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

These were in tomato sauce, it's been interesting to see where UPFs are hidden!

Will look in future but have tins to use up ,but thanks.

Just wanted to say loving catching up with thread each day. Op- you’re doing brilliantly!

Thank you @Hercules12 I feel a bit daft posting here but I need to be accountable .

Week 2. Day 3.

Feel awful today, no energy and body aches. Maybe I'm coming down with something but I don't think it is that- the diet change has been significant - it isn't just that I'm not eating UPF, it's that I'm not eating all the sugar, fat and salt that comes with UPF, plus significantly reduced my wine consumption - currently 0 this week.

It makes sense that I feel bad, just hope this stage doesn't last.

Food

Breakfast, remainder of sardines on 2 slices sourdough toast with salad.

Lunch, home made soup with added mixed beans (pre cooked in can but plain)

Dinner, chicken curry, brown rice, and home made sauce

Snack pears, hm cake, apple.

I do need to spend this weekend actually looking at some meals rather than cobbling together what I have/know.
I'm still eating whatever I want (that is non UPF) providing it goes well with the no wine this weekend then I'm going to address the amount of cheese I eat next week

I've downloaded the Yuka app, it seems really good.

Had a flavoured tonic water today, doing great with water and the odd tea/coffee but need something with dinner.

It's says it is natural flavour but Yuka says it is artificial but for a 150ml can and a actual drink with dinner I am happy.

Feeling better. Have had trampoline delivered!

Week 2 Day 4.

Breakfast. Leek, sweetcorn, olive and chicken pasta with parmesan

Lunch. Roast chicken salad with sourdough bread.

Dinner Jacket Potato - not sure on the toppings yet.

Spent 10 mins on trampoline, had to have a word with myself about doing too much too soon, going to use it again tonight for 10 mins.

I love making bread but with an electric oven it’s too expensive. I’ve been very impressed with Aldi white or seeded medium sliced sourdough loaves. Fortified wheat flour, fermented wheat flour, rye flour, salt, no nasties. They do a dark rye one but I’m less keen and the DGC don’t like it. The slices are too long for my toaster so I cut them in half. They’re very much nicer than any of the sourdough options in Waitrose, though if I have to go there I get the spelt one.

Sparkling water is good for helping to feel full between meals, though don’t have it as your only drink as some brands can be high in sodium.

I've just bought some Aldi sourdough so will see. Thanks.

Week 2. Day 5.

Breakfast Poached egg, avocado, spinach and tomato on toast

Lunch. Remains of leek, olive and chicken pasta.

Dinner. Steak, asparagus, tomato, mushrooms, home made chips and stilton sauce.
1 small bottle of wine (think they are 187ml)

Snacks banana, apple.

Woke up craving sardines - is this my body beginning to realise what it needs- I've never craved healthy food before.

Week 2 Day 6

Breakfast Sardines on toast with avocado and salad.

Lunch home made soup

Homemade pizza, chicken and olive with Cajun spice.

One small tonic water.

So far most I've had Citric acid, the tonic has natural flavouring but there is a limit to how much water I can drink. I am missing mayonnaise, will buy some UPF free this week.

So heading towards the end of week 2 and about 98% UPF free.

@Ecydsis you are doing incredibly well and your food is now sounding really healthy, the longer you continue it the easier it becomes. I don’t crave sugar at all now

Just dropping in to say keep going, you're doing great ! 👏

I'm following your updates OP and I also wanted to say how well you're doing.

I'm following too and you're doing so well. I'm enjoying picking up tips from you also!

You are doing so brilliantly. Do you have a sense (without wanting to get into precise calorie counting) of how your food intake compares to before? Do you think it is likely less or about the same?

Picking up tips from me.... That sounds crazy 😂 feel so new to it all still. It has really been an eye opener reading packets, especially food that I would think was 'healthy'

@TheCountessofFitzdotterel calories wise I think about half what I was eating before, but volume wise I think I'm having more. I'm eating three meals and snacks, beforehand my eating was erratic but high calorie, I wouldn't think twice of eating a whole chocolate bar, no not the single ones, the large ones for sharing. I was drinking too much and eating loads of ready meals/take outs.
That's the biggest difference so far, I could eat a KFC/Maccys meal as a snack almost, and then eat dinner- honestly most of MN would faint if they saw what I could put away-and I always felt hungry, not starving but not satisfied. I now eat my meal and I don't have this insatiable desire for more. Obviously I am early days, I have no idea if this will stick, but I feel different.

I will weigh myself tomorrow because I do feel there needs to be some other way of seeing the affects but I'm not doing it to lose weight as such ( I need to lose a lot, and will have to tackle this at some point) but just learning to eat as intended, instead of being driven to eat more by food businesses has been very interesting.
Other than Jason's I've not consumed any brand products this week, I can see how UPF makes companies rich.

It does feel weird only talking about me- obviously I did start this thread but I'm not normally so self centered!

Week 2. Day 7.

Breakfast - poached egg on toast (I do not like the Aldi bread as much as Jasons- but it is still nice and much easier for me to source.

