How I Lost 35 Pounds by Dropping Ultra-Processed Foods

A friend recently sent me a picture that was taken a couple of years ago. At the time, I thought of myself as athletic. I stayed active, rode bikes, and never really considered myself overweight. I wasn’t obese by any definition—just carrying a few extra pounds, what most people would call perfectly normal for a man my age. But looking back now, that photo reminded me how those “normal” extra pounds were weighing me down more than I realized.

About a year ago, I stopped eating ultra-processed foods. It wasn’t part of a formal diet plan. I just decided I didn’t want food engineered in a factory—made for shelf life and marketing—on my plate anymore. I cut out protein bars, flavored yogurts, instant oats, and packaged meals. I also cut way back on eating out, since most restaurant food is cooked in seed oils, and I gave up anything fried in them altogether.

The results came fast. In about eight weeks, I dropped 35 pounds. And since then, my weight has stayed stable. I don’t think of it as being lighter—I think of it as being “right-sized.” The change never felt like a struggle. I didn’t count calories, follow a trend, or rely on willpower. I simply started eating food that came from the land and felt honest, and the weight came off almost as a byproduct.

What the Research Shows

Studies back this up. A clinical trial at University College London followed two groups for eight weeks. Both were given diets with the same nutrients on paper, but one group’s meals were made mostly from ultra-processed foods while the other group ate minimally processed foods. The group eating minimally processed foods lost about twice as much weight.

Researchers noted an important detail: even though the meals were designed to be nutritionally matched, the people eating ultra-processed foods ended up eating more overall. On average, studies show they consume around 500 extra calories a day without realizing it. That’s roughly a pound of weight gain per week, and it explains why weight loss comes so much faster when you step away from those foods.

Even mainstream medical organizations are now coming clean about the risks. The American Heart Association recently issued a warning linking ultra-processed foods to higher rates of heart attacks, strokes, and diabetes. For decades, the focus was on nutrients in isolation—fat, salt, cholesterol—while ignoring how industrial processing itself drives disease. That shift is a sign the dangers can no longer be brushed aside.

The evidence i clear. High intake of ultra-processed foods is linked to increased rates of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and all-cause mortality. These foods are engineered to be “hyper-palatable,” with combinations of sugar, salt, and fat that override natural hunger and fullness signals—making overeating almost unavoidable.

Why It Stuck

The surprising part wasn’t just how fast the weight came off, but how easy it was to maintain once I made the shift. My diet became simple: grassfed beef, eggs, vegetables, broth I make at home, raw milk cheese, and whole foods I can identify. I ate until I was satisfied, and my weight stayed right where it should be.

Cutting back on eating out helped too. It’s not that I never go to restaurants—I just recognize that most of the time the cooking oils and ingredients aren’t what I want to put in my body. By saving eating out for the occasional meal, I stay in control of what I’m eating day to day.

A Different Way to Look at Food

For me, this change wasn’t about restriction. It was about honesty. When I stopped eating food engineered for profit and convenience, I started eating food that actually nourished me. The 35 pounds came off quickly, but more importantly, I’ve felt stable ever since.

That’s what ultra-processed foods take from us: stability, health, and a normal relationship with eating. When we step away from them—even just for a few weeks—the body responds. I’ve seen it firsthand.