Often, people get offended when it’s suggested they eat more than they think, and/or they think that even if they do eat more that it’s just a few bites ie not much of a problem in the grand scheme of why they can’t lose weight.
However, many studies have shown estimated/self-reported and actual calorie intake to be VASTLY different. …
For example, in the Evaluating Calorie Intake for Population Statistical Estimates (ECLIPSE) project, the average reporting error across all adults in the sample was 32% !
The minimum difference was negative 16.5% (ie the person ate less than they thought) and the maximum difference was 72.2% (ie eating 72.2% MORE than reported!)
Absolute differences between self-reported estimates and DLW measures ranged from 598 to 3,671 calories!
If you don’t understand what that means, it means that the average was 32% difference between reported and actual intake, and that in some cases people were eating over 70% more than they thought!!
There were also differences between male & female reporting:
Men ate an average of 1045 calories MORE than they said / thought they did.
Individual error ranged from negative 16.5% (598 calories) to positive 66.4% (3,671 calories) for males.
Women (who have on average lower daily calorie need than men) ate an average of 823 calories MORE than they said / thought they did.
Individual error ranged from negative 11% (222 calories) to positive 72.2% (2,217 calories) for females.
“Ah, but Niki, that was just one study!” I hear you say….
Except multiple other studies have shown similar, all the way back to a 1992 study of obese subjects and a 2002 study showing that even dietitians get it wrong by about 229 cal/day (which is less than the general population but still significant).
“So how do I solve the problem?” You ask.
A qualified nutritionist such as myself can be part of the solution. For example:
- Personalised nutrition plan / targets
- Explanation of common tracking errors
- Easy calorie-saving swaps
- Accountability
- Support when motivation is low
- Check-challenge of habits
- Explanation of how different macronutrients and foods can help with satiety
- Analysis of and feedback regarding current nutrition habits
- Targeted approach to enable you to preserve muscle while losing fat
- Coaches, teaches & empowers you, rather than trying to sell you a product (unlike herbalife, slimfast, slimming world etc)
If you’re struggling understand why you can’t lose weight, or want to get started, drop me a message for help 😊
Lastly, if you want to start tracking your food intake but don’t know what the best app is to use, I recommend the free app MyFitnessPal https://www.myfitnesspal.com . If you want a FREE guide of how to use it, just head on over to my nutrition page on this website and you’ll find a section part-way down where you can request one from me.