Keeping it simple, just think of it as a measure of calories per gram of a specific food.

processed foods generally have additional ingredients added to boost flavour/texture and a whole load of other factors to make them appealing to our senses. You’ll generally find some combination of sugar, fat and salt (which are fine on their own). 

Mixed, however, is partially the recipe for every overconsumed food on the planet. cookies, pizza, chocolate, crisps, you name it. 

The goal however isn’t to completely exclude these foods or set heavy restrictions on yourself. 

“Don’t eat chocolate” is about as useful as “don’t think of the pink elephant”.

We don’t work in negatives.

Instead, focus on adding minimally-processed foods to your diet, ideally, lean sources of protein whether animal-based or not. 

Find a balanced portion of whole grain source carbohydrates like buckwheat, barley, brown rice, quinoa, etc. Fruit and vegetables should also make up a large portion of your carbohydrate intake.

Along with lean sources of protein and whole grain carbohydrates, fruit and vegetables, it’s important to consume healthy sources of fat, primarily unsaturated fat, and avoid Hydrogenated fats where possible.

By moving onto a primarily whole foods diet, you’ll naturally increase the total amount of non-digestible fibre in your diet.

This will help you when it comes to feeling satiated from your meals, as well as helping you to stay full for longer.

As I mentioned earlier, a minimally processed diet will also direct towards a lower calorie density diet in general, meaning the total amount of food you can eat on a daily basis (in grams) will be higher compared to a more processed diet of the same calorie intake.