Quitting UPF

[Oysterbabe]

I'm reading Ultra-Processed People: Why Do We All Eat Stuff That Isn’t Food...and Why Can’t We Stop? By Chris van Tulleken

I've always struggled with my weight. I've had long spells of being a healthy weight but I've been 2-3 stone overweight for a few years now and I just can't stick to anything. I feel like I'm always eating and never satisfied. I think the amount of UPF I eat has gradually increased. It's mostly convenience, I work and have small children. Toast or cereal for breakfast is just very fast and easy, I'll often pick up a supermarket meal deal for lunch, I live on Pepsi max etc.

So this is my latest thing to try, no counting anything, just reducing UPF as much as possible. The book is quit convincing in the damage it does to our health and I am reaching the point where it's starting to just seem a bit gross. Has anyone given this approach a try? My hope is that eating mostly minimally processed foods will naturally lead to a reduction of calories.

Hi, I’m reading the book at the mo too. It does all sound quite disgusting when it’s broken down into chemicals doesn’t it?! I’m very low sugar at the moment (blood sugar too high) so that has automatically cut out lots of UPF that I was eating. I’ve also stopped using sweeteners in tea as I know they are awful and still act like sugar in the body from a blood sugar pov. I used to have 2x sweeteners but have switched to 1x sugar. I would like to stop the sugar completely but can’t face it yet! I’m having 1-2 cups of tea per day which is less than before so, overall, less sugar and way less UPF.

There was a segment on R4 about this just now. Definitely something I want to cut back on and what it comes down to is convenience. Mostly dinners are mostly real ingredients but usually breakfast and often lunch end up more UPFs. Thinking about sticking to porrige or 100% wheat cereal.

I’m reading it too. He does say that it wouldn’t definitely lead to weight loss and one of his colleagues did it and ate too much cheese and put on weight. I suspect it’s helpful but I think we (I include me and anyone else who is more than a stone or so over weight) will probably still need to put effort into actually losing weight.

@StillPerplexed I would try something like lady grey or similar tea that tastes different. Maybe that would help you stop the sugar.

I think you meant to direct that to @Mull but I agree, earl grey (maybe with lemon instead of milk) is nice without sugar.

But also, the less sweet you have things generally, the less sugar you find yourself needing. Once you cut back on sugar in drinks etc. the easier it becomes. Positive cycle.

I've been doing this for several months now and have lost 24 lbs so far.

To be fair I have kept it low carb too, so probably average 1 portion of rice or similar per day.

I find an easy breakfast is 2 big dollops of full fat plain yoghurt, some plain kefir on top, a handful of berries/cherries then a few teaspoons of mixed seeds. I tend to toast pumpkin seeds and flaked almonds (as they taste so much nicer) in advance and store them in a jar.

I also make omelettes to eat in slices (like fritatta) which will keep for a couple of days, so are an easy lunch or breakfast.

There are lots of great salad recipes on BBC good food or tik tok/Instagram that you can make in a jar and take for a packed lunch.

Drinking fizzy water helps to ease the transition from pepsi etc as you can add a splash of posh cordial (the sugary ones) to begin with.

It's also worth investing in some good storage tubs/jars/bottles as it makes it easier. I also eat my mixed salads from a black bowl, which really makes it look appealing 😄

I'm definitely not expecting miracle weight loss, calorie is still king, but if I think about when I overeat it always involves UPF. Usually it's grabbing a couple of biscuits when I'm in the kitchen just because they are there. If the very convenient snacks are off the table it's going to help. Once I'm in some better habits I'll probably have to consider portion sizes too.

The van Tulleken twins have also done a podcast about when Zand stopped eating UPFs as an experiment. Really good listen. Its called a thorough examination

This book is next on my list, I've recently read why we eat too much by Dr Andrew Jenkins and the full diet by Dr Saira Hameed which I think are on similar lines. I've tried all diets there are and managed great losses and always regained. Since reading these books it literally made me stop eating certain foods and over hauled my families way of eating. I hope I don't slip back to ways as this is about so much more than just weight now, I want to sort my health out and give my children the best diet possible.

The book is good and it's doing the job, I've never felt less inclined to eat a pringle 😂

As much as possible I'll be sticking to fruit, veg, meat, fish, eggs, dairy. I'm going to occasionally bake my own bread and biscuits etc. Other times I'll choose the least worst option and reading labels is my new pastime 😅
I couldn't quite decide whether this sour dough would be classed as ultra processed. It's expensive, £3 for what is essentially half a loaf. It has no emulsifiers which I really want to avoid. The ingredients list is half that of the hovis 50/50 the kids have. I guess it would come under the category of a better option.

I found this sourdough OP. It's a decent size loaf and really nice. I've tried the white and wholemeal and both great for sandwiches or toast. I get it from Tesco.
Ciabattin (jasonssourdough.co.uk)
Jason's Ciabattin
WHITE CIABATTIN 580gINGREDIENTS
Wheat Flour (Fortified with Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin),Water, Salt, Wheat Gluten, Fermented Wheat Flour

Wow this is so timely for me. Also reading the book.
Just made lunch with sourdough bread, avocados and eggs 😀

I think it's so fascinating and easy to be overwhelmed by thinking about what's wrong with everything.

