I’m a Personal Trainer, who cares about my health and I eat Ultra Processed Foods Everyday.
- Adele Meade
- Feb 19
- 2 min read
GASP. I know, you might think I’ve gone mad?
It’s confusing. Especially when we see someone else screaming at a box of Shreddies in the supermarket. It’s a lot of noise 🤕
Processed, is a way of labelling foods based on how they’re prepared, packaged or number of ingredients. Some foods go through more steps to make them safe to consume or legally be allowed to be sold. Other foods, go through processes to make them tastier, more marketable, ready to eat or to fortify their nutritional value. The more processing a food goes through, the more “processed it is”. 🫡
Labeling foods as “bad” creates guilt, restriction and binge cycles. That’s not wellness or health. That’s stress, pressure and a disordered approach to eating.
These foods can be a tool to help improve our nutrition through convenience, accessibility, affordability and foods that keep well. I encourage people to eat a majority wholefood, balanced diet, full of colour, diversity, protein and inline with their energy requirements. But that doesn’t exclude processed foods.
Protein bars, pre-cut steam bags of veg, microwave rice pouches, porridge pots, yogurts, nut bars, carbohydrate gels…
Cookies, cake, chocolate, ready meals, bread, cereal, sugar free energy drinks, Diet Coke….
All of the ⬆️ are processed foods. Some, more than others. Some within that list will have a long list of ingredients to make them safe for us to eat; additives, preservatives and often fear associated. If I asked you, if a fruit and nut cereal bar was “unhealthy”….you’d probably say no.
In fact, none of these foods are good or bad. They’ve all got a purpose and a place. You just need to look at it differently from a different perspective as I do in the short video series ⬇️
They help my training, supplement my overall nutrition, enhance my life quality...and sometimes, I actually just enjoy them 🤷🏼♀️
The Bottom Line ⬇️
* No foods are morally superior; no “good” or “bad”. Only more or less inline with your goals or personal targets.
* Context matters more than anything. Stay in your lane and focus on your own goals and lifestyle.
* Consistency > perceived food purity when it comes to making lasting change.
* Some goals require us to temporarily value performance >
* Adherence is 🔑 convenience, speed, reduce mental fatigue, enjoyment help. Processed ≠ worthless.
* A healthy diet ❌ encourage unhealthy behaviours. A clean diet, is not superior. A balanced diet, is not so if it you find yourself eliminating or demonising food groups.
* People try to sell diets without UPF…then encourage you to buy their protein supps 👀
Your diet should support your life and your goals ✨
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