if you're not the one that typically buys the groceries like Jim?

Kelly Berg:

That's when communication comes in and knowing what you want and what you need. So either you're working with a registered dietitian or you follow this podcast, you learn all the healthy tips and tricks on how to incorporate a nutritious balanced meal, having a good understanding and also communication. If you're not the one doing it, communicating to your spouse, your partner, or whoever that might be who is going, or if it is someone who is doing the grocery shopping for you via an app or service. Just making sure what you need to have in the house is going to be first. You don't know what to buy if you don't know what to eat. So going back to sticking to the simple MyPlate, getting the food groups in, but really, again, focusing on protein and produce.

James Hill:

Okay, I want to follow up here because, Kelly, we talk a lot about the value of registered dietitians, dietitians, and we're both big fans of registered dietitians. And let's talk about how they can be helpful here. Now, it's my impression, I could be wrong, but for a while, grocery stores had registered dietitians, they still do, to try to help educate people in the stores. But the problem is people don't want to spend a lot of time in the stores. If I go to the store, I want to get in and get out. So how can people learn what to buy, either working with a registered dietitian or other ways.

Kelly Berg:

Yeah, so working with a registered dietitian, which may not always be both time-effective or cost-effective, it is definitely an investment. However, you can tune into podcasts as such as yours, you can look up [MyPlate.gov](http://myplate.gov/), [EatRight.gov](http://eatright.gov/). There are resources out there. Even if you are following a specific guideline or maybe if you have a comorbidity that you want to make sure you're managing, such as diabetes or cardiovascular disease, you can go to the American Diabetes Association or the American Heart Association for tips and recipes. Another fun fact that a lot of people don't know is that grocery stores have recipes on their website. And from there, you can easily look up recipes or type in chicken recipe or lentil recipe. And then they will then give you the items you need from their store to make that meal.

Holly Wyatt:

Very cool. Very cool. So let's move a little bit into budget because this is this is always what comes up. I want to buy and plan and go to the grocery store and buy these, but it's expensive. So what's your advice for people who want to eat well, but feel like healthy food is too expensive or more expensive than the unhealthy stuff?

Kelly Berg:

I love that excuse. I wish I had a game show where we can have two different carts to see who can buy the most bang for their buck nutrition-wise and still come out with not spending a lot of money. So buying in bulk can be beneficial. Now, if you're buying in bulk, I want you to buy the things that you can store on the shelf or in the freezer, such as your meats you can freeze. You can also keep canned vegetables by low sodium or no added sugar, fruit. Even frozen also is very good. So buying fruit that you can buy in bulk is one way. Buying in-season produce is also going to be cheaper because supply and demand, there's more supply during that time. So those items are going to be cheaper. You can simply google search in-season fruits and veggies and then go in with that or just look around. One thing about using the apps or a website is that you can see all the prices compared in a one-stop shop whereas you if you're in the store you kind of have to go around and look at the prices. But I think utilizing in-season produce, buying canned, and frozen appropriately can help you save money.

Holly Wyatt:

You know, one thing that I assign people to do sometimes in State of Slim is go into the produce section, look for the vegetable that's on sale, whatever it is, you're going to buy it and let's do a recipe with it, which kind of makes it fun, right? We talked about how do you make this fun? You don't know what it's going to be. You go with on your list the lowest priced vegetable that is in the produce section and see what you get.

James Hill:

See, that's a good point because we're creatures of habit. And my guess is people buy the same stuff over and over and over. And when I go into the grocery store, and Holly, I do go into the grocery store occasionally, I see all this new stuff and I have no idea what it is. And there's some vegetables. I kind of know what they are, but I don't. So how do you get people, as Holly would say, comfortable being uncomfortable in maybe trying some of this stuff that they didn't eat it growing up? It's probably healthy, but they don't know much about it.