Lunch - Homemade chicken and vegetable Soup (this is getting boring, I need to finish what I've made but not going to make any more this week)

Dinner- Roast beef, homemade Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes in olive oil and veg.

Still have an issue with gravy - I've thrown some away as the ingredients were horrendous, and bought some with much less for the family, my homemade gravy is gross. Have to decide if it is worth it .

Snack apple and peanut butter, plums

Drink water and lemon. 250 ml red wine

I’ve started adding one tablespoon of Organic whey unflavoured protein powder (pure whey nothing else added) to my morning muesli
and lunchtime/evening Greek yogurt. It really seems to help with me feeling full. I’m also using Nutracheck app which I’m finding really useful.

@Mrsuniquename I'm going to go back over the information in Ultra Processed People but from what I took in (on the first read) was that adding protein is possibly also all made up by the food industry to drive sales.
I'm not at all questioning how you feel and if it is working then it is a great idea, but it was interesting to think of this move towards 'protein food ' (and by that I mean all the UPF that has popped up on the shelves, not plain whey) was to increase sales and thus profit.

I know what you're saying and I was very against protein powder initially, but this one is pure whey, nothing else, and I needed to up my protein without upping my calorie intake too much. It does seem to work for me and the days I don't take it I do feel more hungry. Might be psycological, who knows! Good luck, sounds like you are doing fantastically!

That’s amazing.
When you think how hard it would have been to carry on eating what you were but just eat half of it.

It will be interesting to see whether the need for snacks subsides - I think you are doing absolutely the right thing in having non UPF snacks available and giving yourself permission to eat them, because that will keep the cravings for bad food under control, but ultimately you might not feel the need to eat between 3 decent meals.

OP I have been following your thread with interest, I think you are doing amazing! Coming from a place of eating so much UPF to completely cutting it out and all the work that goes with that (on top withdrawls from the stuff that's in the UPF) is just so impressive! I'm interested to hear how it affects you overall, not just in terms of weightloss. Keep up the good work and keep on posting!

You are an inspiration

Thank you all, you have no idea how much your posts help.

I love eating, I'm not sure if I will ever be able to cut snacks out, because I'm not eating them because I'm hungry, just because I love to eat. I hope by having fruit and nuts for my snack it will limit the weight.

So I've lost 4lb, so that is 7lb in 2 weeks, I have managed to lose like this on Weight Watchers but have never managed to keep going. So will see.

I am sure I have more energy, I've done more this weekend than normal.

Full disclosure - yesterday I had a full bottle of wine over the day, a friend came over. This affected my sleep so I need to keep thinking about what I drink.
I also had one spoonful of the cake my friend brought with her- it wasn't homemade and I didn't ask about the ingredients - it isn't unusual for me to only have a spoonful, I'm an wine and cheese person rather than dessert.

My UPF content for the last two weeks is

Citric acid in tinned tomatoes (I'm not really counting this)
Preservative in one wholemeal pitta
Natural flavouring in 2 cans of tonic water
1 dessert spoon of bought cake

Onto week 3.

Week 3 Day 1

Breakfast - avocado and poached egg on toast with salad and sweetcorn

Lunch- tricky -Spoons with my boss, thought it would be impossible but had chicken breast salad- no dressing and teaspoon of mayonnaise (one UPF) , would imagine the chicken breast had something on it so counting as one UPF)

Dinner- Last bit of chicken and veg soup

Snack - plums, banana and home made fruit cake

Didn't drink enough water- will improve tomorrow.

Sounds lovely.

I’ve just made milk pudding for the first time. Literally a half a pint of milk with two tablespoons of sugar and cornflour Im stirred until thickened, then I added vanilla and coconut. Then cooled in the fridge for a couple of hours until hardish. You can replace the sugar with orange and dates. It was lovely as a different little dessert.

I've heard of milk pudding but never tried it- I like the sound of that, I shall bookmark and add to my list as I do need something sweet at the weekend.

Week 3. Day 2.

Breakfast - oats, mixed seeds, blueberries and semi milk

Lunch- Trout, avocado and egg salad with a slice of sourdough (won't buy avocados for a while but they were reduced and so nice, but I don't think I should be eating as much as I am)

Dinner - Goats cheese on ryvita, it will be very late when I get back, but my lunch is big.

Snacks. Banana, plum, apple and mixed nuts.

Drink, water and lemon. 125ml red wine.

Didn't fancy the wine last time, was craving a cup of tea, which is new.

Tmi

I know my digestive system is experiencing a change as my bowels have changed significantly, only adding as personally I find the changes in my body interesting from the viewpoint of what UPF does to people- even more so, today, for the first time for a very long time, I wanted sex. This is a side effect that I haven't had on Weight Watchers where my diet has been cut in calories but heavy in upf.

So they are my changes so far.

Week 3. Day 3

Breakfast. Oats, seeds, blueberries and milk- putting blueberries in it has really improved it for me.

Lunch. Pasta, sweetcorn, babycorn and remains of yesterday's trout- wouldn't do this again as the taste of trout was lost

Dinner- chilli beans- the tinned ones I usually have contain modified maize starch which is UPF, so looking to make my own. With rice

Snack plum, banana, mixed nuts, home made cake (it's small)