Why I am hardly eating rarely survives the maths
You feel like you hardly eat. But when you log honestly, the cooking oil, the lassi, and the small bites add up past your guess.
You tell yourself you hardly eat. You feel light all day. Then you log your food honestly in Burnie. The number stares back at you. It is bigger than your guess.
You are not alone — it has a name
Scientists have a name for this. They call it under-reporting. In one big U.S. study, most people's food logs did not match their bodies. About 67 in 100 women and 59 in 100 men logged too little. In another study, lean women under-reported by 23 to 30 percent. Obese women under-reported by 38 to 39 percent. This is not lying. Your memory skips things. Your eyes miss things. The oil in the pan. The lassi with lunch. The bite from your child's plate. Each one feels small. Together they add up.
I hardly eat, so the maths must be wrong.
mostly falsemostly false — your feeling is real, but your log is closer to the truth. People under-report by 23 to 39 percent in studies. Under-reporting is a global problem, found in country after country. The maths is not broken. Your guess is just too low.
What slips past your guess
How to let the maths win
The bottom line
The feeling of 'I hardly eat' rarely survives the maths. Log honestly for one day in Burnie. The number will surprise you. That surprise is where real change begins.