(By Shenrina Badri) Most of us may have a limited grocery budget to work with so it is vital that you carefully consider the type of foods that you throw into the shopping trolley before cashing up.

Get some protein

Be sure to include some healthy sources of protein in your shopping basket or trolley. This may include some lean meat, skinless poultry and fish. Remember that beans, lentils and other legumes are also great sources of protein and are usually cheaper and widely available too so add a couple of cans, packets or bags of these onto your shopping list too!

Spend on fruits and vegetables

Apart from good quality protein, spend some of your budget on fruits and vegetables as these are packed with vitamins and antioxidants – not forgetting fibre which is great for weight loss. In addition, they make an easy, convenient and most importantly a healthy snack to have between meals – on a daily basis.

Try selecting colourful and fresh fruits and vegetables as each one may hold different nutrients, all of which are good for you! You may find it better if you stocked up on the fresh produce every few days to ensure that you are purchasing only the freshest ones available.

Avoid spending on junk and processed foods

Avoid spending money on junk and processed foods – not only are they generally more expensive than healthy foods but they offer minimal or no nutrition to your body. Instead, they are usually high in calories due to their high sugar or trans fat content and may make you pile on the weight in the long term!

So next time you are out shopping, choose to buy foods that will support your weight loss efforts!