Processed Convenience Foods- YAY or NAY

2

Replies

  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    Aside from particular ingredients I don't react well to, or an excessive amount of grease, whether I've gotten a workout in seems to have a much larger effect on how I feel.... Which means convenience foods get the win quite often.
  • Jackie9003
    Jackie9003 Posts: 1,105 Member
    I eat it all the time within my allowance, I have a drawer of 100cal bars/snacks at work for convenience. I also have weeks where I'll have the Marks and Spencer calorie controlled meals if I need to get back on track after a holiday or break. If it fits your plan and helps you stay on it then do what's best for you, not what other people think is best.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,881 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    I focus first on staying in my calories. Then I focus on getting enough protein and fiber next. Then I try to get a certain amount of servings of veggies and fruits. I also avoid trans fat. I manage to do all that while still eating anywhere from probably 25-50% convenience foods, which I think most people would consider "processed".

    I have yet to hear a logical, non scare-mongering explanation as to why "processing" a food automatically makes it unhealthy. It seems to me that some are good for my health, some bad for my health, and some neutral. And even if a particular food seems to be problematic, like having an overload of salt and sugar, or a gram or two of trans fat, I don't believe having it once in a while is an issue, it would be eating it regularly.

    I eat several frozen meals that have 20+g of protein, several grams of fiber, no trans fat, a reasonable sodium level, and a full serving of vegetables. They are processed, but they fit every other definition of a "healthy" food I can find. I think if you choose items mindfully, you can choose convenience foods that fit quite well into a balanced, healthy diet.

    I have far more issue with people who scold others on what they are consuming than I do with convenience foods :lol:

    I have had people who are heavier than me, who get sick all the time, and who smoke tell me my Coke Zero is going to kill me and my Lean Cuisine's aren't a good choice. I tell them I am constantly educating myself about health and nutrition and I've decided they're fine and thanks though.

    I had assumed we were all talking about ultra-processed foods here, but wanted to drop this in just in case. Starts on p 39.

    http://bvsms.saude.gov.br/bvs/publicacoes/dietary_guidelines_brazilian_population.pdf

    Because of their ingredients, ultra-processed foods such as salty fatty packaged snacks, soft drinks, sweetened breakfast cereals, and instant noodles, are nutritionally unbalanced. As a result of their formulation and presentation, they tend to be consumed in excess, and displace natural or minimally processed foods.
  • RelCanonical
    RelCanonical Posts: 3,882 Member
    I would say most of them don't really fill me up. I do eat plenty of frozen meals though, which tends to do better with the vegetable bulk to help me stay full.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    QueenofCaffeine4Life wrote: »
    I love convenience foods; Quest bars & cookies, Atkins products, RSP Whole Bars, Protein powders. I also like chicken fingers, low carb wraps, and the like.

    I have been scolded by the people who seem to know more than I do. I was told that these types of meals/snacks are not good for me. Granted I do realize that natural foods are best. But are processed foods really that bad?

    If it is about calories and they fit in my daily allowance, does it matter?
    Seriously asking!
    I eat a typical day of at least three or more processed items.

    What say you?

    I mostly cook from scratch using whole foods (or some minimally processed items), since I enjoy it and it fits my tastes better.

    I don't, however, buy into the idea that being processed (or even ultraprocessed) makes something unhealthy or not nutrient dense or not helpful to consume. I prefer not to generalize, but to look at the specific item and its ingredients and macros and nutrients and so on. I also think it makes sense to avoid certain ingredients based on ethical considerations if they apply to a particular product, but that's a separate issue.

    If the foods are helping you be satisfied with your diet and your overall nutrition is good, I see nothing wrong with them.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,742 Member
    apullum wrote: »
    “Processed” and “natural” are vague terms. They mean almost nothing for the purposes of proper nutrition. For example, here are some foods that have been “processed” in some way:

    - Frozen vegetables
    - Dried fruit
    - Roasted nuts
    - Yogurt
    - Cheese
    - Jerky
    - Ground beef
    - Pasteurized milk
    - Tofu

    I could go on, but you get the point.

    Some prepackaged foods may be high calorie, low in micronutrients, or otherwise not suited for your calorie/macro goals. That isn’t true for all prepackaged foods, and it doesn’t make those foods “bad.” It simply means you should choose foods that fit your needs and preferences.