Kelly Berg:

So confidence in the kitchen is something that needs to be learned and trained. Again, changing your mindset. Everything we do around health and in our lives around mindset. So going in with the game plan of let's try a new color this week. Let's try a new in-season produce that Holly had mentioned. And going in and just having a new mentality of a game. And this game is going to now also support my health and my well-being for the long term. Now, if you have those that you are eating with or cooking with, that can also be fun. Again, whether you have like a spin color wheel or you're having certain types of maybe cuisines, you change it up and do where it is a Chinese week or Chinese day or Hispanic day and learning about the different cultures and the vegetables and produce and different seasonings and spices that also have a medicinal purpose. I assume we can talk about that maybe on a different podcast. Again, exploring and trying new things. Yes, we are creatures of habit, but I would also believe that our audience and the human population also does not like eating the same thing every single day. So again, one way to do that is choosing a different color or choosing a different vegetable you want to try and thinking of it as an experiment. You are able to not like it, but let's just try it.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah. I love experiences and experiential and experiments. That's how you kind of frame it. You get your mind right around it. So many people go and go, I'm not going to like it. I'm like, well, if you go in thinking you're not going to like that vegetable, there's a high probability you won't. But what if you go in and say, I don't know, things change. What if it's fun? What if I do like it? I want to ask, where is it worth spending maybe a little bit more? Is there a place where you're like, I would spend a few extra bucks for a specific reason?

Kelly Berg:

So I would always invest in my lean, healthy produce and also lean protein. I build my meals by protein and vegetable to begin with. And then from there, I add on. So I always am going to purchase my proteins first. Now, that might be different, but again, protein will help keep us satiated, also help maintain the muscle mass, especially when we are losing weight. Protein is essential for that. So that's where I'm not going to sacrifice. And we also have to remind ourselves that what we do most often makes the biggest difference. So if we are able to get the healthy produce most often or my protein in each day than if I have to then maybe not be able to buy organic one week or not be able to purchase as many fruits because of the protein not being on sale, just making sure what I do most often makes the biggest difference.

James Hill:

So when I go into the produce section, I do see the organic brands and the non-organic brands. And the organic brands seem to be significantly higher. Is it worth it doing organic? What's your advice there?

Kelly Berg:

So the whole organic label marketing is going to actually emphasize that it's made with less or no man-made pesticides. Or when it is organic, they are still going to be using manure to help build the produce and other, not necessarily man-made pesticides. But if you can and if you want to buy organic, that's okay. However, we have to remind ourselves why we're eating these foods to begin with. We are eating these foods for nourishment. And eating non-organic blueberries is still going to give you the health benefits of those blueberries, the antioxidants, polyphenols, X, Y and Z. But yeah, you might not be 100% organic, but that's okay because you're still getting that powerhouse of nutrients still added to your meal.

James Hill:

So Kelly, to follow up on that, there's the produce section, but vegetables are in a different section of the grocery store too. Talk about that.

Kelly Berg:

The vegetables are also in the frozen section, canned section. And some might even argue that buying frozen is even more nutritional dense because of the way that it's packaged. So it's picked at the ripeness, the most ripe form. So it has all those nutrients in there. Then it's flash frozen and then stored to maintain all the nourishment. But we may not know how long those green beans in the fresh produce aisle have been actually sitting out away from the soil. And so buying frozen or canned is another great option, even more sustainable and has a longer shelf life. You can add them to a variety of different dishes and they have less prep. You don't have to wash them. You don't have to cut them. You might just have to drain them. And so buying frozen and canned, some might look at as maybe not as great or not as healthy, but they're absolutely a good trick to keep in mind.

James Hill:

And it can be cheaper, right, to do it that way than fresh.

Kelly Berg:

Absolutely, yes.

Holly Wyatt:

So is there a best way to move through the store? Different people have different opinions on this. Should you just go down every aisle? Should you avoid certain aisles? I specifically avoid the chip aisle because I just don't want that temptation, but they've been sneaking things in on the chip aisle that I need. So that advice is not working for me. So what's your thoughts?

