Ultra-processed food can be hard to resist. Not only is it designed to be quick and convenient to eat, research shows that certain additives and flavour combinations can lead to addictive eating behaviours.
Today, in the final part of my series to wean you off UPFs in just 30 days, we will look at — and tackle — the psychology behind these cravings.
Humans are complex creatures and we eat for many reasons, not just for energy.
So understanding why we are eating UPFs, even though we know they are bad for us, is just as important as understanding what we are eating.
In my clinic, I usually divide the reasons we eat into three different types of hunger: head, heart and stomach hunger.
The final part of Dietitian Nichola Ludlam-Raine’s series to wean you off ultra-processed foods in just 30 days will look at the psychology behind UPF cravings
Head hunger: Those random food cravings
Food marketing is clever, and our ‘food environment’ can pull us into thinking about and wanting particular foods. What I described as ‘head’ hunger is the random food cravings you may get that are often triggered by visual cues — like when you see cakes being iced on the confectionary counter or when you see enticing pictures of food while scrolling social media.
Head hunger can also be triggered by hearing foods being opened, for example when a friend opens up a crisp packet and dives in for that first crunchy bite, or by smelling foods (this is why some supermarkets have been known to pump bakery smells into the air towards unsuspecting shoppers).
This type of hunger tends to arise suddenly and demands to be satisfied almost instantly, making it tempting to grab an ultra-processed snack. But you are unlikely to feel completely satiated afterwards. Many of our favourite treats, from sweets and chocolate bars to crisps and pastries, lack essential nutrients as well as protein and fibre.
This means that although they may taste good, they don’t do much for our health and eating them can lead to further food cravings just a short time after because they don’t supply the nutrients that our bodies actually need.
Identify triggers in your environment
One of the keys to managing cravings for less nutritious UPFs is to modify your environment.
Start by unfollowing social media pages that can spark head hunger and rethink other day-to-day triggers — do you need to walk a different way home from work, for example, to avoid the smell of sausage rolls from the local bakery, or should you perhaps do the weekly shop online or go armed with a shopping list to resist temptingly packaged UPFs?
Encourage healthier cravings by placing more fruit and vegetables in your eyeline — the aim here is to make healthy the easy choice.
It may be helpful to break down your head hunger and cravings for UPFs into a five-step process.
Encourage healthier cravings by placing more fruit and vegetables in your eyeline – the aim here is to make healthy the easy choice
Recognise your triggers for UPFs: is it being in a particular environment? Is it at a specific time, for example at the start of your favourite TV show? Make a note of when and where your cravings for UPFs seem to occur.
Make a plan: once you’ve identified your triggers, make an alternative plan to break the habit with a positive (not negative!) intention.
For example, ‘At 3pm I will have a balanced snack’ (such as a plain yoghurt with fruit, nuts and a little honey) instead of thinking ‘I’m not going to have biscuits this afternoon’ and then caving in when head hunger strikes.
Distraction will help: changing your scenery and environment can help to squash unhelpful food cravings. Whether it’s going for a walk, having a bubble bath or doing crafts — focusing your mind elsewhere can be a useful distraction.
Remove visual triggers: try placing less nutritious UPFs out of sight — for example, in opaque containers towards the back of cupboards/fridges, or moving the biscuit tin so it is not next to the kettle.
Place foods that you would like to be eating at the front of your cupboards/fridge and make them easily accessible around your kitchen.
Savour your food: When we savour food that we consider to be a treat, we create long-lasting pleasurable experiences.
By eating meals, as well as snacks and ‘treats’, mindfully, you will increase the pleasurable experience for all foods and not just UPFs that are higher in sugar and fat.
Heart hunger: Emotional eating
Heart hunger is triggered or caused by emotions (both negative and positive). You might be eating for celebration or commiseration. But either way, emotional eating can distract us temporarily from uncomfortable feelings, and provide an instant feeling of comfort.
Although using food as a reward or pick-me-up from time to time isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it can be if it becomes the only or primary coping mechanism. We are also more likely to be drawn to sweet, high-fat, highly processed foods or salty snacks at moments like this because they represent a ‘reward’ or a ‘treat’ and often have connotations from childhood.
If emotional eating happens on a regular basis, it can be easy to fall into an unhealthy cycle where the real feelings or issues are not being addressed.
Emotional eating can also lead to further emotions, for example if a packet of biscuits is eaten out of boredom, anger or upset, it could lead to feelings of frustration or even guilt afterwards.*
If you are experiencing difficulties with cycles of emotional eating, please speak to your GP as well as the eating disorder charity BEAT.
We need food for both energy and nutrients, so it’s important to satisfy this hunger by eating the right kinds of foods and not to put it off until it’s ‘too late’
Tune into feelings with mindfulness
Mindfulness can be so helpful when it comes to tackling heart hunger. It makes you more aware of your emotions and the effect they are having on your appetite.
