Unprocessing your diet

Processed foods are the packaged foods you'll find in the center aisles of the grocery store. The include cereals, salad dressings, chips etc.

Remember, there isn't bad food and good food. There's fun food and healthy food. You can still have fun food just make sure it's in moderation. Trust us, this is more sustainable. Don't forget about our 80/20 rule discussed in our volumetrics lesson. While you can have these fun foods, just make sure the central theme of your diet is nutritious, healthy whole foods that make you feel full on less calories. They keep your blood sugar levels at steady levels and provide you more energy without highs and crashes.

We're aware that in today's society, this is getting harder and harder. The British Medical Journal revealed that 60% of calories consumed by the average American is sourced from packaged foods.

Processed foods are, well, processed. The process of this requires the stripping of healthy nutrients such as fiber, vitamins and expose you to additives, excess salt and added sugar. If you remember, these things elicit cravings for more processed foods.

When you abstain from processed foods and eat whole foods for a long period time you are rewiring your brain. Your palate changes and you prefer to eat healthy nutritious foods over fun foods.

What's wrong with processed foods?

Eating processed foods can be headwind to your weight loss journey. They make you hungrier, cause energy crashes, make it easier to eat more calories without feeling full, make you hungrier and will get you hooked. That's right, processed foods are addictive!

Make you hungrier

Process foods strip out fiber, which if you remember, is one of the magical nutrients that make you feel full on less calories. They also usually contain added sugars which means that they are quickly broken down and digested. This causes spikes in your blood sugar, which leads to high crashes.

That's why you feel hungrier after eating a snickers than you do a cup of broccoli even though broccoli has less calories. And because your brain isn't telling you that you are full you can eat more!

Make you addicted

Processed foods light up the parts of your brain that make you want more processed foods. What a vicious cycle! They are high in salt, sugar and fat which activate the parts of your brain that are associated with pleasure, rewards and.....cravings. If you thought you we're just fighting the craving part of your brain you'd be wrong. The reward center it lights up in your brain is a form of positive reinforcement which when repeated over time becomes a habit.

Here are some signs of addiction to food

• Not able to quit(Don't believe us? Try stopping your daily soda. It's harder than you think)

• Withdrawals, go on a sugar fast and see just how jittery, shaky, and antsy you get. You might even get a headache.

• Increased tolerance, when you eat processed foods for so long you need more and more to be satisfied.

• Can't stop thinking about it. It weights on your mind and you think of it constantly. You finally succumb and grab that handful of gummy bears before bed.

Breaking the cycle

To break the cycle, you first need to know what the problem is. Which processed foods are causing you the most problems? These will be foods that are addictive. You know the ones that you can't seem to stop eating, you can't have enough of and engorge yourself. They satisfy you in the short term. You feel and feel happy for a short period of time and then make you hungry and feel bad soon after - emotionally, mentally, physically.

Then make a plan to fight! You can make substitutions, eat less of them than you're used to, maybe avoid them completely? This is how you start to to unprocess your diet. Remember, the less ingredients the better.

Here are some healthy substitute examples

Peanut butter

Stay away from hydrogenated peanut butter - it contains added sugar, salt and fat. Ingredients usually include roasted peanuts, sugar, molasses, fully hydrogenated vegetable oils, mono and diglycerides, salt. Instead use natural peanut. It's literally just peanuts grinded into a butter consistency.

Nonfat strawberry Greek yogurt

When you buy this from the store it has a lot of ingredients. Cultured grade A nonfat milk, cane sugar, strawberries, water, corn starch, natural flavors, fruit, carob bean gum, lemon juice concentrate, vitamin D3 and vegetable to add color. Instead, flavor your own plain unsweetened Greek yogurt by topping it with diced strawberries.

Unprocessing your diet, by choosing whole, minimally processed foods over highly processed ones, can aid weight loss. These foods offer lower caloric density, higher fiber content, reduced added sugars, and improved nutrient density, promoting feelings of fullness, stable blood sugar levels, and reduced cravings. Additionally, the balanced macronutrient profile helps regulate hunger hormones, supporting satiety. Combining this dietary approach with regular exercise and healthy lifestyle habits enhances its effectiveness for sustainable weight management and overall well-being.