To be totally on the anti UPF bandwagon and think this may finally be how I crack my food addiction?

[MaybeIWillFuckOffThen]

Listened to the podcast by the Van Tulleken brothers, and then read some of the Brazilian research and the experiment with UPF/whole food diet. Listened to some Giles Yeo. Oh my goodness. Mind blown!

I have a binge eating disorder and it was getting so out of hand. Spent fortunes a week on extra secret food, all of it crap. Gaining a lot of weight. I could eat 6 supermarket hot cross buns at a time and still feel like I wanted more even while feeling sick. Whole packets of biscuits in minutes. It didn't make any sense to me but I felt like I just couldn't stop. Now it makes a lot of sense why - I've basically been eating the food equivalent of heroin.

I've cut it out this past week or two - whenever I have been craving it I just go and listen to an episode or two of the podcast again and am horrified anew so resist. I've also accepted the fact I'm never going to manage to not eat with willpower alone so have packed my bag with healthy whole food snacks - nuts, Greek yoghurt, chopped vegetables, hummus - so I don't 'need' to go to the shop for some lunch (and walk out with a load of garbage).

I felt much better almost instantly. Clear headed. Less bloated and sluggish, less achey. Less sick obviously. And much, much less hungry. Staying within calorie limits (that always seemed laughably low and restrictive whilst eating junk) suddenly incredibly easy. In not weighing myself as my scales are broken but how I feel is worth it on its own.

Over the weekend my DD got a vomiting bug for the millionth time this summer, bad nights sleep, feeling grotty etc. So Monday I decided to treat myself t a toasted panini from the work cafe. Supermarket bread, weird cheese etc - real comforting junk food of the type I just can't get enough of usually.

Reader it was DIABOLICAL. It tasted AWFUL. I've eaten these things so many times before and loved them. But it was horrible. I literally could not eat it, had two mouthfuls, spat the second one out and threw it in the bin.

I honestly feel like I've had some sort of damascene conversion. Every time I think about buying some crap now I just remember the horrible, inedible crapness of that panini and the urge just goes away again.

AIBU to think this could actually change my life??? Can simple awareness really override such a lifelong, established addictive behaviour? Or will this just be a flash in the pan?

Very much UPF I'm afraid!

(but like you I still can't quite shake my childhood opinion that they are a healthy biscuit!)

This is great Op

but you sound incredibly excited and it’s only one week down. Don’t be disappointed if you fall off the wagon (which you will inevitably at some point), just climb back on and crack on

good luck!

I think most shop bought biscuits are probably UPF given the fats or flavourings and sometimes preservatives that are not typically found at tips.

I really want to eat in this way (non UPF) and loved the BBC podcast, but with fussy eater preteen DC I find they look very warily at things I cook.

They seem to have complete focus on eating anything out of a packet with a nice picture on. Even if I have cooked it. So non-UPF recipes/food ideas to eat with kids would be very welcome. I’d also love anyone’s sourdough recipe if they’d care to share it! Well done everyone who’s getting there with this, I think it has to be a really positive thing to do.

@RoseWindow that's one of my main issues too - what to make that the rest of the family will eat 🙄

My issue is what bread is a good alternative to make pack lunch sandwiches out of?, because unless it's sliced, shop bought - its bigger, dryer, harder etc and not so easy to make sandwiches for the kids out of, any suggestions appreciated

‘Home’ not ‘tips’ in my previous post, bad autocorrect. There’s only so many omelettes and salad that I can force on them..

@Harridance look for Vogel bread

Omelette and salads are 2 things my daughter would not eat sadly (DH and I often have that for lunch when she’s at school though)
@Harridance ive been wondering about making my own wraps for packed lunches but not sure how they’d keep

@Harridance my 5yo lass actually quite likes a sourdough sandwich! But an alternative in thinking of (still just working on myself right now!) is just skipping sandwiches altogether. My kids never eat a sandwich as a sandwich anyway, they always pick it apart and eat the filling first and then the bread and butter 😆 so I'm thinking when I'm making packed lunches (she's on free school lunches at the mo as reception) I might just make pots with cooked chicken, cheese cubes, hummus, chopped veg etc. Although to be fair it matters not what I put in front of her on any given day she may want everything or nothing and there's no rhyme or reason!

I’ve listened to all those podcasts too.
i really try not to have too much UPF now I know what it’s all about, but hard to avoid completely.
i think if it were just dh and I at home (might be in Sept w DCs at uni) I’ll get rid of all the ‘junk’ except dark choc. I tend to make my own bread in breadmaker as well. I don’t even like supermarket bread anymore!