    Great point. I always feel confused when people say "processed foods" for exactly this reason.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    edited August 2019
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    kimny72 wrote: »
    I focus first on staying in my calories. Then I focus on getting enough protein and fiber next. Then I try to get a certain amount of servings of veggies and fruits. I also avoid trans fat. I manage to do all that while still eating anywhere from probably 25-50% convenience foods, which I think most people would consider "processed".

    I have yet to hear a logical, non scare-mongering explanation as to why "processing" a food automatically makes it unhealthy. It seems to me that some are good for my health, some bad for my health, and some neutral. And even if a particular food seems to be problematic, like having an overload of salt and sugar, or a gram or two of trans fat, I don't believe having it once in a while is an issue, it would be eating it regularly.

    I eat several frozen meals that have 20+g of protein, several grams of fiber, no trans fat, a reasonable sodium level, and a full serving of vegetables. They are processed, but they fit every other definition of a "healthy" food I can find. I think if you choose items mindfully, you can choose convenience foods that fit quite well into a balanced, healthy diet.

    I have far more issue with people who scold others on what they are consuming than I do with convenience foods :lol:

    I have had people who are heavier than me, who get sick all the time, and who smoke tell me my Coke Zero is going to kill me and my Lean Cuisine's aren't a good choice. I tell them I am constantly educating myself about health and nutrition and I've decided they're fine and thanks though.

    I had assumed we were all talking about ultra-processed foods here, but wanted to drop this in just in case. Starts on p 39.

    http://bvsms.saude.gov.br/bvs/publicacoes/dietary_guidelines_brazilian_population.pdf

    Because of their ingredients, ultra-processed foods such as salty fatty packaged snacks, soft drinks, sweetened breakfast cereals, and instant noodles, are nutritionally unbalanced. As a result of their formulation and presentation, they tend to be consumed in excess, and displace natural or minimally processed foods.

    I don't think it's really possible to generalize accurately about all ultraprocessed foods.

    I mean, I'm not sure how the categories work, it seems like a confusing approach to me, but let's take the frozen meals kimny mentioned. Most would consider those ultraprocessed, but depending on which ones you pick, they may well not be extra salty or fatty or sugary or nutritionally unbalanced, and they may not be foods that people find difficult to avoid consuming excess of. My sister regularly eats those, and she doesn't seem to have an issue with overconsuming them.

    The Quest bars are easy to overeat for some, but I never found them to be, and they added protein to my diet. I stopped eating them after a while since I decided I preferred other uses of my calories (I think they taste just okay), but I wouldn't consider them a problematic addition to someone's diet within reason.

    The low carb wrap or protein powder mentioned by OP would seem to potentially fall in the same category -- no reason to assume they are nutritionally unbalanced or sugaryfattysalty. The protein powder is just protein and the powders are all over the place as to what else is in them.
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,582 Member
    LyndaBSS wrote: »
    glassyo wrote: »
    LyndaBSS wrote: »
    I think there are healthy foods and not so healthy foods. I put processed foods in the not so healthy category.

    I prefer to cook my own foods. That's the only way I really know what's in it. When I make my meals, they don't include binders or fillers or chemicals I can't pronounce.

    That's just my preference. You do you. I'll do me. 😉

    *cough* pet peeve *cough*

    Not being able to pronounce a word...or ingredient...doesn't make it a bad word...or ingredient.

    OP, I mostly live off processed foods during (weight loss and during maintenance) and it hasn't killed me yet.

    And I'm old! :)

    But I'm also someone who believe all foods have some sort of nutritional value.

    Can you let me know where I said that unpronounceable ingredients were bad ingredients because I still have time to edit my post.

    Ooooh sorry we're out of the edit time window (not that you needed to) but I wrote that right before leaving for work and sometimes do actually work when I'm...er...at work. :)

    No, that wasn't any kind of attack. I just think it was easy to go from knowing what goes in your meals to chemicals you can't pronounce being bad because you can pronounce what goes in your meals.

    Or something.

