Miss full-of-gunk, Miss FitFam or Miss Healthy Wealthy. Which shopper type are you?

I love supermarkets! All the pretty colors, bright lights, cool air, the exciting and not-so-exciting people I get to interact with…..

I’m proud to say I’m one of those people who would happily pay an extra 50 naira on top of every item just to enjoy the supermarket experience than sweating it out in the market. (Shoot me!)

Besides the pleasant ambience of grocery stores and malls, I also really enjoy observing other shoppers and appreciating the diversity of human beings.

As a health coach and avid student of human behavior, I can’t help but judge people’s lifestyles by observing the items in their shopping carts while simultaneously shopping myself.

From my not-so-scientific deductions, I’ve been able to identify three unique shopper profiles:

1) Miss full-of-gunk

2) Miss Fitfam

3) Miss Healthy Wealthy.

These were the best names I could come up with…Lol! I’ll explain each shopper type in detail.

1) Miss full-of-gunk.

Approximately 50% of grocery shoppers fall into this category. These shoppers are not a teeny bit concerned about their health….(what has food got to do with anything anyway?) They hang around the biscuit, fruit juice, canned drinks and baked goods aisle.

They are almost always smokers and/or serial drinkers..

For Miss full-of-gunk, ignorance is bliss. She may have caught wind of the health revolution but is yet to get serious about adopting any healthy behaviors.

She is completely or not completely ignorant of the dangers of processed food and almost always has the physique to show for it. (Unless she’s one of those genetically gifted individuals who stay lean all year round)

The only thing that is remotely healthy in her shopping cart is Breakfast cereal or Orange juice (loaded with sugar).

She shops really fast shoppers because she is a true brand loyalist who knows exactly what she wants. She doesn’t bother reading labels.

2) Miss FitFam

All thanks to the health consciousness craze, 40% of shoppers fall into this category.

These shoppers are very aware that healthy is all the rave right now and are genuinely interested in becoming healthy not necessarily because they understand the need to be, but because it’s the new kid on the block.

They are more extrinsically motivated i.e for the perceived benefits- to be associated with the new cool; to look hot ; build a better butt etc.. than they are intrinsically motivated (i.e because they truly enjoy and appreciate the process of becoming healthy).

Miss FitFam is a serial dieter who is never a particular size for too long because she is a trend follower ever ready to adopt the latest fad diet.

She is also a binge-eater because of her super restrictive diet and tends to fall really hard off the bandwagon when life happens.

She almost always has a waist trainer on and is a little overweight with little or no muscle definition.

Her shopping cart contains a combination of packaged “healthy” food and drinks like Ribena, Pulpy Five Alive, Flavored oatmeal, crackers, basmati rice, wheat bread, low fat yogurt, skimmed milk and the rest of them..She also buys a lot of fruits and very little vegetables if at all.

And boy does she love to show off after a workout. Her social media accounts are filled with pictures and videos of all the work she puts in. (How can you not know I run 10miles everyday!)

She has a fitness pal account and is constantly checking how many carbs and calories are present in a meal.

Miss fit fam is all about detoxing and cleansing. She’s obsesses over the numbers on the scale and constantly strives for a lower number.

She almost never reads labels and shops just as quickly as Miss Full-of-gunk.

3) Miss Healthy Wealthy.

Only 10% of grocery shoppers fall into this category. Miss Healthy Wealthy is most likely a seasoned Personal trainer, Wellness coach or someone who has completed a health coaching program. (Registration for The Lose Weight With Me Coaching program has begun and is going for a special offer price of 15,000 Naira)

She truly understands the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and walks the walk. You can find her in the vegetable, fruit and meat aisle looking for the freshest produce to buy.

Her shopping cart is filled with vegetables that most people aren’t familiar with and fruits of varying colors and sizes.

If her shopping cart didn’t get your attention, her pretty skin or trim, athletic physique most likely did.

She spends more time shopping than the other shopper types because she takes time to read and understand food labels.

She’s not fooled by marketing claims of “healthy” and rarely buys packaged goods. Her cart is filled with real food such as chicken, eggs, yams and potatoes.

She’s not afraid to eat some fat and so doesn’t bother with low-fat items.

Put together, her cart is just as expensive, if not more than the carts of the other shopper types even though her’s might be much smaller in volume.

Her gait is smart and purposeful.

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So which one are you? Let me know!

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