'I dropped 1.5stone by cutting out one food - it was so much easier than I feared'

Steffan Rhys has battled the bulge for years, contempt giving a full big of diets and wellness kicks a whirl. He couldn't negociate to suffer weight, adjacent with a sturdy workout regular and mixing up his eating habits. But now, Steffan has yet cracked the codification to shedding the pounds.

He stumbled upon a elemental instrumentality that's helped him accidental cheerio to one-and-a-half chromatic conscionable by cutting thing tiny from his diet. Steffan made the prime to springiness ultra-processed nutrient (UPF) the footwear erstwhile the caller twelvemonth bells rang - and he's been connected a rotation for the past 9 months without a backward glance. Keen to stock his triumph, Steffan has penned a idiosyncratic communicative astir his slimming saga, hoping it mightiness animate others to effort it out.

"If you're thing similar me, you mightiness person spent years trying tons of antithetic things to suffer a spot of value and pb a healthier lifestyle. You mightiness person tried antithetic diets, joined weight-loss programmes, oregon pushed yourself hard to bash much exercise," Steffan explains.

"And there's thing incorrect with immoderate of those things (within reason). Nine months aft I made a large but elemental alteration to my diet, I'm convinced that the value nonaccomplishment I've experienced this twelvemonth was down to 1 happening and thing else: cutting ultra-processed nutrient (UPF) from my diet. I stopped eating UPF astatine the commencement of 2024."

"I besides stopped eating foods with added sweetener (though they are often the aforesaid thing). After 3 months I noticed a quality successful however I looked and however my apparel fit. After six months, I weighed myself and was stunned. I seldom measurement myself but successful the past, whenever I did, I was ever astir 11.5 stone. But present I was down to 10 stone."

Capturing the health-conscious public's attention, UPF is simply a spot of a buzzword astatine moment. But what precisely are UPFs? "Ultra-processed foods are those which incorporate precocious levels of chemical, synthetic oregon concern ingredients. They person astir apt besides undergone concern processes similar hydrogenation and moulding, and incorporate additives similar dyes, stabilisers, flavour enhancers oregon emulsifiers," Steffan explains.

By revealing what is hidden successful our food, it highlights the downsides to immoderate of our favourite products: "UPFs precise often person precocious levels of unhealthy fats, sugars and salt. The driving unit down these foods is the nett margins of large, multi-national nutrient manufacturers, not the wellness and nutrition of mundane people similar us."

Not lone are specified items crafted for agelong shelf-life and sensation entreaty but they're strategically honed to maximize profits: "They're designed for agelong support lives, convenience, other tastiness (a cynic mightiness accidental to marque you devour more) and, naturally, precocious profitability."

Even the astir discerning consumers tin beryllium caught disconnected defender arsenic Steffan explains: "As idiosyncratic who's hyper-aware of their existence, I inactive find myself amazed erstwhile thing I've bought without checking the ingredients (because I thought it couldn't perchance beryllium a UPF) turns retired to beryllium conscionable that."

"But the astir communal examples won't astonishment you: supermarket bread; meal cereals, granola, flavoured yoghurt, chocolate, biscuits, crisps, vigor bars, fizzy drinks, crystal cream, pizza and ready-meals."

"So however did I change my diet? Firstly, you don't person to discontinue acold turkey from time one, similar I did. That tin beryllium pugnacious and unsustainable. A elemental starting constituent could beryllium making casual swaps to meals and ingredients, for example, effort nuts alternatively of granola and cereal for breakfast, with Greek plain yoghurt alternatively of the flavoured kind."

"Instead of crisps connected the broadside of a repast oregon arsenic a snack, devour nuts consecutive from the bag. Make your ain hummus oregon crispy chickpeas (all you bash is screen immoderate chickpeas from a tin successful lipid and instrumentality them successful the oven until they're crispy). You tin past support them successful tubs oregon pots arsenic go-to snacks."

"You tin besides effort making homemade versions of your favourite foods. For example, breadstuff is not hard to marque astatine location and arsenic you get much assured you tin marque steadfast versions of the things you emotion - I made a "healthy Nutella" retired of hazelnuts, cocoa powder, maple syrup and milk.

"UPF creeps into truthful overmuch of what we eat, including (or possibly especially) those foods which marque bold wellness claims similar 'low fat' oregon 'low sugar' connected the packet. Some of the foods I stopped eating are obvious, similar crisps and beverage cocoa bars. Other things are little obvious, similar fruit-flavoured yoghurts and granola.

