Common to ‘underestimate how many calories they are eating’ when dieting

This article from The Telegraph (www.telegraph.co.uk) re-iterates what I say to people that come to see me for weightloss. Dieting doesn’t really work, because if we don’t address the relationship that we have with food first, once we stop dieting, and start eating ‘normally’ again, the weight will start to pile on again.

I aim to help people get a better relationship with food, and then they don’t tend to need to overeat anymore, and their weight naturally stabilises over time. It’s great to be able to do this and know that you will never need to be on a diet again. Read below to find out what the article says…

Most dieters vastly underestimate how many calories they are eating, according to a survey of GPs.

Published: 7:30AM BST 17 May 2010

Data from 10,000 slimmers and 200 doctors found 87 per cent of GPs believe dieters are in the dark about how much they actually eat.

Meanwhile, more than nine out of 10 people (92 per cent) see their dieting attempts end in failure, with 18% ending up weighing more than when they started.

Only around one in three (32 per cent people take up more exercise when they are trying to lose weight, while only 23 per cent check food labels before buying.

Most (91 per cent) never weigh out food or control their portion size.

Overall, 90 per cent of GPs said people needed to change their eating habits to lose weight and that losing excess pounds can be as difficult as quitting smoking.

Two thirds (66 per cent) regard overeating as a form of addiction, while 73% of GPs said fad diets do not work, despite 51 per cent of Britons having tried them.

Nutritionist Dr Chris Fenn said: ”People need to adopt a personalised approach to weight loss tailored to their own situation, challenges and strengths.

”They need to understand the causes of their weight gain and the barriers to weight loss, including their relationship with food.

”People are often ill-prepared to lose weight and underestimate what is required.”

The survey was commissioned by Shape. Smart, which makes diet products.