Kelly Berg:

So you had mentioned temptation and taste and sneak. So the grocery stores are strategically set up to make money. When you walk into a grocery store, know and be empowered that you have every single right not to fall for a manufacturing trap. And so don't fall into that trap. Be knowledgeable and hold your ground and not give in to give your money away. So you wouldn't give your money away just walking into the grocery store. You would not hand the hostess or the greeter a $5 bill. So why would you do that if you walked down another aisle that you don't need to go down? So thinking about it that way. So the best way to do it is one, going back to having that list, but sticking to the perimeter of the store.

Sticking around the fresh vegetables, the produce, the lean meats, walking around the cold section to the dairy, the cheese, the yogurt, cottage cheese, and then working your way back around. Anywhere in between the aisles, you're going to find more things that are not going to allow you to easily stick to your diet or stick to a healthy eating pattern. There's going to be more processed, more added sugar, more added salt. So just things that we don't need, but things that the taste buds want. And it's really funny how we are so manipulated by our own taste buds and we allow our little tongue to influence everything that we do. And so if we can remind ourselves that we don't need to appease our taste buds, or we don't need this pack of cookies this week, or we don't need the ice cream or we don't need to try this newest cracker. We have to remind ourselves that in our cart, it has to be nourishment because at home has to be nourishment.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah. I also say that the bakery tends to be on the periphery.

James Hill:

I love the bakery.

Holly Wyatt:

The bakery.

James Hill:

It smells so good.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah.

James Hill:

Good stuff.

Holly Wyatt:

And they've started putting like chips in the produce section. Don't tell me.

James Hill:

What?

Holly Wyatt:

I'm like, yes, Jim, they will put like pumpkin tortilla chips because they know I'm coming.

James Hill:

Just to get you down the aisle.

Holly Wyatt:

Yes, they know. They know these things. I'm sure of it.

James Hill:

So Kelly, nutrition labels. What should people be looking for? I mean, you can get really confused with all the information on some of these foods.

Kelly Berg:

Yeah, it's like me walking into the makeup aisles. There's so many brands, so many different types. I don't know what to buy. And so I feel the same way as people walking through the grocery store with all the food options. They know that my plate is a good kind of setup or guide, but then once they get there, they don't understand how things can fit into my plate. So the nutrition label is something that everyone should know how to learn, understand, and read. We as kindergarteners learn how to read. We should also be learning how to read the nutrition label at the same time because we're probably reading the nutrition label more often than we are reading books. So the nutrition labels are going to tell us everything that is going to be in that serving of that food item. Now to prioritize all that information, let's take a peek at added sugars, protein, and fiber. So those are my three. And then also understanding the serving size can be another good tactic. But going back to added sugars, making sure there are no or limited added sugars. Also with protein, we want to try to find something, especially if it's added to a meal, getting around 10 grams of protein or more. Now that's going to be different for every single food item. So just making sure it has some protein added to it to then build your meal with that. And then fiber.

My biggest pet peeve is the manufacturers saying, oh, it's whole grain, but it's really made with whole grain, not necessarily completely whole grain. So one way to debunk that is looking at the fiber, which is underneath the carbohydrates on the nutrition label and checking if it has three grams of fiber or more per serving. That is going to be a true great source of whole grain.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah. We're really liking this fiber piece, really starting to look at how much fiber. And I love that. That's a way to kind of check. It's kind of one of those food claims that I think lead people astray if you don't really understand it. Is there any other thing like that? We don't want to be caught by these myths out there. Is there any other thing that can help people? What leads them astray other than that fiber one?

Kelly Berg:

Yeah. I love teaching the daily percent value. So a lot of times we would focus on the calories or how many grams of something. But let's now learn another tool that might be even more valuable, and that is understanding the percent daily value. Now, manufacturers, they're able to put specific nutrition claims, such as low fat, high protein, according to what those daily percent values actually tell us. So the rule of thumb is that 20% or more of your daily percent value is considered high. So if we're looking at a nutrition label and it says it has 15 grams of protein, but on the daily percent value side, all the way to the right, if that is 20 or above, that means it's truly high protein, which means a manufacturer can now put that label of high protein on the product.

Holly Wyatt:

Oh.

