Seeking to Eat Better but Finding the Maze of Products, Claims and Labels at the Grocery Store Confusing?

CHANHASSEN, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--You know the drill. You walk into your favorite grocery store, grab a cart and begin navigating through aisles laden with thousands of products – each with various claims of quality, taste, value and nutrition. As you find your way through the immense product array, you continually remind yourself of the goal to make healthy grocery purchases.

“When presented with conflicting nutrition information, marketing claims and confusing product packaging and labeling, what should be a routine trip to the store can easily become confusing and frustrating when it comes to the pursuit of healthy foods”

You try to recall the last you heard or read about what constitutes good nutrition. What about fats? Sugars? Carbohydrates? Calories? Natural or organic ingredients? The mind reels. With more than 45,000 product offerings in the average grocery store and approximately 17,000 new items introduced each year, you wonder if its even possible to achieve a healthy and balanced trip to the grocery store.

“When presented with conflicting nutrition information, marketing claims and confusing product packaging and labeling, what should be a routine trip to the store can easily become confusing and frustrating when it comes to the pursuit of healthy foods,” said Tom Nikkola, Life Time Fitness Nutrition Program Manager.

In the face of this challenge, here are some ‘nutrition smart’ tips to help guide you:

Visit the outside first!: Most grocery stores place whole, natural and unprocessed foods in the perimeter aisles of the store. The bulk of your purchases should come from these areas.
Get to know fruits and vegetables: Produce should command a fair share of your shopping cart space. The more fruits and vegetables, the less room you have for processed, less healthy options.
Choose protein wisely: Seek out "free-range," "grass-fed," "free of hormones," "wild," etc. options in the meat section. If you’re a vegetarian, good sources of proteins include nuts and seeds, tofu, soy milk, free-range eggs and some dairy products.
Be selective with dairy: Choose hormone-free and organic dairy and eggs.
Fats or no fats: Fat is an essential part of the diet. The key is the right types of fat such as non-saturated fat which has numerous health benefits or fats/oils that come from UNREFINED vegetable sources or oily fish such as salmon or tuna.
Reward yourself: There is no crime in treats but moderation is key.
Don’t forget to supplement: Try to consume the best diet possible, but a high-quality multivitamin and omega-3 fish oil should still be a regular part of your diet. We just don’t get enough of the vitamins and minerals we should, even when we try to be perfect with our diets.

Master grocery shopping in a healthy and nutritious way! Check out the Life Time Fitness Nutrition-Smart Shopping event on Tuesday, July 21, from 6:15-7:30 p.m. Open to Life Time members and non-members, a Life Time nutrition coach will lead participants through a local grocery store and provide nutrition tips and guidance along the way.

Event registration is $10 per person. Members can register and be provided with the selected grocery store information at their Life Time Activity desk. Non-members can visit www.lifetimefitness.com to find the Life Time location nearest them for more information.

About Life Time Fitness, Inc.

Life Time Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:LTM) operates distinctive and large, multi-use sports and athletic, professional fitness, family recreation and resort and spa centers. The Company also provides consumers with personal training consultation, full-service spas and cafes, corporate wellness programs, health and nutrition education, the healthy lifestyle magazine, Experience Life, athletic events and nutritional products. As of July 16, 2009, Life Time Fitness operated 84 centers in 19 states, including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Virginia. Life Time Fitness is headquartered in Chanhassen, Minnesota, and can be located on the Web at lifetimefitness.com. LIFE TIME FITNESS, LIFE TIME ATHLETIC, EXPERIENCE LIFE, and the LIFE TIME FITNESS TRIATHLON SERIES are trademarks of Life Time Fitness, Inc. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.