When you experience the strong feelings that can fuel emotional eating, question what you really need in that moment by brainstorming ‘if… then’ strategies. This means sitting down with a pen and paper and writing down potential emotions along with possible coping strategies other than food.
For example, ‘If I am feeling lonely, then I will phone a friend for a chat’; or, ‘If I am feeling angry, then I will take myself outside for a walk’.
If you still feel hungry, take time to breathe before making decisions about what to eat. Shorter inhales and longer exhales can stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, helping us to feel calmer.
You may find that your head hunger and heart hunger fade away after around 15 to 20 minutes, whereas stomach hunger would only build in intensity during this time.
If you do eat something, take time, before and during eating, to appreciate the taste and texture of the food – and this applies to all foods, whether they are ultra-processed or not.
Try to eat without distractions such as the television or your phone, and slow down your eating, keeping a check of your emotions as well as your hunger and fullness levels.
If you eat quickly, you are likely to eat more.
Stomach hunger: Eat at the right time
Stomach hunger is when we may experience the more physical feelings of hunger that come from the body, which can include a rumbling tummy, a feeling of being ‘hangry’, impatient or even fatigued or light-headed.
In comparison to head hunger, stomach hunger comes on gradually and builds until we eat again and, in comparison to heart hunger, eating to satisfy stomach hunger is not a way of seeking emotional solace.
We need food for both energy and nutrients, so it’s important to satisfy this hunger by eating the right kinds of foods and not to put it off until it’s ‘too late’.
If we’re ravenous, it can be easy to eat too quickly or be drawn to high fat, high sugar foods which offer a quick hit but won’t leave you feeling full for long. Eating when we are very hungry can also potentially lead us to overeat until we’re at the other end of the hunger scale, feeling uncomfortably or painfully full.
Structure and regular meals
Our bodies like routine and regularity, so try to stick to an eating regime that works for you.
For some that’s three meals a day. Others require snacks in between and that’s fine if you make healthy choices.
Whatever your approach, stick to your pattern and try not to miss meals as this can lead to excessive stomach hunger, which can drive unplanned UPF consumption. Balanced meals containing wholegrains, protein and vegetables will keep you satiated and full, and staying adequately hydrated throughout the day will also help.
We should be aiming for six to eight glasses or cups of fluid a day, at least.
Snacks should be based around fruit or vegetables combined with a source of satiating protein (so perhaps an apple with a slice of cheese or crudites with hummus).
A nutritious lunch is particularly important to prevent your energy dipping in the afternoon. A midday meal high in UPFs, particularly the less-nutritious kind, can lead to an energy rollercoaster, and make food-seeking behaviours much more likely in the afternoon. Say you eat a highly processed ham sandwich on white bread with a packet of crisps and a cola for lunch.
This will not provide you with sustained energy, thus leaving you vulnerable to ‘head hunger’ in the afternoon, resulting in you picking off one of those office buns you resisted in the morning.
A packed lunch based around wholegrains, lean proteins, healthy fats and plenty of fruit and vegetables will provide a steady source of energy, keeping blood sugar levels stable and those cravings at bay.
Adapted by Libby Galvin from How Not To Eat Ultra-Processed by Nichola Ludlam-Raine (Ebury, £16.99). © Nichola Ludlam-Raine 2024. To order a copy for £15.29 (offer valid to 04/08/24; UK P&P free on orders over £25), go to mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3176 2937.
Tidy kitchen, tidy mind: sort your space for success
Properly organising the space in which you eat is a key step in ‘nudging’ you along the right dietary path.
Make the healthier choice the easier choice:
It’s easy to grab a piece of fruit if it’s already washed and in a fruit bowl on the counter. You’re more likely to eat carrots and hummus if the carrots have been pre-chopped and are placed next to the hummus in the fridge.
Create ‘pause points’:
These are moments that allow you to reflect on your food decisions to reduce the times you mindlessly reach for ultra-processed food. Creating a pause point is as simple as moving the biscuit tin to a shelf that’s just out of easy reach.
Nichola says properly organising the space in which you eat is a key step in ‘nudging’ you along the right dietary path
Organise your fridge:
The key is the eyeline. You want any less-nutritious UPF foods below the eye line, and more nutritious food at eyeline level.
Rearrange your cupboards:
Move your breakfast cereals so that healthier options like oats and wheat biscuits are front and centre. Make sure any less-nutritious UPF snacks, such as sweets and crisps, are in a more inconvenient to access drawer or cupboard.
Switch up your work surface:
Like the eyeline tip for your fridge, put a fruit bowl out on the side, together with a blender for smoothies. Make sure all other foods are out of sight in a cupboard or drawer.