James Hill:

Okay.

Kelly Berg:

And if it is a low sodium, per se, anoka sodium is something we want to look for, or low sugar we want to look for, you want to find a number that is the same as five or below. So looking at added sugars or sodium that's five or below will truly mean that it's low sodium.

James Hill:

Wow.

Holly Wyatt:

I didn't know that. I don't know that I looked at it that way. That's very interesting. I like that.

James Hill:

So people should really look at nutrition labels. They can be helpful.

Kelly Berg:

They are extremely helpful and more empowering. Again, knowledge is power. And that is going to keep you on track and allow you to not be manipulated by food manufacturing or given to those halo effects.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah, awareness and knowledge is what I say. You need both of those so you can decide what choices you want to make. So Jim, I want to ask us something about virtual shopping. We've been talking about going into the store.

James Hill:

Yeah.

Holly Wyatt:

But I think there's quite a few people who maybe just have their groceries delivered. So what about a virtual shopping cart? What do we need to know about that?

Kelly Berg:

So that can be a great tool to have in your back pocket, literally. So if you are quite busy, there is no excuse that you cannot purchase these food items. So having them in your physical cart or your grocery cart is optimal to keep you on the track and have those healthy foods at home. Now, there are some caveats or some issues with the virtual grocery store. So those issues that might derail us from sticking to our goals will be maybe not being able to compare nutrition labels. So not understanding what has more fiber or what has less sugar added to it. So it's harder to really compare and contrast products that way. Another one is substitution. So sometimes say, Holly, you're cooking and you need black beans in your fajitas, but they don't have black beans or they're out. Now, what substitutes can you make? You may not be prepared to make those substitutions if that store is out. So that could be a way for you to either not get the product or the app might just give you a substitute that they think is appropriate. But if you're say watching your sodium and you wanted low sodium beans but they have high sodium beans or the regular sodium in there, they might automatically give that to you. So now you're purchasing something that you didn't want to begin with.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah. That's the problem and you can't see the produce. Sometimes I've ordered something when I got it like I don't think if I was in the store I wouldn't have chosen that, it just doesn't look as fresh or whatever. But what I do like about it is those those unintentional buys. It really keeps me away from the chip aisle. I don't put the chips in the cart because I didn't roll by them and see, oh my gosh, these special chips that I have to have, that tends to happen in store. So sometimes I think for busy people if you really have a recipe that you want to make if you can really just put those ingredients in your virtual cart and have them delivered, oh, I don't know. It's kind of a trade-off. I think it could be helpful in that case.

Kelly Berg:

No, you're absolutely correct. So you had asked what the issues were with grocery shopping and that's what those were. But there's so many other benefits to it, as you had mentioned. You had also talked about with the poor produce selection. So the people who are at the grocery store are trained to practice FIFO, first in, first out. They're going to grab the oldest product and give it to you. Whereas when you're in the store, you can go and grab that bag of kale.

James Hill:

Ah, that's a good one.

Holly Wyatt:

And so I bet that's true with other things too, like cottage cheese. Are they getting the one? Oh, see, I don't like that. I always go and look at the date and get the one that I have the most time with before it expires.

James Hill:

So Kelly, one thing that always amazes me is the number of choices. I went to the grocery store the other day and on my list was crackers. And I stood in the cracker on the whole aisle was crackers. And it's like, do we really need 50 different types of crackers? I think sometimes people get overwhelmed with too many choices. What would you recommend in those kinds of situations?

Kelly Berg:

There are absolutely way too many choices out there, which can be good and can be bad. If you're building a charcuterie board and having variety, that's great. But also you're not sticking to your goals when you're doing that. My tip for you is when you are in a situation where you do feel overwhelmed, is going back to your nutrition label reading. Compare your items, compare two at a time. Looking back at the fiber content, especially of crackers, getting the one with most fiber and also the least added sugar. Sugar is hidden in everything from your pastas or breads, sauces. So yeah, making sure that you're reading those labels.

