Processed foods have long faced scrutiny for their deleterious effects on the body, but according to one nutritionist, there is no need to overhaul an entire diet overnight to lose weight – the most important place to start is with what you drink.
Talking to GB News, senior nutritionist at Slimming World Alexandra Clark explained the real reasons people see extra weight loss when they move away from these foods.
“The extra weight loss is driven by a number of things,” she explained. Fizzy drinks are often the main culprit because they are packed with additives designed to make them more palatable. What’s more, many people reach for them several times a day without a second thought.
Fizzy drinks should be swapped for water or no-added-sugar squash
|
GETTY
The first and most crucial move in a weight loss journey is therefore to swap them out for water or a no-added-sugar squash, Alex advised.
But the nutritionist is keen to stress that there’s no point in branding all ultra-processed foods as bad.
“There is no denying that some ultra-processed foods […] are food for us to limit – not purely because they’re ultra-processed though, but because they’re high in fat, sugar or both,” she said.
Many processed foods, she pointed out, “can be consumed as part of a healthy, nutritionally balanced diet, like baked beans and cheese”.
Cutting everything out can equally be too restrictive for people to sustain, pushing a huge number of dieters to derail from their goals.
But the extra weight loss many dieters enjoy when they move away from processed foods is driven by multiple factors, including greater satiety, fewer cravings and unconscious calorie reduction.
Minimally processed foods, such as fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and lean meats, are typically bulkier and therefore more filling.
By contrast, Alex points out that more processed foods typically require “less chewing”, “making them easier to overeat and less likely to trigger satiety cues”.
Once the first swap is made, Alex suggests that the next easiest change is to cook from scratch where possible.
Processed foods are easy to overeat
|
GETTY
The priority should be to replace ready meals or jarred sauces with homemade versions, which are often just as quick and may taste better, too.
Ultimately, it all boils down to balance and finding the approach that is most conducive to your lifestyle rather than striving for perfection.