How accurate are Americans at estimating calories?

Re:How accurate are Americans at estimating calories? by jaredsohn on Tuesday December 18, 2012 @12:03PM (#4938362)

Shouldn't you expect to lose that water weight at some point though? Longer term weight gain should be calories in - calories out. What you eat might affect how full you feel (which could cause you to overeat in some circumstances), and macros matter if you're trying to build/maintain muscle.

My understanding is that peoples' weight problems are that they underestimate the calories of what they eat (related to specific foods or portions or forgetting details like the butter used for cooking) or overestimate that caloric effects of exercise.

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Re:How accurate are Americans at estimating calories? by bad_user on Tuesday December 18, 2012 @12:47PM (#4938582)

Overeating may be the big problem, but abstinence from overeating is not really feasible for most people (it's depressing, really) and the truth is there are better ways of tackling overeating at the core. For me the interesting question is "why" we overeat.

For instance by eating healthier foods, instead of sugars and snacks filled with fats and refined carbs, you tend to feel less hungry. The theory behind it is proven actually, because sugars and refined carbs burn too fast, leaving you either with an empty stomach that wants more or with fat deposits from all the food that didn't burn at the same rate.

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