    Ingredients/chemicals people can't pronounce equaling unhealthy is a big thing around here.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    I don't get convenience foods often because they don't fit in the budget. The exception is: I keep a couple of frozen meals in the freezer for those times I can't or don't want to cook. If I see a sale (my favorite are Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers) I will stock up.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    seltzermint555 wrote: »
    apullum wrote: »
    “Processed” and “natural” are vague terms. They mean almost nothing for the purposes of proper nutrition. For example, here are some foods that have been “processed” in some way:

    - Frozen vegetables
    - Dried fruit
    - Roasted nuts
    - Yogurt
    - Cheese
    - Jerky
    - Ground beef
    - Pasteurized milk
    - Tofu

    I could go on, but you get the point.

    Some prepackaged foods may be high calorie, low in micronutrients, or otherwise not suited for your calorie/macro goals. That isn’t true for all prepackaged foods, and it doesn’t make those foods “bad.” It simply means you should choose foods that fit your needs and preferences.

    Great point. I always feel confused when people say "processed foods" for exactly this reason.

    That is why I don't use the term. I prefer "convenience foods" to mean foods that are ready, or almost ready, to eat.
  • JBanx256
    JBanx256 Posts: 1,471 Member
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    I have no problems with processed foods. Zero.

    However, the longer I've been tracking, the more they've disappeared from my diet because they don't help me reach my personal goals.

    Exactly. And very few processed foods fit my macros, or if they do "fit" it's with a shoehorn and then I'm stuck in a game of macro Tetris the rest of the day, trying to make whatever calories I have fit....just very rarely worth the hassle. A Quest bar or something similar every now and then makes the cut.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
    JBanx256 wrote: »
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    I have no problems with processed foods. Zero.

    However, the longer I've been tracking, the more they've disappeared from my diet because they don't help me reach my personal goals.

    Exactly. And very few processed foods fit my macros, or if they do "fit" it's with a shoehorn and then I'm stuck in a game of macro Tetris the rest of the day, trying to make whatever calories I have fit....just very rarely worth the hassle. A Quest bar or something similar every now and then makes the cut.

    Macro Tetris! :laugh: YES!!!

  • MikePTY
    MikePTY Posts: 3,814 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    kimny72 wrote: »
    I focus first on staying in my calories. Then I focus on getting enough protein and fiber next. Then I try to get a certain amount of servings of veggies and fruits. I also avoid trans fat. I manage to do all that while still eating anywhere from probably 25-50% convenience foods, which I think most people would consider "processed".

    I have yet to hear a logical, non scare-mongering explanation as to why "processing" a food automatically makes it unhealthy. It seems to me that some are good for my health, some bad for my health, and some neutral. And even if a particular food seems to be problematic, like having an overload of salt and sugar, or a gram or two of trans fat, I don't believe having it once in a while is an issue, it would be eating it regularly.

    I eat several frozen meals that have 20+g of protein, several grams of fiber, no trans fat, a reasonable sodium level, and a full serving of vegetables. They are processed, but they fit every other definition of a "healthy" food I can find. I think if you choose items mindfully, you can choose convenience foods that fit quite well into a balanced, healthy diet.

    I have far more issue with people who scold others on what they are consuming than I do with convenience foods :lol:

    I have had people who are heavier than me, who get sick all the time, and who smoke tell me my Coke Zero is going to kill me and my Lean Cuisine's aren't a good choice. I tell them I am constantly educating myself about health and nutrition and I've decided they're fine and thanks though.

    I had assumed we were all talking about ultra-processed foods here, but wanted to drop this in just in case. Starts on p 39.

    http://bvsms.saude.gov.br/bvs/publicacoes/dietary_guidelines_brazilian_population.pdf

    Because of their ingredients, ultra-processed foods such as salty fatty packaged snacks, soft drinks, sweetened breakfast cereals, and instant noodles, are nutritionally unbalanced. As a result of their formulation and presentation, they tend to be consumed in excess, and displace natural or minimally processed foods.

