I've been working in nutrition for over twenty years, and if there’s one conversation I’ve had more than any other, it’s this: "I don’t understand, Faye. I’m eating healthily, but why am I still putting on weight?" Nine times out of ten, it turns out they’ve been led astray by clever packaging and wellness buzzwords.
The problem isn’t willpower, or even intent. It’s marketing. The health food aisle is packed with products that seem virtuous but are often ultra-processed, overly sweet, and completely out of sync with what the human body actually needs.
Here are five foods I see again and again in my client's pantry. They're wrapped in the language of health, but scratch beneath the surface and the truth is far less flattering.
1. Protein bars
We all want a quick fix. Something we can throw into a gym bag or snack on at our desk. Enter the protein bar, the nutritional equivalent of lipstick on a pig. Many are essentially chocolate bars with a handful of whey isolate thrown in.
Look at the ingredients list and you’ll often find more sugar than a doughnut, plus synthetic fibres, fillers, and sugar alcohols that can leave you bloated and uncomfortable.
I’ve had clients who eat these daily, believing they’re doing the right thing. But their energy crashes, hunger spikes, and bloating tell a different story.
Better choice: A boiled egg with avocado. Greek yoghurt with cinnamon. A handful of raw almonds. Real food. Simple, satisfying, and unprocessed.
2. High-fibre cereals
The word “fibre” has become synonymous with health. But don’t be fooled. Most boxed cereals — even the ones promising digestive bliss, are highly refined, spiked with sugar, and fortified with synthetic vitamins that your body doesn’t absorb as well as the real thing.
Brands will boast about their “whole grains,” but if those grains have been ground, extruded, and reshaped into colourful puffs, they’ve lost their integrity. The fibre added back in often comes in the form of isolated inulin or chicory root, not bad in itself, but not the same as fibre from actual food.
Better choice: Try steel-cut oats topped with fresh berries, chia seeds, and a swirl of almond butter. It takes five minutes, and your body will thank you.
3. Low-fat yoghurt
Fat has been unfairly demonised for decades, and the fallout is still with us. Low-fat yoghurts are a perfect example: stripped of their natural fats, they’re often padded with sugar, fruit purees, or artificial flavours to make them taste halfway decent. Some have more sugar than ice cream.
Fat isn’t the villain it was made out to be. In fact, full-fat dairy helps with satiety, hormone production, and fat-soluble vitamin absorption. It tastes better too.
Better choice: Full-fat natural Greek yoghurt. Add a sprinkle of nuts and a few slices of fresh pear. It’s creamy, nourishing, and keeps you going.
4. 'Healthy' drinks
They sound innocent. Green juices. Kombucha. Vitamin water. Smoothies. But scratch the label and many of these drinks are sugar delivery systems in disguise. Apple or pineapple juice is often used as the base, and though it sounds wholesome, it’s essentially concentrated fructose without the fibre to blunt the impact.
Some drinks marketed as sugar-free use artificial sweeteners that can play tricks on your gut and palate. And don’t be fooled by claims of “only 90 calories per serve”, the bottle might contain two serves.
Better choice: Water with lemon or mint. Herbal teas. Or, if you love a smoothie, make your own with leafy greens, unsweetened nut milk, half a banana and some flaxseed.
5. Protein powders
Protein powder can be useful, especially for those with higher needs or busy schedules, but many commercial brands are a chemical cocktail of emulsifiers, gums, artificial flavours and sweeteners.
Some are loaded with maltodextrin, a starch that spikes your blood sugar. Others are so heavily flavoured and coloured that you’d struggle to recognise them as anything remotely food-like.
Better choice: If you use protein powder, choose one with a short ingredient list, ideally just the protein source such as pea, hemp or grass-fed whey, and maybe a natural flavouring. Or better yet, get your protein from whole foods like eggs, fish, beans, or quality meats.
The Bigger picture
We live in a culture that sells us wellness in packages, bright labels, buzzwords, influencer endorsements. But the truth is, health doesn’t come in a packet. It comes from real food, meals cooked at home, ingredients you recognise, and food that your grandmother would approve of.
I’m not suggesting you throw out everything in your pantry. But I am saying: pay attention. Ask questions. Turn the packet over and read the fine print. The food industry is clever. But your body is wiser. Trust it.
Faye James is a Sydney-based accredited nutritionist and author of, The 10:10 Diet, The Menopause Diet, The Long Life Plan and her latest book, The Perimenopause Plan.