On houmous, not everything pre prepared or manufactured is necessarily UPF. I think of it as if you could reasonably make it at home or its a traditional food like cheese, wine, jam , it may not a UPF, depends on ingredients.

It touched me the PP about supermarket hot cross buns , I am undone by carb/dried fruit in combination. I've made HCBs in my bread maker and they are just as more ish albeit more filling. I thought of having a rule that treats can only be home made so the effort slows me down. Because home made cakes can still be eaten in excess.

This is interesting I have meno middle and have consciously dropped alcohol except weekends, and recently fizzy drinks (like Fanta) with swaps like carbonated water (I know that's not great but it's better) and I've dropped processed foods where I can.

Thanks for the podcast recommendation. I really need something like this to inspire me right now. I’m 5 months PP and I feel like I’ve forgotten how to cook and eat properly. I’m just on episode 3 now and I’m thinking right what can I have for lunch? Like I’ve forgotten about how to eat food which isn’t UPF.

Can people write examples of non UPF meals and snacks they have? We often have fish and salad/veg for dinner that’s the one meal we sometimes have a grip on!

@MaybeIWillFuckOffThen - thank you for writing about this. Where can I find series1 of 'a though examination'? Is that what you started with?

@sociallydistained the Rukmini Iyer roasting tin books are really good for veg heavy meals - she's a bit keen on soy sauce/fish sauce etc which if I look into it is probably UPF but in terms of combinations of different proteins, vegetables and whole grains she's got a lot of ideas that are good inspo.

What's annoying is that as a FAMILY our diet is actually really good - only two meat meals a week and two fish, no breaded reformed rubbish, lots of veg, limited condiments and premade foods. It's just when I'm on my own I binge eat total garbage.

I read there is a link between ADHD and binge eating, seekingdopamine . So if you don’t feel shame or disgust or self loathing, but a sense of calm with the binge and are unaware of what you have eaten it might not be an ED, might be neurodiversity.

Can people write examples of non UPF meals and snacks they have?

Breakfast: fruit with yogurt and oats, toast with home-made bread (breadmaker-made bread is fine), egg-based things like omelette which can be varied with vegetables and herbs.

Snacks: fruit, salad vegetables like cucumber/radish/peppers, nuts

Main meals: combinations of meat, fish, dairy, vegetables, herbs, spices etc. Have a look at the Nova System link above for an idea of what is UPF and what isn't. Cooking from scratch does help because then you know exactly what's going into it. It doesn't have to be all weave-your-own-mung-beans, there's plenty to eat!

@ElephantLover
A Thorough Examination with Drs Chris and Xand
Chris van Tulleken is on a mission to get his twin, Xand, to quit ultra-processed food. It turns out to be far stranger and more emotional than either of them ever imagined...
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0017tcz

I guess this means mayonnaise is out.

I find the base food not too difficult, but removing soy sauce, mayonnaise etc for dressings much harder.

@1990s There are some on shelves which are made without additives.
It isn't difficult to make your own mayonnaise if all your ingredients are the same (room) temperature.

I guess this means mayonnaise is out.

It depends what’s in it. I eat mayonnaise, soy sauce and other shop bought condiments but only in small quantities.

Why's that?

Thank you all mayonnaise repliers 🙂

I guess this it my thought, is the whole thing “ruined” by smaller quantities of stuff like this….

I make my own mayonnaise with egg, olive oil, salt and lemon juice. The egg is never room temperature and it still works out 99% of the time! I think the key is to use a stick blender in a receptacle that's just a bit bigger than the base of the blender (I use the jug from the nutribullet).

I have been on the unprocessed food wagon for a while now and swear by it for health and weight loss. It's not easy or convenient though, and doesn't fit well into most people's busy lifestyles where both parents work. I'm retired and dcs are adults so I find it relatively easy.

I make things like porridge and berries, smoothies, salads, and meals made with vegetables, beans and lentils, passata, herbs and spices and home made stock. I'm trying to cut down on meat at the moment and just eating chicken a couple of times a week, and I eat fish including sardines in oil. It's a way of eating that does require organisation unfortunately and if I go away or out for a meal it does go out the window somewhat, though I always stick to gluten free and avoid anything with too much sugar as that just awakens the beast in me that craves UPFs.

one theory is that it's because they don't have enough actual nutrients in them to trigger satiety.

If you are in business to manufacture and sell say, biscuits or soft drinks, you are bound to increase sales if you can

• convince people that the products are very desirable and
• if the products leave you wanting to eat / drink more of them

Not stupid, those food / drink manufacturers.