Grocery Lists Don't Guarantee Healthy Choices

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According to Rottenstreich, "This points out that making a list from memory does have a bit of a downside." The finding, he said, can be explained by neurology: The human brain does not have the capacity to activate both working memory and a full complement of rational impulse-control at once.

"So, if I am spending mental effort formulating my list, then that is mental effort I do not have in terms of making sensible choices," said Rottenstreich, who helped conduct the study while at New York University. In those situations, choices become more emotional, so tempting (but calorie-rich) "mistakes" can slip in.

But that doesn't mean dieters should throw out their grocery lists.

"I'd say that lists do work, in lots of ways. We're just aware now that there are trade-offs," Rottenstreich said. The simple act of re-reading your grocery list and crossing out any high-fat, high-sugar items can eliminate the problem, he added.

Taub-Dix agreed that drawing up a grocery list is a great way to keep unhealthy foods out of the home. She has even come up with a means of streamlining the process that's less taxing on the memory.

"I actually have a master list that I have typed out that's more or less the layout of my supermarket," she said. "On it, I will put all my fresh fruits and vegetables listed first, then the deli, etcetera. Then I just print it out and circle what I need. It makes shopping so much easier."

Another tip: Try and stick, whenever possible, to the supermarket's outside perimeter. "That's where the fresh produce, fruits and vegetables, the dairy aisle, chicken and lean meats usually are," Taub-Dix said.

And don't ever shop when you're hungry.

"We know that when you are too hungry, it's like being too tired or too drunk," she said. "What comes from that is apathy -- 'Whatever, I'm just going to take this.' "

A separate study, published in the same issue of the journal, suggests that the human mind finds other ways to get around self-control. In some cases, suppressing one area of mental or behavioral activity spurs an excess of activity in another area, such as spending.