We're trying to just look for food (would grandma recognise this?) and fewer ingredients.

I love the fact that sourdough won't last as it has no preservatives.

Such a different mindset.

Also really trying to add in 'good' stuff and look for the least worst option.

I know this is jumbled but I'm all inspired!

It is inspiring isn't it? Just need to keep the momentum up, it's easier to grab something processed when you're busy.

Today I've had
A slice of sourdough toast with real butter.
A chopped banana with some natural yoghurt and a few raspberries.
Big bowl of salad with tuna and halloumi.

Good luck everyone! I'm following with interest.
I don't think I can go totally no UPF - I find it difficult to eat a largely vegan diet without things like oatmilk, for example. But I'm certainly eating as simple food as I can.

I think it's difficult to cut them out completely, especially if you eat out.

The main change I have made is to buy a bread maker.

I used to eat Hovis wholemeal, but was horrified by the list of ingredients.

Small, realistic changes are the way to go.

I think cutting down is more achievable, with small changes that you can maintain. Your body and mind will adjust to it over time - I've cut right back over the last few years and the idea of sugary drinks, junk food etc is so unappealing.

I now make my own pizza dough with self raising flour and yoghurt. It’s very easy. I don’t eat meat so I put on loads of veg, peppers, tomato, onion, pineapple etc. It’s far nicer than shop bought and it is still very quick to make (you can also freeze the dough). Because it’s loaded with veg a slice with a large salad is really pleasant. It beats a sandwich made with shop bought sliced bread.

I think the cost of Upfs have risen so much they are easier to avoid. Using my bread maker with organic flour (bought in very large bags) isn’t much different to the cost of a loaf now.

Same as soup - home made is a similar cost to tinned. Again you can batch cook.

I think we have all relied on upfs for so long our cooking skills have diminished. But I read the book and I think it’s disgusting what is put in so many food items. I don’t want to fund these awful companies anymore.

It’s not had much impact on my weight - I’ve been making cakes and biscuits for the kids and feel obliged to test them 🤦🏻‍♀️. Apart from that though having things like overnight oats for breakfast and sourdough for lunch rather than supermarket sliced bread has made me less hungry . My problem is after dinner sweet stuff on the sofa !

once you start reading every label and start making the change it does make a lot of things less appealing . Had a Burger King at a theme park and it was foul whereas previously I quite liked it

Sourdough - I buy the Bertinet ones - they have the benefit of being conventional bread shaped which kind of tricks the kids

So far so good. I've enjoyed my unprocessed diet and it's helpful to me that there is a clear line between foods that are allowed and those that aren't. The only area I'm finding slightly trickier is drinks. I do like a Pepsi max or sugar free squash. I've cut down on them a lot and that will do for now. Things are going in the right direction.

Love this, I gave up upf's (as much as possible) last month and felt so much better, not at all achey and quite energised. I'm now on hols in a caravan and struggling especially as weather is awful so pizza, chips and pasties are my main diet and i feel awful. As soon as I'm back I'm getting back on it.
I found greek yogurt and self raising flour are great for pizza and garlic bread. Blending frozen strawberries, frozen bananas and milk makes lovely fresh tasting ice cream. Condensed milk, double cream and vanilla extract also makes good ice cream albeit fairly calorific!! I am a vege so eat lots of lentils and beans chillis and stews when I can be bothered. Homemade soup was a winner. Also ryvita and houmous made a great snack. Couple of squares of green and blacks 85% chocolate in the evening. Also small frozen grapes or strawberries make a great snack.

We are very similar Stimpy !
I made pizza using the yoghurt and flour method yesterday and was really impressed. The kids loved it too.

I've been eating overnight oats for breakfast and rye bread with parma ham or a salad for lunch.

I've dropped a few lbs without trying but I am off for a week in a caravan on Monday so it will go to pot. Only temporarily though, I feel pretty good about how things are going, finding it easy and am keen to continue.

I've found similar to you guys!

Lost 7lbs in 2 weeks - totally unintentional.

Made flatbreads last night and again today. I had NO IDEA it was so easy.

Really struggled to eat well whilst out at theme parks. Also veggie.

I was talking to a lady today, who does this. Said eating out as well comes into consideration as most places (pub food / chain restaurants) everything is frozen / out of a packet. Hadn’t really thought about that… But places where everything is made fresh are always 10 x tastier, for sure! More veg is the key, too, I think.

The book mentions Allan Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking, which caught my interest as I used that to quit smoking. If I eat UPF I'm trying to focus on the unnaturalness of it, the odd chemical tastes, trying to gross myself out. It has really put me off. I have a colleague who is a bit of a feeder and often buys treats for us to share. He's having to eat them all himself atm.

There's a good TikTok account of a lady doing this, called Love Your Onions.

She quit UPF, shares loads of recipes and tips and things that help her. She's also realistic about things like eating out that sometimes you can't follow it but a vast majority of the time rule works really well.

Interestingly she's also 55lb down since she started too