UPF.... WTF - I knew it was addictive but didn't realise...

I had a gastric sleeve and all the sugar and carbs were giving me digestive issues.

The first 3 /4 days was very hard. I just wanted sugar so badly. And Pepsi max, but after those first days it becomes so much easier.

I also bought keto sticks and seeing the positive test helps keep me in check. I don't want to eat anything that will give me a negative result.

It's honestly true.

I had the biggest sweet tooth. Millionaires shortbread, haagendaz ice cream, boost chocolate bars were all my favourite.

Now if I have fruit it seems extremely sweet to me!

I've never, ever in my life ate dark chocolate. It made me feel sick. Now I have a small square 70% chocolate to quench my cravings.

@SquiglePig Well done! That's amazing! what motivated you to get started, was it really difficult? Any withdrawal symptoms?

Honestly I wonder sometimes should there be support services for those trying to give up. I mean proper addiction based models. Like a daily meeting for the first month and a mentor at the end of a phone, for a few weeks or after someone falls off the wagon. I don't think I'd have the strength mentally to go it alone.

Yes apparently, I've been googling him too! He was drinking consistently since 13 (13!!!!) and was an active alcoholic during the documentary, basically a fraud. So while some of the effects probably were very real like the weight gain and lethargy etc, the long term internal effects were BS. In particular he showed someone examining his liver and being astonished by the damage done. The ridiculous thing is he still had a good point to be made, he could have edited it to focus only on the changes physically but he didn't.

It's pure batshit

Yes.

He said himself that he'd not spent a week sober in 30 plus years

I've read that happens alot, not bat shit in the least

Sorry what? Even fruit is too sweet for you? This place is 🦇 💩

So he was in active addiction and drinking?

@Alalalalalongalalalalalonglonglilong Morgan was an alcoholic when he made that doc - it is not a good example of anything other than how to manipulate data and the public to make a lot of money.

Honestly I know what I should be doing. I’ve read all the literature on UPF and nutrition. I was bought up with a Mother who was always on a fad diet so I’ve done several variations of diet by proxy and had all manner of food items demonised as I grew up. This has led to me have a very unhealthy attitude to food.

Im a good cook and my kids tend to have 3 foods a day that are either non UPF or minimal. (I don’t believe all UPF is equal - ie chicken nuggets vs fish fingers and I admit to still having baked beans and I don’t think that adding a stock cube eliminates all the goodness in a homemade, veg packed chilli) but I struggle with an all or nothing mentality and if we get a family bar of chocolate I can demolish it totally mindlessly.

I don’t want to pass on my food issues to my kids so rather than tell them what they can and can’t have I just control what comes into the house but don’t get too stressed about birthday parties etc.

Even Dr CVT talks about how you can’t avoid it with kids and how you will want your kids to fit in. It’s so true.

Sorry. Just noticed this has already been mentioned. Should have rtft. Or gone to Specsavers.

The man who made that documentary - Morgan Spurlock - died of cancer last month. He was only 53.

He was an alcoholic which would have massively skewed the results of SuperSize Me. I don't think his career as a documentary maker really recovered from it tbh.

To be fair, he also had trouble with alcohol.
Very very sad though, he was only 53.

Do some Googling - he had all manner of issues.

What!?? I heard he died but didn't really take note. Surely a month of fast food didn't create a lifetime of problems? Or did he do other food experiments maybe?

The man who made the Supersize Me film died last month; his health never recovered.

I find even fruit often tastes too sweet these days. Apples especially! The only ones available in the supermarket that I like are granny Smiths; everything else tastes unnaturally sweet to me.

I've read the UPF book and I agree @Stifledlife it should be mandatory in schools, when you consider the health issues we are all developing. I can't say I have radically changed my diet but I am more aware now and i have a long way to go. It is absolutely horrific what we are being manipulated into consuming by companies who are only laughing at us while tax payers will be paying for each others health treatments. It's an absolute eye opener of a book.

I'll also look at the Sugar solution book @PaminaMozart thanks.

Anyone remember Supersize me? the documentary about McDonald's? A young healthy man consumed only McDonald's for a month and tracked his body's reaction. The results were shocking and it was only a month unless I'm wrong so ties in with OPs experience in 10 days.

I bloody love anything fried potato and would probably fight a pigeon for the last chip

Yes, good idea to do it at forty @Peaceandquietandacuppa . Wish I had, once peri starts to bite it is incredibly difficult if you are carrying any weight and your diet is poor. I had to wise up in my late forties and losing weight and keeping it off was an awful lot harder than it had been in earlier years, your motivation slumps too. I am starting to understand how quickly we lose muscle etc. Sugar and large amounts of carbs definitely out for me now.

Oh come off it. Why are people being so obtuse? No matter how healthily you usually eat, if someone is staying at your house for 2 weeks eating chips, drinking wine, etc, you’re going to find it hard no??

The post is clearly light-hearted, why take it so seriously..

OP I just wanted to thank you for the thread, I’ve been feeling so unhappy with my diet and unsure how to get out of the bad habits I have. I’ve just ordered the sugar solution and will look up Caroline Girvan. I’m hitting 40 soon and figure whatever I can do now will only help me later on!

Do you get all of that without eating UPF?

Can I ask for a typical day food wise?

I eat minimum 2500 but not always that fussy about where I get it