Agreed with everything in this post, but I would add that (n=4 people, fwiw) there is also a stable state on the other side of Healthy Food. It’s still more expensive (though becoming less so, especially if you cook) to buy actually healthy food. But, if you are willing to spend a few months experimenting and exploring, while completely eliminating the hyperpalatable stuff, you can end up in a place where the healthiest foods taste better, and the hyperpalatable stuff makes you feel awful even in the short term. You won’t automatically reach a desired weight, but you very likely will eat less, and feel full after a more reasonable amount of food, and have a higher thermic effect of food, and have higher nutrient density food, and have more and more stable energy and mood.
Examples:
Switch to using unrefined coconut sugar or molasses, and sweets will have a deeper flavor profile and need less sweetness (unless needed for texture, I now cut sugar in most recipes in half or less)
Better quality grass-fed butter is more flavorful, and also higher in healthy fats, and you can use less for the same effect. Even in pie crust, I use 10-20% less fat and eliminated shortening with a flakier final texture. Brands matter—I have some recipes that just don’t work with some butters
Ditto for unrefined salts, you need less in food to get the desired flavor effect
Switch to healthier oils (olive, avocado, macadamia, coconut, etc.) and you get more range of flavor profiles without more cravings, maybe even some appetite suppression. After a while if you eat food with lots of cheap oils (e.g. deep fried in shortening or cottonseed oil) your body won’t be happy with you
Pasture-raised chicken and eggs genuinely taste better and cook better, and also have a healthier fatty acid profile. Again, brands matter, and pasture-raised or (for other meats) grass-fed has higher variability but also a higher ceiling
Agreed with everything in this post, but I would add that (n=4 people, fwiw) there is also a stable state on the other side of Healthy Food. It’s still more expensive (though becoming less so, especially if you cook) to buy actually healthy food. But, if you are willing to spend a few months experimenting and exploring, while completely eliminating the hyperpalatable stuff, you can end up in a place where the healthiest foods taste better, and the hyperpalatable stuff makes you feel awful even in the short term. You won’t automatically reach a desired weight, but you very likely will eat less, and feel full after a more reasonable amount of food, and have a higher thermic effect of food, and have higher nutrient density food, and have more and more stable energy and mood.
Examples:
Switch to using unrefined coconut sugar or molasses, and sweets will have a deeper flavor profile and need less sweetness (unless needed for texture, I now cut sugar in most recipes in half or less)
Better quality grass-fed butter is more flavorful, and also higher in healthy fats, and you can use less for the same effect. Even in pie crust, I use 10-20% less fat and eliminated shortening with a flakier final texture. Brands matter—I have some recipes that just don’t work with some butters
Ditto for unrefined salts, you need less in food to get the desired flavor effect
Switch to healthier oils (olive, avocado, macadamia, coconut, etc.) and you get more range of flavor profiles without more cravings, maybe even some appetite suppression. After a while if you eat food with lots of cheap oils (e.g. deep fried in shortening or cottonseed oil) your body won’t be happy with you
Pasture-raised chicken and eggs genuinely taste better and cook better, and also have a healthier fatty acid profile. Again, brands matter, and pasture-raised or (for other meats) grass-fed has higher variability but also a higher ceiling