"Learning however to marque steadfast versions of the delicious foods we each bask has been 1 of the champion things astir this full journey. You tin inactive marque a comparatively steadfast pizza, loaf of breadstuff oregon adjacent crystal pick and cocoa spreads.

"For example, you tin marque a lovely, creaseless and affluent crystal pick astatine location utilizing basal room ingredients: cream, eggs, sweetener positive your flavour of prime (a banana, fruit, vanilla, cocoa pulverization etc)."

"Now comparison that with the ingredients successful this mass-produced crystal pick sold successful a large supermarket: reconstituted skimmed beverage concentrate, partially reconstituted whey powder, glucose syrup, sugar, dextrose, thenar stearin, palm oil, thenar kernel oil, emulsifier (mono- and di-glycerides of fatty acids), stabilisers (guar gum, sodium alginate), flavouring, colours (carotenes). I mean, bash you adjacent cognize what immoderate of those things are? They are surely not food.

"What's more, you don't person to get your UPF intake down to 0%. I've chosen to bash that, much oregon less, but getting your intake of UPF down to astir 20% oregon little of your wide fare would beryllium precise beneficial to your wellness (for galore people, it's much similar 80%)."

What astir sweetener and exercise?

"It's important to enactment that arsenic good arsenic giving up ultra-processed nutrient successful 2024, I besides gave up added sugar. Now, you could accidental that I person nary mode of knowing whether it is quitting foods with added sweetener oregon quitting UPFs that has caused the value loss."

"But the 2 mostly spell hand-in-hand anyway, particularly successful the discourse of my diet: cocoa bars, ready-made desserts, flavoured yoghurts, granola - they are each precocious successful added sweetener and UPFs."

"One happening I haven't done is chopped down connected my sweetener intake from effect - I devour masses of it. I've not accrued my workout levels either, though I bash present find workout easier - for example, I tin tally faster for longer."

Do I devour little nutrient present and americium I bare each the time?

"No. I tin categorically accidental that, successful presumption of volume, I americium not eating little food. Not lone that, but I devour a batch of foods with precocious abdominous content, similar nuts, Greek yoghurt and avocados. The cardinal is that they are steadfast fats and you tin beauteous overmuch devour them freely (and I do). These types of foods really assistance support you fuller for longer, portion UPFs tin person the other effect."

Is each processed nutrient bad?

"No. Almost each nutrient needs immoderate benignant of processing, unless you're biting chunks of nutrient consecutive from a cow, oregon pulling carrots from the crushed and putting them consecutive successful your mouth. The grading of food-processing is done via thing called the Nova system, which splits nutrient into 4 groups:

Unprocessed oregon minimally processed food: foods recovered successful nature, similar meat, effect and veg, but besides things similar flour and pasta. Processed culinary ingredients: butter, sugar, oils, vinegar, chromatic (you couldn't past connected these unsocial and they're not particularly steadfast either, but premix them with foods from radical 1 and you are apt having a steadfast meal.

Processed food: ready-made mixtures of 1 and 2 above, often processed chiefly for preservation, similar tins of tuna oregon fruit. Ultra-processed food: formulations of ingredients, mostly of exclusive concern use, made by a bid of concern processes, galore requiring blase instrumentality and technology. Basically, if it's wrapped successful integrative and has a agelong database of ingredients connected the backmost that see things you person ne'er heard of oregon don't person successful your kitchen, it's UPF."

Wondering however to larn much astir ultra-processed nutrient and eating well? Steffan explains however he's learnt astir creating a UPF-free diet. "Two resources person been invaluable to maine successful learning much astir this. Firstly, the Zoe Science and Nutrition podcast. I learned truthful overmuch I didn't cognize astir nutrient this twelvemonth by listening to their podcast and aboriginal was offered the accidental to instrumentality portion successful their programme.

"The 2nd is the bonzer book, Ultra-Processed People - Why Do We Eat Stuff That Isn't Food And Why Can't We Stop by Chris Van Tulleken. This is simply a precise readable deep-dive into the world of UPF and my information astir what I devour is present astir arsenic overmuch to bash with not contributing to the profits of UPF-producing corporations arsenic it is with my health."

Steffan's emblematic breakfast, luncheon and dinner

Breakfast: A blend of nuts (typically cashews, almonds, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts and walnuts), seeds (such arsenic sesame oregon chia) effect and Greek yoghurt.

Lunch: A crockery comprising lentils, vegetables, hummus and either tuna oregon chicken.

Dinner: Fish oregon chickenhearted served with herby food beans, oregon a legume chilli.