Why is it so hard for me to cut out processed food?

Also, simplify your meals a bit and build from there. I enjoy cooking but sometimes there is not time or you just don’t feel like it. But a sandwich made with fresh bread, small amount of good cheese, and veggies can be good for you and is easy. A frozen meal with some added frozen veggies and a salad can still be healthy. I believe in dressing up the processed with some fresh. I guess it is all about planning.

I am not one to say that making excuses are ok, but sometimes a little bit of understanding as to WHY certain things are a challenge for you can be really helpful for some. My mom needed to understand why she was craving salty, oily, stuff when she really did want to eat healthier. She would swear up and down that she got more full with a dollar cheeseburger than a salad, even though we all know that it isn't really true if you consider how many calories of each it would take to fill her up. It made all the difference once she understood that we are still evolving and crave whatever will have the most calories for energy, and have not yet evolved to a point where our body signals to us that we have had too much fat, because food ability like we have now is a very recent construct.

This is a pretty concise article on the subject: http://www.cracked.com/quick-fixes/3-sinister-reasons-youre-addicted-to-junk-food/

I do question if HFCS is any different than regular table sugar.

Yes there is...a HUGE difference. Aside from the shills in this thread, go to your doctor and have him do a blood sugar test as a baseline. Consume HFCS; do another test. Go back to baseline, consume sugar and do another test.

The results will surprise you.

HFCS is pure poison and horrible for human consumption. For you shills that will argue with me, don't waste your time....and don't forget your T-shirt.

I just buy a can of beans. But, I wouldn't consider that processed.

When I’m buying something canned or processed I just look to make sure the ingredient list is small. So if it’s beans, the ingredients should be beans, salt, water. If it’s ice cream it should be cream, sugar, salt. I just try to do the best I can.

I do question if HFCS is any different than regular table sugar.

I’m sort of torn on this. Dr. Lustig thinks it’s so close as to be pretty much the same. I know there is a slightly different ratio of glucose to fructose, but I also read recently that the ratio is often far more heavily weight to fructose than generally assumed. So who knows. I prefer to stay away from it but I don’t freak out if it’s in something. Similar to vegetable oil/soybean oil which seems to be in all store bought salad dressing but I would rather avoid. I just don’t cook with it and try not to go overboard.

Organic honey is minimally processed and still considered clean.

I’m having flashbacks to the honey processed by beas = fake food made in a lab debate.

I also have not yet made up my mind on GMO but I'm not actively avoiding it right now.

Also, simplify your meals a bit and build from there. I enjoy cooking but sometimes there is not time or you just don’t feel like it. But a sandwich made with fresh bread, small amount of good cheese, and veggies can be good for you and is easy. A frozen meal with some added frozen veggies and a salad can still be healthy. I believe in dressing up the processed with some fresh. I guess it is all about planning.

This...try starting out by supplementing your frozen meals with healthy sides. Add a small, quick salad, or a fat free yogurt. I had to break from the "grab-n-go" habit myself several years ago. I used to always pack a frozen meal for lunch at work and ate another for dinner at home. I decided to start looking at what my "favorite" frozen meals were and tried recreating them myself in my own kitchen. Some were surprisingly easy, and MUCH better tasting! Use your 'favorites' as inspiration for some home-cooked meals, make a bit more, and you'll have leftovers to nuke up during the week for a quick lunch/dinner.

I agree-dust off that crock pot! And set aside a few hours a week to prep as much as you can in advance. LOTS of easy recipes online, or good books you can find at your local library. Look online for crockpot meals you can prep ahead and toss in the freezer so all you have to do is take one out when you go to bed, toss the contents into the crockpot before work, and go!

I find we tend to shop on Saturdays and prep a few things then and a few on Sunday. For example, we buy fresh fruit in bulk on Saturdays and my husband and I spend a few minutes chatting in the kitchen as we wash/cut/prep the fruit and divide it into small plastic containers. We actually have to do this at least twice a week since the fruit gets eaten so quickly! But, if we leave it all "as is" in it's packaging, we throw it out when it goes bad. Bonus: Hubby and I are guaranteed a few hours a week of uninterrupted chatting time as the girls want none of that responsibility! LOL

Sundays we try to cook what we can in advance, or at least set out what we need for the week. We buy meat in large packages at Sam's Club, so we split it up into smaller portions that we'll need for meals for the week. If we can, we'll cook it up on Sunday and reheat the night we need it. Having it simply in the right package size we'll need makes things easier during the week. We buy a lot of eggs and will hard-boil a dozen or more and peel them and store them in a plastic container. Easy to grab as a snack or add some protein to a salad.