    I think "nutritionally unbalanced" is a broad generalization. Sure, I wouldn't say eating a ton of twinkies is the best thing for you, but a lot of meal replacement type (whether shakes, protein bars, frozen meals, etc) are fairly decent on macro balance, have some vitamins and minerals, and a lot aren't crazy salty. So sure, there are some bad choices. But there are also bad natural food choices you can make.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,881 Member

    apullum wrote: »
    MikePTY wrote: »
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    kimny72 wrote: »
    I focus first on staying in my calories. Then I focus on getting enough protein and fiber next. Then I try to get a certain amount of servings of veggies and fruits. I also avoid trans fat. I manage to do all that while still eating anywhere from probably 25-50% convenience foods, which I think most people would consider "processed".

    I have yet to hear a logical, non scare-mongering explanation as to why "processing" a food automatically makes it unhealthy. It seems to me that some are good for my health, some bad for my health, and some neutral. And even if a particular food seems to be problematic, like having an overload of salt and sugar, or a gram or two of trans fat, I don't believe having it once in a while is an issue, it would be eating it regularly.

    I eat several frozen meals that have 20+g of protein, several grams of fiber, no trans fat, a reasonable sodium level, and a full serving of vegetables. They are processed, but they fit every other definition of a "healthy" food I can find. I think if you choose items mindfully, you can choose convenience foods that fit quite well into a balanced, healthy diet.

    I have far more issue with people who scold others on what they are consuming than I do with convenience foods :lol:

    I have had people who are heavier than me, who get sick all the time, and who smoke tell me my Coke Zero is going to kill me and my Lean Cuisine's aren't a good choice. I tell them I am constantly educating myself about health and nutrition and I've decided they're fine and thanks though.

    I had assumed we were all talking about ultra-processed foods here, but wanted to drop this in just in case. Starts on p 39.

    http://bvsms.saude.gov.br/bvs/publicacoes/dietary_guidelines_brazilian_population.pdf

    Because of their ingredients, ultra-processed foods such as salty fatty packaged snacks, soft drinks, sweetened breakfast cereals, and instant noodles, are nutritionally unbalanced. As a result of their formulation and presentation, they tend to be consumed in excess, and displace natural or minimally processed foods.

    I think "nutritionally unbalanced" is a broad generalization. Sure, I wouldn't say eating a ton of twinkies is the best thing for you, but a lot of meal replacement type (whether shakes, protein bars, frozen meals, etc) are fairly decent on macro balance, have some vitamins and minerals, and a lot aren't crazy salty. So sure, there are some bad choices. But there are also bad natural food choices you can make.

    Yup. If I lived only on "unprocessed" fruits and vegetables, I'd become protein deficient, despite eating only "natural" foods (whatever those terms mean). Plant proteins are processed, whether that means drying beans, fermenting tempeh, etc. Animal proteins are processed too, assuming you like your meat and eggs to be cooked, your milk to be pasteurized, your cheese and yogurt to be...well, something other than just raw milk. Unless you are eating nothing but raw produce, nearly everything you eat is processed in some way. That says nothing about how nutritious a food is or isn't.

    Yes, technically if I pick a strawberry from my garden, stem it and throw it in the freezer, I have processed it, but no OP starting a thread on processed foods ever meant this and it is disingenuous to suggest otherwise.

    This is why in threads like this I refer to the Brazilian guidelines, which helpfully include Natural / Minimally Processed Foods and Processed Foods in addition to Ultra Processed.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,974 Member
    edited August 2019
    Yay or nay depends on personal choice.

    "Natural vs procesed" is kind of vague but we all know that, generally speaking, processed food is filled w/fat, salt and sugar which are major consumption inducers. Bacon cured w/salt a sugar is a prime example of "naturally" processed food that most of us simply can't resist.

    I admit that I can eat me some bacon - a pound at a sitting in the old days. Now I limit myself to 2-4 precooked slices at a time.

    So, it all comes down to moderation and control. If you just can't resist that Quarter Pounder w/Super-sized fries and cola, I say nay. But, if you can control the cals w/in your personal limits based on your goals, the I say, yay.

    Only you can decide which path to take and what the outcome will be.
  • lalalacroix
    lalalacroix Posts: 834 Member
    A lot of my diet is fresh fruit and veg, but I also eat dried beans, packaged grains, canned tomatoes, frozen berries, and more. I don't think I'd get enough calories in my day if I didn't eat these things. I'd love to see proof that any of these processed foods are unhealthy.

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