When in Doubt, Keep Processed Food Out

Even when the calories and nutrients are controlled, there is a negative impact of processed foods versus less/unprocessed foods: https://www.cell.com/cell-metaboli…/…/S1550-4131(19)30248-7…

We like to think we can check labels and track. I’m a pragmatist. So convenience can’t be dismissed. If it works, it works. However, when it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. And sometimes we have to face the harsh reality that the convenience of highly processed food may be the very issue.

Personally, I’ve run into this problem before where I was hitting all my numbers and couldn’t get leaner. It turned out that a deli turkey meat I was obtaining from Target was padding their weight with corn starch. It made the package about 30 grams light on protein, even according to their own label. And that’s just what they were willing to list on the label.

When I traded it out for a LESS lean option, I continued to cut down again. That is, my caloric content stayed or went up and I LOST more body fat. Was it the corn? Was it something else?

But it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that I was willing to accept that something I was doing was unproductive. When people aren’t ready for this step, no worries. We can’t force something. However, when you are willing to reconsider anything, the solutions tend to present themselves.
​
When in doubt, throw a behavior out.