Salad stuff: we don't like to toss a full salad on Saturday because the veggies tend to wilt/go bad at different rates, so we grab some plastic containers and in one we'll slice up the cucumbers; another the carrots; another the peppers, etc. That way, if one goes bad before the other, the whole salad isn't ruined. And making a salad is as simple as grabbing the containers and tossing everything into one bowl-takes a minute or less! Super easy, super fast during the week. Sometimes we'll even toss some seasoned chicken into the oven, slice it up, and have that ready to add to salads, too.

When I've had a particularly busy week ahead of me, I've even prepped sandwich stuff in advance for school lunches for the girls!! Yep, I'd take the deli meat (arguably processed, but I do pay the extra $$ for the lower sodium, mostly pronounceable ingredients) and cheese and separate out what I'll need for sandwiches and store them in a sandwich container in the fridge. Then all i have to do in the morning is slap that stuff between two slices of bread, toss some condiments on and toss it back into the sandwich container!

Veggies at dinner...lots of good options in the freezer section. Look up online how to dress them up a bit, maybe with some olive oil and seasonings. I've steamed up veggies in the pre-packaged packages, tossed into a bowl and added a few seasonings. Super quick and adds some extra flavors. Or, Ziploc makes steamable bags for fresh veggies in the microwave. I tend to prefer the stove-top steamers, but in a quick pinch, I'll grab one o those (they can be pricey). Steam up some broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, beans, carrots, etc. etc. etc.

Got a grill? Marinate some meat over the week and toss that onto the grill. There are a lot of easy, delicious marinade recipes online. And don't forget fruit on the grill! YUMMY! Our favorites are peaches and pineapple.

So, if you're interested in learning to phase out some of your processed foods, you have some ideas how to start. Good luck!!

I think processed foods have tasty things we crave inserted in it, and they are so easy to get, rather than spending time cooking and such like that.

I think the added things are truly addicting and they TASTE GOOD. well until you start eating healthier then your tastes will change.

right now, that hamburger at the fast food place looks like too much, too ick.. but 2 months ago i would have been salivating at the picture of it. my appetite has gone down, so i dont crave that..

but its really addicting for sure.

Not true!! My mom cooked most of our meals fresh. We ate mostly Veggies w/rice and a little meat. We ate a lot of fish, tofu, chicken. We ate out like once a month as a treat. My unhealthy habits started AFTER I got married.

You don't have have to completely give up processed foods to be lean/fit/healthy/whatever

Maked good food choces, hit your macros and exercise, everything will fall into place processed foods are not the enemy preventing your weight loss.

Start with little changes, you are finding it hard because you are tying to completely change your diet all at once which is both difficulty and in fact not necessary

SO SO SO TRUE!!!!!

Get it all out of your house and donate it to a food shelter. Only buy whole foods and you will be amazed that when you are really hungry how good the only thing in the house tastes. Your tastes buds will change over time, and you will no longer desire the processed taste, calories and logical realization it is just not good for your body will also takeover. Good Luck, and also try a new whole food every time you feel up to it which will increase as the processed foods are out. :flowerforyou:

(please keep in mind this is only my opinion, I have done no research, but know many people that cannot seem to kick the processed food "habit")... I think that processed foods are packed full of things that become addictive. Sodium, MSG, etc... so after eating primarily processed foods, your body begins to crave those things if you stop "cold turkey". As you incorporate more and more fresh food into your diet, it will get easier to turn down the processed foods!

There are actually a few people in this thread completely making things up, I suggest taking a look in the mirror

HFCS contains more Fructose compared to regular sugar (imagine that), Fructose INCREASES the hypothalamic activity thus making you feel more hungry and not as full.

Look, if this crap was good for you, MFP wouldn't exist. You going to deny that obesity rates are on the rise?

PALM MEETS FACE