Research shows that most people under-report. Not because they are lying or kidding themselves (although this can go on sometimes) but mainly because we under estimate the amount of calories in things like sauces and oils in the cooking process or in our portion control and drinks.
You know that Ben has a serious caramel latte habit but even the skinny version can be laden with calories. Sometimes we will think that we are making a healthy choice like having orange juice, but in reality the calorie intake is just as high as something like a cola. The biggest issue with under-reporting that we witness is portion control and forgotten foods. What we think of as 20g of peanut butter is actually 40g and we forget about that extra biscuit or banana earlier in the week.
I know that generally you don’t mean to cheat or lie, you just don’t realise! Or maybe you do know that you are doing this but feel like you don’t want to let your coach down. This is where I see people getting down-hearted with dieting and fall off the wagon with it all but if we know this could be an issue, this is where we can help.
If you know you are over-eating or suspect that you have been under-reporting your calorie in- take, speak to your coach. Remember 1lb a fat = 3,500 calories, which it is easy to consume over the course of one indulgent weekend or holiday.
So, what can help? If we can get more accurate with your calorific intake, we can start to cre- ate a calorie deficit and then help you to start losing weight. Research shows that writing down your food intake can help you to be more thor- ough than doing it digitally. Also taking pho- tographs of your meals to remind you of exactly what you ate. If you want help with portion sizes, we can advise you.
There is also an over-reporting of the amount of exercise and physical activity, although now- adays with your Fitbits and smart watches, We know that is something many of you like to keep an eye on. By knowing we are inherently condi- tioned to under-report the calories we eat, we can aim to shoot lower on our calorie intake through making more informed choices such as re- ducing the amount of sauce we have on our plate, cooking with less fats, drinking water instead of juices and weighing out our portions. Of course we could also all skip that daily caramel latte but let’s not go too far!
