I’ve gone non UPF, I just can’t believe the difference it’s made in a week

[LaurieFairyCake]

I feel like such an idiot. I can’t believe how well I feel, how much I’m ready for bed and how much better I sleep.

this shit is radical. I was eating 40% upf (a teenagers diet is 80% 😱) and I feel brand new.

i have zero pain in my joints, during the day loads of good energy

does anyone else do this ?

This thread has been an eye opener for me. I consider what we wat to be fairly healthy, but now im going to be checking!

As a family we tend to est Greek yogurt or oats with nuts and dried fruits for breakfast.

Soup, salad or a sandwich for lunch. We transitioned to a bakery sourdough lately as I work next door to one. Its expensive, but we all prefer it. I make the soups, but im now going to check sandwich filling.

Dinner is anything from a roast to curry to stir fry to pasta. I do use curry paste, but no other sauces. Sometimes pesto. So need to check those. Everything else I 'make from scratch'. My family are pudding fans, so i definitely need to adress this.

@Seaside3 i know. Once you start seeding this stuff it’ll blow your mind. I’m not going totally UPF-free but I’m trying to eliminate as much as possible.

@Idontpostmuch have you read Ultra Processed People ? He says that if you only cut out one UPF it should be diet drinks.

I'm loving this thread, thanks @LaurieFairyCake for starting it and bloody well done to you.

My grandmother cooked meat until it was tough, and veg until it was soggy, so no, I won’t cook what she did!

@BitOutOfPractice im hopefully our diet isn't too bad, but definitely going to take a look!
I think what is potentially confusing is somw crisps and ready meals etc are 'fine' because no upf, where as they're not actually necessarily good for us. It seems they can be full of salt, sugar, fried and it doesn't mean we should be eating them on the daily.
Just like we shouldnt be eating a massive wadge of home made cake daily.
It's potentially a mixed message, especially if people are trying to lose weight.

To be fair its only a mixed message if you dont understand what the message is

No one is claiming that UPF per se makes you fat so from a weight maintenance perspective (or loss) of course you have to pay attention to your macros. However IF you are trying to manage your weight, UPFs make it easy to overeat, so there is that. They make you hungry

UPFs have other health implications though, they affect absorption of nutrients, are often nutrient emptyish, affect your gut biomes, a whole host of problems. So from a health perspective that is a different message.

Personally I am not afraid of salt and fat, to a lesser extent sugar. I use these in my cooking, its what adds flavour. So you wouldnt eat what I cook in abundance if you're trying to lose weight, but would eat it in abundance from a nutrition perspective because its highly nutritious. And tasty

It's not confusing. Not UPF things aren't necessarily good for us. Like I have been told to cut down on rice because I have diabetes in my family. I used to eat it twice a day so am taking that advice! It's not UPF but still bad for me.

However rice with daal and veg is perfectly healthy for my underweight DC. Better than chicken nuggets or frozen pizza, say.

I think most people can understand the nuance.

Eg if you're trying to eat healthily, then a massive wedge of cake daily is never going to be a good idea and most people would understand that. But if you want a modest slice of cake once a week, it'll be less bad for you if it's homemade with real ingredients. No one thinks cake is actually a health food just because they've made it themselves.

It doesn't need to be the extremes that people often leap to on here.

Sorry, im not confused, but i can see how it can easily be confusing. "I dont eat upf, I've no idea why I'm not healthy" whilst eating a homemade cake, crisps, and a ready meal most nights, is quite conceivable. They're all high in calories and whilst fine if eaten in moderation, aren't what most would consider a balanced diet.

Let's face it, if keeping a healthy weight was that easy, we wouldn't have obesity issues.
People will always 'misunderstand', or twist a bit of knowledge to suit their narrative. We've all seen foods that are sold as 'healthy' that clearly isn't, it just happens to have something like nuts in.

I was just thinking, as I read the comments, that attention to what we eat is still important, upf or not, that's all.

Because you're using the word 'healthy'.

When I think you mean 'overweight'

So the sentence should be 'I dont eat UPFS so I dont know why Im overweight' whilst eating a homemade cake

And the answer is, because the person is eating too many calories than their burn off, regardless of the format those calories are delivered in

However, someone may genuinely say 'I get gut issues, Ive got spots, Im always hungry, Im not overweight but I eat a lot of UPFs'.

Well that also makes sense because they might want to see if a whole food diet and intake helps some of their health issues.

But as others have also said, diet is no the only reason people get ill.

People will always 'misunderstand', or twist a bit of knowledge to suit their narrative.

That's the issue, though.

Because its not actually confusing at all.

Spot on.

A quick read of the thread would suggest there are plenty of people who are confused.
They're confusing processed foods with upfs for a start.
There isnt even an agreed definition on upfs that I can find.
And if you Google upf AI suggests ready meals, crisps, cereals, sauces are all upf. Yet in this thread that has been debunked, with people giving examples of upf free all the above.
Do I eat a upf diet? Mainly, but the thread has made me aware to check things im not sure of in my quest to eat a healthier, balanced diet.

Please dont rely on AI!!!

What is wrong with people that they take this as gospel!

If you're interested in the subject, which it appears you are, read up properly about it.

There isnt an agreed definition

People do get confused between UPFs and just PFs. That is because they dont pay attention properly

They also get confused between what is a 'healthy diet' and what is a 'weight loss regime'. They muddle the 2 up all the time. They can sometimes be the same, they might not always be the same.

I'm also not relying on AI, that would be mad. But you know, so many people do.

It seems we cant agree that some people may be confused and that's fine.

I know what I meant.

Most sourdough is nice toasted but not that nice just sliced. I get a delicious Japanese bread from an indie bakery. No UPF unless you count the white flour. Lovely and soft. Must learn how to make.

I use the whole egg blender method, the mayonnaise is delicious.
Might be UPF free but it’s not healthy.

Why is it not healthy?

I would have said the oil? Mine uses a cup of oil!

You know we must run away from fat

Again the word healthy. Even though I use it myself, Im try to be really careful about how I use it. Its such a nonsense and nuisance word.

Its quite dangerous the way its used these days.

Absolutely nothing 'unhealthy' about mayo.

And why is that not 'healthy' and what do you even mean by that word?

my hob/oven is out of action too, bit of trial and error needed but you can do "boiled" eggs in the air fryer.

Exactly.

Parts of this thread for me are like listening to people in the 1980s. Ooh that's 'bad' for you. That's 'fattening' That's 'unhealthy' etc. Of course margarine was seen as the savious to all these terribly fattening things.

Then in the 1990s, folk got a bit more clued up about the Mediterranean diet, about different oils etc. Yet still a lot of those old fashioned attitudes have stuck.

Unless people are eating multiple jars of mayonnaise daily, then I don't see why this perpetual label of 'unhealthy' is shouted out like a bingo call as soon as any oil, salt or sugar is mentioned.

I make it with extra virgin olive oil, couldn’t be healthier.

Im still suffering PTSD from eating 'Gold'

Arrrrggghhhhh