UPF Help- My lifestyle is killing me.

[Ecydsis]

I am at rock bottom. I've been here for a few years now.

I am morbidly obese (I know they don't use that term anymore but it is true)

I have lost all fitness and in my mid forties, I can see my future and it is not good.

I want to start with cutting UPF- I can't currently face being hungry so my thinking is overhaul my diet without worrying about weight for now.

But want to check.

If I make bread I can eat it?
Butter, milk and cheese is ok as long as it isn't slices ?
Pasta/rice is fine if I buy it raw (not pouches)
Canned pulses are ok but not as good a dried.

Meat should be raw and identifiable (ie raw chicken, not bacon?)
Is tea/coffee ok?

Porridge oats and milk?

I'm going to try and start exercising but I am so unfit.

Thanks for any help

Great to hear, hope you are pain free or getting that way.

So sorry to hear about your accident- hope you’re managing ok and you recover quickly. Cook frozen meals are upf free and a good option although a bit pricey. They deliver too (if you can’t get out at the moment). Thinking of you. Pls keep posting!

I'm so sorry to hear about your accident @Ecydsis thank goodness you're here to tell the tale it sounds like it could have been worse. Wishing you a speedy recovery, no doubt being so well from avoiding the UPF has been a bonus in your recovery so far and I'm sure you won't be long getting back into the swing of things. Go easy on yourself though, make the small changes where you can but don't stress over it. Your recovery is the most important thing right now

Get well soon x

Thanks all, it does mean a lot. Had some complications and have been back to hospital but have been about 70% UPF free.

Back home and definitely feel like I've turned a corner and on the mend. Thanks for the covent garden soup tip, I do love soup so have been having it where possible. Managed to fry an egg with only a little help today so there are no more excuses, I know UPF free will help my recovery as I saw the benefits in my skin, hair, energy and mood before the accident, so will only be positive now .

Breakfast

Ciabatta, with egg and mozzarella with olives and salad.

Lunch Soup

Hello Ecydsis

I think I read your early posts but your thread popped today & I’ve read all your posts.
I know you don’t feel like you’re an inspiration but you absolutely are, you have done amazingly well!
wishing you a very speedy recovery & I will follow your journey & wave some Pom poms if you need it!

70% UPF free while dealing with hospital and complications from your accident is amazing. Well done!
Hopefully being healthier will help with recovery in the long term.
Get well soon.

Thanks @PrincessDonut I have been holding on to this, and doing 70% UPF free, my main non items have been chocolate and white toast.

But this morning I could smell the white bread, and it actually turned my stomach, it smelt like plastic so I'm hoping my dependence on that has now lifted.

Not quite ready to jettison the chocolate, the UPF free stuff just doesn't hit in the same way.

I'm going to hopefully weigh myself next Monday providing they take my casts off. So a good practice of getting back into it will be really helpful to my future self. I have to think about how difficult it has been with limited mobility, and remember this is the trajectory of my life because of what I eat and drink.
It is clear I can change things, this last month or so is a stumble, not a fall.

Going to bold the UPF items just to make it clear to me what I'm having, still needing help but most of this I can do myself- I'm not a very good patient, I find it very frustrating and do not enjoy asking for help.

Breakfast - Jason's Fruit loaf (I really enjoyed this, wouldn't normally have for breakfast but after throwing the white bread away, it was a great alternative)

Lunch- tinned salmon, salad.

Dinner - Jacket Potato with mushrooms, onion and cheese. Might have some baked beans.

Snacks- nuts, apple, banana and malteasers.

Drinks, water, tea, coffee.

@Ecydsis I really admire your positive, strong and can-do attitude despite the tough time you’ve been through.
I recently replaced my much loved Heinz baked beans with baked beans from the Bold Bean Company. They are pricier but I can get 2 meals from one small jar and they contain no nasties. Slice of sourdough toasted, beans (I like the chilli variety) topped with a fried or poached egg is delicious and keeps me full for hours. (I have no links with this company, just a fan of their produce).

@PeonyBlush10 I hadn't heard of those beans, I will have a look for them, have you bought them from a store or online?
With the price increase I've been doing the same, having less of the more expensive stuff and stretching it. Baked beans are a great back up so UPF free ones would be great.

You are doing so well considering what has happened @Ecydsis. Malteasers definitely allowed!

@PeonyBlush10 - that sounds lovely for a quick and easy lunch. I must try those beans.

I did however see a post somewhere about baked beans from a nutritionist and her view was that given the fibre content etc Heinz baked beans aren’t too bad. And I think I remember from when I initially read the Ultra Processed People book and was following some threads on here a couple of years ago that the organic Heinz beans are ok.

I follow an Irish woman on instagram who is good on UPFs - Sophie Morris. She might be worth looking at. She has a lot of people in Ireland suddenly reading labels in supermarkets. She does go to two Irish supermarkets- Dunnes and SuperValu but she also goes to Tesco and Aldi. She basically checks out labels and points out the better options.

@Ecydsis and @Peridot1 This meal takes around 5 mins to prepare and really is delicious. Some Tesco and Sainbury stock
the beans but not all. Waitrose sell them and I think you can buy them online - on the Bold Bean Company website ( I use a
lot of their pulses in my cooking).
They can be a bit tricky to find on the shelves. Sometimes they are by the baked bean section, other times near the jars/bottles of beans/lentils/pulses. I think Heinz beans are not bad necessarily but they are quite sweet.

@PeonyBlush10 - I’ve definitely seen those beans in Waitrose. I am quite fancying that meal for lunch one day so I will definitely get some next time I’m in. And when I can eat proper food again - I’m on a liquid/soft food diet after dental surgery! Currently on smoothies, soups, yoghurts and ice cream………

@Peridot1 wishing you a speedy recovery !

A good way to stop impulse eating is to portion up and freeze everything possible that you aren't planning to eat that day. Then you can't snack on random stuff because you have to wait for it to defrost.

I buy the organic baked beans from tesco, seem to be upf free.

We get those as well. They have no nasties and are quite nice although I’m not a big baked bean fan.

Great to hear your update @Ecydsisre the chocolate- I found Lindt 70% dark chocolate to look like it’s upf free so I’ve been making a bbc good food easy choc chip cookie recipe and substituting the choc chips for broken up Lindt. Bit pricey but I have it as a treat now and then! My DC keep asking me to make more (but I’m not really much of a baker!). Keep us updated on how you’re doing

I've just checked and the adsa beans have less ingredients than the Tesco ones. I find Asda own brands pretty decent. I have the asda wholemeal seeded bread and it doesn't have emulsifiers. It has a few other things and isn't as good as sourdough for example, but it's the only sliced wholemeal seeded supermarket bread I've found without emulsifiers.

@EcydsisHow are you getting on? I hope you are feeling better after your accident. I have read your whole thread and you're an inspiration. I'm luckily at a "normal" BMI but have been reducing my UPF for a few years now and reading stories like yours helps me to make better choices.

@EcydsisHow are you recovering? I hope things are improving. I’m on holiday and have no idea how many upfs I’m eating but will try and get back to normal when I’m home! Let us know how you are