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Shopping Virgin

zacthedog

Well-Known Member
Well i am just back from my first visit to a supermarket as a diabetic, and wow has it changed, there are whole isles that i can not buy anything from and why don't they put carbohydrates on the front with the other serious healtb advise? That discrimination if ever i saw it! Took ages as well, diet food? No way, diabetic food? Are they serious, that stuff (can't bring myself to call it food) should be banned!
I thought i would share my first visit as a new me with you, looking at food in a different light, more time picking goods up and checking labels, had to take my glasses with me so i can read them, never had to do that before! Strange place, that supermarket... kid in a sweatshop? Not anymore...
 
When I first went shopping, it was a nightmare. I test regular with my meter and learnt what I could and could, t eat. It took a while but got there in the end
 
Yes at first you do need to leave yourself much more time to do your shopping! Some things are really eye-opening with how many carbs they have that you didn't expect. As you say there are several isles that I just don't bother going down any more but I do stand and read all the labels and compare products. Lots of times I don't buy any of the items. I really don't care if people think I'm fussy or obsessive - they don't know that I have to be for the sake of my health, not because of some fad diet.

When you do some research you'll find lots of recipes for things that you can eat. You are still a kid in a sweet shop, it's just that the sweets are different!
 

It takes ages to get the hang of this shopping malarkey. It can be useful to draw up a list. I have always shopped from a list, but with a list, it is possible to do most of that package examination before you leave home. Almost all the big name supermarkets have extensive nutritional information on their websites. That way, I can ensure when I hit the isles I know what I'm going to be picking up, and that certainly cuts down on the time spent.

You'll get there.
 
LIke @AndBreathe I've found it very helpful to do a bit of homework before hand - manly because my husband insists on shopping online, so the nutritional data that Google searches turn up and Tesco provide on their Groceries site has been a godsend. The only thing I have to watch for is to specify "NO substitutes" or give an acceptable alternative (for both husband and delivery person) or else I can occasionally get something quite unexpected and/or quite unsuitable...

Robbity
 
I find shopping easy but then I only buy vegetables, cream, meat, fish and other unprocessed stuff. Preferably organic.

Oh, and cat food too. For the cats!
 
Well I've never been a cake eater but I do like going into the cake aisle and looking at things I won't be eating. I can appreciate the time even commercial bakers put into their wares. My favourite at the moment is blueberry muffins they are huge, one would do 4 children, you've got to ask why. Portion control seems to have gone out the window with some food, everything is more than plenty. Even the size of dinner plates seem OTT. For a long time I've used the side plates for meals as they seem about the size of a dinner plate when I was a child.

Oh the other thing, someone once told me we no longer do a "treat" and they were spot on, if we want something we get it immediately, therefore our expectation of a treat is bigger than it should be.
 
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I find that a good 99% of items in the supermarket

I cant eat
 
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When you become diabetic you start to realise the madness in what is for sale as food in the supermarkets, the majority of which is unsuitable and junk. It forces you to stand back and take stock of the marketing and advertising we have suffered since the last war. The food labelling with just sugar and fat mentioned on the front with carbs left off is total stupidity. This makes you realise the experts haven't a clue either. Gradually you find that you become the expert and have enough information to make your own decisions. For example I never look at the front of food ingredient labelling only the small print on the back.
 
I agree with you ,that when visiting a supermarket its a nightmare knowing what you can and cannot eat.
I seem to read whats in the food a lot more now,rather than just picking what i always have.When i first went to a shop after i was told i had diabetes,i thought i would be better off visiting a pet food store,rather than Tescos.
Now ive been doing this for about a month,im slowly learning whats good for me and what to avoid.
I guess its a case of trial and error until you get used to knowing whats good for you.
 
I know the feeling! I've always had a really healthy diet ( fresh unprocessed food, lots of fruit & veg) yet since diagnosis of type 1 six months ago I now look in amazement at how much of the 'food' I can't have - even though I didn't eat it before! It really highlights the amount of unhealthy food that's presented to us - & yes, I walk past aisle after aisle seeing the whole place through different eyes.
 
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