Dear DOCTOR Owen:

I have been in weight-loss programs that recommend I keep records, or a diary, of what I eat and when I exercise. But I hate to do this! I have plenty of thin friends who never worry about what they eat. Why do these programs insist on this “record stuff”—which they say is essential? Where did this record method come from?

Radical About Records

Dear “Radical”:

You are asking this question of someone who also suggests that people keep records, or food diaries, as a mainstay in teaching weight control. The key word here is “teaching.” Weight management fundamentally is arithmetic—period. If you eat fewer calories than you need to run your organs and activity, you will lose weight. This is not debatable. My question to you is: “Why haven’t you been able to do this in the past or over the long term?” You neither understand your calorie balance equation nor can you control the intake below your needs.

A great many of the patients I see simply overlook calories. Instead, they think, feel, hope, and believe that they have under-eaten, but they do not know for sure if they have done so. People make their greatest caloric intake mistakes when eating meats (especially fried meats) and condiments and when consuming beverages. Just today, I watched a woman drink 1500 calories in her root beer! This was 80% of the calories she needs per day to maintain weight! Yet, she had not a clue of how much soda she drank nor its calorie content.

Studies on the food intake of diet subjects show the following:

People do not have an inborn ability to detect calories. Natural “fullness” or “satiety” sensations do not detect fat or pure sugar very well, so the fat in meats, fried food, and condiments slip into our meals undetected. Fats are high in calories and low in size or volume. Records of what you eat will simply help you become aware of foods that contain many calories and will indicate how much you really ate. We always hope, think, and feel as if we ate less than we really did, but records help us know the truth.

By combining records with a first-rate education program that teaches calorie skills, you will eventually not need to keep records. With training, you should be able to look at a food item and estimate the number of calories within seconds. Then, you can simply make the decision: Worth it—or not worth it?

After gaining these skills, I find that patients often view certain food items differently. For example, a doughnut holds little fascination when people know that its payback will be to burn up 600 calories (average doughnut), or 6 miles of walking. Actual responses to the sight or smell of the doughnut vary among people who are dieting. Many of them find that doughnuts, which once caused salivation and anticipation, now produce a less-than-exciting response.

Records are also a method of confronting the fact that you will have to think about food intake every day . . . forever. With a record to refer back to, though, you will be able to quickly see food “habits” that have been built unconsciously into your life. With education and skills, you can choose what foods to eat rather than “think,” “feel,” “hope,” or “believe” you are not over-eating. With a record, your brain can make an association: “This food contains XXX ingredients, which has XXX calories, and will require XXX much exercise to “pay back” those calories.” Is it worth it—or not?

Eventually, you will realize that choice makes you free. You will no longer be enslaved to a diet plan, but are at liberty to eat what you want—when you want. However, choice comes from knowledge and skill, and must be learned. If you have not been taught calorie skills, you do not have them. Do you recall learning these skills from a parent, teacher, doctor, religious leader, or other divine method?

While I cannot say that you’ll be unsuccessful in your dieting endeavors without records or confrontation, I have seen very few people succeed without calorie-counting skills. While it is a pain to keep records, it is more painful to remain obese. It’s your choice.