You could be gaining weight because you are deceiving yourself about how much you are eating. And many food manufacturers are taking advantage of this situation. Have you ever bought a 100-calorie snack pack? Did you stop at eating one snack pack? Many times, its the little things that destroy our eating goals for the day.
According to the Journal of Consumer Research, we are easily deceived when it comes to food labels. We will eat more of a food if we believe it’s a “small” portion.
First, you must determine how many calories you need each day to reach your weight loss and fat loss goals. You need this road map or you will fail.
If your basal metabolic rate is 1,800 and you use another 800 calories through exercise and daily activity, your base caloric daily needs are 2,600. If you consume 2,200 calories during the day, you would have a caloric deficit of 400. This will cause you to lose weight for the day. It is important not to starve your body or you will get the opposite effect of what you want. Starvation will cause your body to conserve energy and store fat. Eating 1,000 calories a day is starvation mode for your body.
Next, how do you track your daily caloric intake? This is where the problems often occur (food content is also high on the list). Overeaters have problems with portion size.
Authors Nilufer Z. Ayinoglu from Koç University in Istanbul, and Aradhna Krishna from University of Michigan found that inconsistent portion sizes contributed to people's uncertainty about the appropriate amount to eat. "In this context of large portion sizes and consumer uncertainty about appropriate food intake, we show that size labels chosen by food and drink vendors (such as 'small-medium-large') can have a major impact on consumers' purchase and consumption behavior," the authors wrote.
"As such, food providers' choice of size labels has many potential legislative and liability-related implications."
When people consumed a large item that was labeled "small," they felt less guilty; the authors called this effect "guiltless gluttony."
"An implication of our results is that consumers can continue to eat large sizes that are labeled as smaller and feel that they have not consumed too much. This can result in unintended and uninformed over-consumption, which is clearly ridden with with significant health ramifications, and size labels could be contributing to the rampant obesity problems in the United States."
Here are some tips to improve your daily caloric intake:
1. Until you get good at keeping your meal plan, weigh and measure your food. Learn how to read food labels. Many foods are loaded with unhealthy fats and sugars. Also, one food item could have 4 servings. If you eat the whole food item, you could be eating 800 calories instead of 200.
2. Journal the actual food you eat to hold yourself accountable. It's hard to be deceived about caloric intake when you are writing it down.
3. When you do make eating mistakes, exercise is a great safety net! A short, intense weight training workout can really help when you do this.
4. Many restaurants have huge servings of food entrees. Eat half and take the rest home in a doggie bag to eat later.
5. Don’t eat snack packs out of a box or bag. They are loaded with trans fats and saturated fats. They leave you wanting more food. The best snacks are foods like nuts, fresh fruits and vegetables. When the only ingredient in the food is the food itself, you’re eating the right thing. For example, an apple needs no food label.
Enjoy your food and know what and how much you’re eating.
Mark Dilworth, BA, PES, CPT is a Certified Personal Trainer and former NCAA Division I athlete. Mark is the owner of My Fitness Hut, Her Fitness Hut, Sports Fitness Hut and My Nutrition Hut. Mark’s Fat Blaster Athletic Training System has been proven to give his clients the fit, sculpted and athletic-type bodies they want. Visit Mark’s main site:
Your Fitness University http://yourfitnessuniversity.com