Holly Wyatt:

All right, this is a question people give me all the time. So I encourage people to go and get some produce and learn how to cook with it. And this happens to me too. I get it. And then I waste a lot of it. Even if I pre-cut it up and prepare. I know better. I wash it and I get it ready, but just things change. I don't eat as much and I end up throwing a lot away. Any tips for how to reduce produce waste.

Kelly Berg:

So buying frozen or canned can help that because you don't have to prepare it. It's already right then and there. We're ready for when you want to use it. If you do have more time in your day and want to practice self-care, you can do some batch prepping. So you can prep it ahead of time, store it in single serving packages, freeze it. Another tip I like to train my clients and participants on doing is say you're purchasing carrots and you are getting sick of eating carrots or you don't want to eat raw carrots every single day, how can you now add them to stir fries that same week? How can you add to a pot roast that same week? So utilizing your vegetables or your produce or the things that are going to waste and putting them, strategically planning. I mean, you have to plan, even if it's spending 10 minutes a day or 10 minutes a week, understanding what you're going to eat or what you want to eat and planning three meals to just get by, that is going to be the best. So we started this conversation talking about planning and list. It really goes back into that planning your day. The redo, and again, it is self-care to prepare and plan our meals. It is almost, I like to look at it as a sense of hygiene. And if we're able to eat well, we're going to feel well. And if you take 10 minutes to plan how you're going to utilize the different veggies or different fruits that are going to waste, whether you're done making a smoothie with it. So understanding your capabilities of it.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah, I like making it a game. How many places can I use these carrots this week? Like where can I get them all in?

James Hill:

So Kelly, one of the things that I see everywhere these days is advice to avoid ultra-processed foods. How can people avoid ultra-processed foods in the grocery store?

Kelly Berg:

Avoiding ultra-processed foods in the grocery store can take some tricks. One method is to avoid the inner aisles. So if you are trying to buy the crackers or the breads, now ultra-processed doesn't always mean that's unhealthy. So ultra-processed, even oil, it comes from olives. And so olive oil comes from olives. The oil itself is processed. So there is the extreme definition of ultra-processed. I don't want us to be completely afraid of it because we are thriving on being able to process certain foods in ways that are allowing us to get nutritious foods. So, going back and reading the nutrition labels, again, it's going to be best understanding the ingredients that are in there and making sure. Yeah.

James Hill:

Yeah. I think it's not the processing per se. It's how the product ends up after the process. And there again, avoiding the sugar, fat, and getting more fiber and so forth will if you follow that, you're going to end up eating better foods and avoiding the worst foods.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah, I think these terms really, you know, ultra-processed and people then tend to kind of get fixated on them. Other terms kind of come into. Things like grass fed, free range. How do we how do we figure this out? Is that important or is it not?

Kelly Berg:

So we have to remind ourselves that we are being fed by the food corporations and the food corporations want to make money. And that's part of business. There's nothing wrong with that. They're doing business. However, we need to be mindful and going back to what you had said about having the knowledge and being aware of what these things actually mean. So grass fed, it just means that the cows or whatever might have been fed grass up through a certain point of their lives. Now there's also grass finished which means they are now finishing while eating grass but that may not mean they don't understand what the diet is before. Maybe they use something different to help them bulk and then they're finished with just grass. What kind of grass was it? And then free range. Free range, yeah, maybe they may not be in a cage but they might only have a very small maybe in the size of Jim's office, an area to go outside and run around.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah.

James Hill:

So Kelly, my last question for you, we've talked about all kinds of wonderful ways to shop. Is it okay to have some treats? I enjoy a little sweet every now and then. So how do you help people handle that?

Kelly Berg:

Yes, we are human. We are able to kind of have a balance. And so we always hear balanced diet. And it's almost an annoyance to me. However, it is completely true. And it's understanding how you can have balance. I also educate clients and participants on what the hell effect. And so it's when we have our treat and have a piece of cake or have a cookie, now in our brains, because eating is so much more than putting food in our mouth, it's you have that piece of cake, you say, what the hell, I ruined my diet. And then you ruin that diet by sabotaging yourself with more calories than you need. So again, allow yourself to have a flexibility. It's what you do most often that makes the biggest difference. And just because you overconsume calories on one day does not mean over the next week you can make up for that.

