Diet Tip

Shop the Perimeter

Imagine going into your wedding day without a plan. There'd be utter chaos! Without a rehearsal no one would know what to do. Without seating charts the wrong people would sit next to one another and you'd have to get out the fire hose to separate them.

When it comes to food shopping, though, everyone just wings it. They waltz down the aisle loading their carts, and then wonder why the pounds creep up. "But I thought eating at home was healthy!" they wail.

It's not healthy if you don't know how to shop for food. Sure, you know how to put it in your cart, and you certainly know how to eat it. But if you're serious about looking great when you're waltzing down that OTHER aisle, you'll need aplan of attack.

Plans are about taking away individual choice. That may sound harsh, but it's not. People get nervous and uncertain when they're faced with too many choices.

A plan of attack takes away the pressure of decision-making. Always bring a grocery list of precisely what you need to buy, "need" being the operative word. What youneed is skim milk, salad ingredients, lean turkey slices, low-fat yogurt, fresh fruit. You do not need a new ice-cream flavor with a whole candy store swirled in.

The key to your plan: Shop the perimeter. That's where the healthy stuff is: fresh fruits and vegetables and just about everything on your list. These are foods that are so fresh they need refrigeration. If it's a food that can sit on a shelf for a year, you have to wonder what kind of preservatives it's packing.

The next time you're debating which way to turn in a supermarket, remember: The perimeter is your safest plan of attack. That's because fresh food needs to be chilled, and refrigerators need to be plugged in. To electrical outlets. Near the wall.

On the battlefield of the supermarket, the enemy usually camps out in the aisles while the good guys patrol the perimeter. www.bridalbootcamponline.com