When it comes to eating well, food shopping is where it all begins. Your choices at the supermarket or market stall set the tone for the rest of your week. Good nutrition isn’t about being perfect—it’s about building a consistent routine around the right foods. And that starts with knowing what to look for and, just as importantly, what to leave behind.
At Foundry, we believe that food should be simple and satisfying and support your training, whatever your goals. Below are a few principles we encourage our members to follow when navigating the often confusing world of modern food shopping.
Choose Ingredients You Recognise
Forget obsessing over calories and carbs on the front of the packaging. Start with the ingredients list. If it’s full of things you don’t recognise, can’t pronounce, or wouldn’t use in your own kitchen, it’s probably not something you want to eat regularly.
We’re not saying you need to cook everything from scratch or only buy food with one ingredient. But if the label reads more like a science experiment than a recipe, it’s worth asking whether that item supports your health or performance goals.
Focus on whole foods with minimal processing—things like oats, lentils, nuts, olive oil, vegetables, eggs, and good-quality meat and fish. These foods fuel training, recovery, and everything else you need to function well.
Be Sceptical of Health Claims
If something has to work hard to convince you it’s healthy, that’s a red flag. True whole foods—like broccoli, apples or free-range chicken—don’t need a label to market their benefits. But walk down any supermarket aisle and you’ll be bombarded with claims like “high-protein”, “low-fat”, “fortified with vitamins”, or “gut-friendly”.
These labels often distract from the reality that the food is highly processed, full of sweeteners, thickeners or low-grade oils. A ‘probiotic chocolate bar’ may sound impressive, but if the main ingredients are sugar and skimmed milk powder, it’s not doing your digestion any favours, regardless of what the front of the pack says.
Take a moment to read the back. What’s actually in it? What’s the portion size? How often would you cook with these ingredients at home? These questions are far more helpful than relying on buzzwords.
Stick to Foods That Go Off
It’s simple: the foods that spoil quickest tend to have the most nutrients. If something lasts forever on a shelf, it’s usually because it’s been stripped of what would make it attractive to bacteria, mould or pests. Unfortunately, that also makes it less beneficial to your body.
Fresh produce, eggs, dairy, meats, fish, and wholegrains will all go off eventually. And that’s a good thing. It means they’re closer to their natural state, where most nutritional value lies.
Try buying these foods from farmers’ markets or local butchers and grocers, where you’ll likely find fresher and closer-to-source produce. When shopping at supermarkets, keep most of your purchases in the outer aisles, where the fresh food tends to be.
Build Habits Around the Basics
Eating well doesn’t have to be complicated. You don’t need a perfect diet, a strict meal plan or endless prep time. You need to build your habits around real, minimally processed food—and make the process as easy to repeat as possible.
The more you surround yourself with food that supports your goals, the easier those goals become to achieve. Fill your kitchen with food that fuels your training, helps you recover, and keeps you energised through the day. That way, the decisions you make when you’re tired, busy or stressed are more likely to be good.
At Foundry, we help our members create nutrition plans that support their goals and feel realistic. If you’re unsure where to begin or want a clearer idea of how to shop, cook and eat in a way that supports your training, come and speak to us. We’re here to simplify the process—and to help you put good food back at the centre of how you live.
Visit our personal training gyms at one of our London locations to create a plan that works for you.
Related Articles
- Beware Food Labels
- 5 Foodie Tips from P.Y.O.
- Food Pyramid – 10 Steps to Success
- Meal Prep Plan for 7 Day Training Cycle
- Seasonal Eating for Strength: Fuelling Recovery, Nutrition, and Growth