James Hill:

So planning for it is a big deal. As long as you plan for it, it's on your plan. It's when you do the stuff that's unplanned, you can get into trouble.

Kelly Berg:

Yes, planning is one thing. Also reminding yourself that a slip is not a fall. It's a slip. You can get back up. Just because you had overconsumed, you have to have the knowledge and the willpower and determination and motivation to know and just trust yourself that because you had this one day, you are able to plan to stay on track the days ahead.

Holly Wyatt:

And Kelly, I also say practice it. I think when you go through that experience and then you do get back up right away, the more you do that, that becomes, you've practiced it, you then have confidence in it. You know what to do. You have a strategy. So it's all that. But practicing it, saying, okay, I'm gonna eat my off-plan meal on purpose and then I'm gonna have that very next meal planned and I'm gonna do it and experience it. And I think that can be helpful, too.

Kelly Berg:

Yes, nutrition is a sport. It has to be practiced. If Jim were to go watch gymnastics tonight, could he do a backflip tomorrow? Absolutely.

James Hill:

I might could, Holly. I might could.

Holly Wyatt:

No, not even close.

James Hill:

All right. You know what time is now, Holly?

Holly Wyatt:

Listener questions. We'll do some rapid fire. These are just some rapid fire, Kelly. So we want to know some things. So one of them that I promised I would ask is, what is the best or an underrated plant-based protein? We believe in protein. And then for the people who are vegetarians or vegans even, how do you get protein in? What do you think is the best source?

Kelly Berg:

So I love lentils and quinoa. Those can even be found at Aldi, any grocery store, very cheap, shelf stable, able to buy in bulk. Also very versatile. And they can adapt to different flavors that you add to your dishes. So you want to make a chili. You can add quinoa and or lentils. You can make a soup with it. You can saute it, put it in stir fries. You can make a little quinoa burger or lentil burger. They're so modifiable, versatile. You can add many different flavors and sauces to it while all still getting good quality protein.

Holly Wyatt:

Okay. Here's another one about protein. What's your favorite high-protein snack that doesn't need prep? So something like you could take on when you travel or on the airline. How do you get your protein in then?

Kelly Berg:

I absolutely love the jerky. Now, jerky is a little bit higher in sodium. So for those who are watching their sodium, being mindful of that. But jerky is one of my go-to. Also if I have a cooler with me, Greek yogurt and cottage cheese, even hard-boiled eggs can be great, too.

Holly Wyatt:

And you can buy them now in the airport. They have them in the airport. So that's a go-to for me.

James Hill:

You spend a lot of time there, Holly. We all know that.

Holly Wyatt:

I do.

James Hill:

We can have a whole episode on airport foods.

Holly Wyatt:

That's true.

James Hill:

But one more quick one, Kelly. How can I stay on track when grocery shopping with my kids?

Kelly Berg:

This one is so fun. And so kids can either make or break it, but also you can make or break it as well. So kids can help and it can be a scavenger hunt. So going in with the list will also help your kids, whether you have to bring a photo of it or write it down and help them read it. Having the children go and maybe even make it a race who can purchase or who can stock the cart faster, who can buy the maybe most firm melon or the softest avocado. I teach them how to find the right fruits and veggies. If they are unable to comprehend that, you can also stick to colors. So let's find one orange, one red, one yellow fruit or vegetable added to the cart. Now we're also talking about being able to eat it becausewe have to. If we're buying it, we have to consume it. And that's the next challenge. So having the children help you with the meal plan saying, okay, from these items, what do you want to make? Or what do you want to try to hide in this brownie? Or what do you want to hide in this burger? Having them being involved in the meal prep or the menu prep will give them more excitement when they are coming and seeing the food. So those would be my tips.

James Hill:

Okay. Now, Holly, vulnerability questions?

Holly Wyatt:

Yes. Now we can move to vulnerability.

James Hill:

I'll ask the first one.

Holly Wyatt:

Okay.

James Hill:

So Holly's nemesis is chips. What's yours, Kelly?

Kelly Berg:

Mine would be ice cream.

James Hill:

Ah.

Kelly Berg:

I just love ice cream. Again, going back to your question, too, about allowing a sweet treat and understanding how much ice cream I want. But yeah, ice cream is definitely mine. I do try to get a real ice cream. I don't love the Halo Tops, even though they are saving on calories and protein. That can absolutely be a great addition. But I'm able to stick to my plan. Now, if those who are falling for ice cream and then falling into the what the hell effect if that is going to be a trigger food, then stay away from those trigger foods. However, I've overcome that trigger. So I'm able to buy ice cream and only have the servings that I want during the week and not eat the whole pint at the time.

James Hill:

Cool.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah. So here's another one. What's one food marketing trick that maybe caught you off guard like you you fell for it and then maybe you realized oh wait a minute I know what's going on here?

Kelly Berg:

So I've always been reminded of myself back in my college days of the low fat. So low fat, we all, there's many different areas I can talk about on this topic. The low fat doesn't always mean it's healthy. Low fat also likely will mean added sugars because they still want it to taste yummy and taste good. And so the low fat isn't always the best option. Again, now if we're understanding calories, that's why it's important to work with your dietician on where you can do low fat. But low fat isn't always going to mean the best product and low fat diet isn't going to help us keep maintain our satiation or keep fullness. And so falling into that low fat when marketing was really just trying to tell the population, stay away from trans fats and saturated fats. That just doesn't really playing the game telephone, telling somebody to eat no saturated or no trans fats gets turned into no fat. So I think that was one that we all, even in America, may have fell on. And then also in the beginning, looking at the whole grain, not double checking the grams of fiber in the back because it's simply just made with whole grain. It's not technically all whole grain.

James Hill:

Okay, Holly, time to sum up.

Holly Wyatt:

Yes, put some pie on the plate, Jim.

James Hill:

That's appropriate for this segment, pie on the plate. So what Kelly's told us is planning is all important here. If you really want to shop healthy, plan it. And as Kelly said, she starts with protein and produce and builds from there. Looking at nutrition labels, you need to learn to read nutrition labels, particularly added fat. You want to increase the fiber, maybe looking at total calories. And then the final thing, and she's convinced me, this can be fun. So, Holly, I'm going to start spending more time in the grocery store.

Holly Wyatt:

Jim, really?

James Hill:

Not really.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah, let's be truthful here. Our listeners can tell. So yeah, so I agree. There's been a lot of really, I love little tips and tricks and I love those. I'm going to apply some of those when I go shopping. So thanks for being on the show today.

James Hill:

Yeah, thank you. And again, registered dietitians are wonderful. And so they can really help you in planning and healthy eating and recipes. So, again, consider checking out a registered dietitian to work with if that's something that you can do. Kelly, thank you. We really appreciate it. All of our listeners, send us comments. What are your grocery store strategies? What sabotages you in the grocery store? Let us hear from you.

Holly Wyatt:

Tell us what's in your cart.

James Hill:

Yes, exactly.

Kelly Berg:

Right. Yes, thank you for having me. And also to challenge us all here, go pick a color for the week and try to find that color.

James Hill:

Love it. Great challenge. Thanks, everybody. See you next time. And that's a wrap for today's episode of Weight Loss And. We hope you enjoy diving into the world of weight loss with us.

Holly Wyatt:

If you want to stay connected and continue exploring the “Ands” of weight loss, be sure to follow our podcast on your favorite platform.

James Hill:

We'd also love to hear from you. Share your thoughts, questions, or topic suggestions by reaching out at [weightlossand.com](http://weightlossand.com/). Your feedback helps us tailor future episodes to your needs.

Holly Wyatt:

And remember, the journey doesn't end here. Keep applying the knowledge and strategies you've learned and embrace the power of the “And” in your own weight loss journey.