Do Restaurants That List Calories in Food Help People Eat Less Calories?

by Maria's Last Diet

Do you think your ability to control your weight comes from the outside in? If you think so, then you probably applauded the idea of restaurants that list calories in food.

Well, you may need to think again. A study of restaurant receipts showed that people bought food with slightly more calories than they did before restaurants began posting calories. On top of that, parents who bought food for their kids bought about the same amount of calories as they did before the postings. And teenagers pretty much ignored the calorie charts completely, many saying that the taste of food was most important to them.

So, while the idea of transparency with regard to restaurant food calories sounded good originally, it doesn’t seem to be helping people actually eat less calories.

From the psychological view, overeating and stuffing, putting weight on, and reducing your weight are all related to inside issues—feelings, attitudes, past experience, characteristic behaviors—and can’t be changed or regulated by things outside of a person. There is blame fast food these days, and packaged food with a lot of sugar and salt added is also seen as the culprit. Perhaps these things do add to the mix, but a woman who really wants the best way to lose weight and keep it off needs above all to do her soul-searching.

And really, is that so bad? It actually puts the power back in your hands, doesn’t it? If you can solve your problem with food and weight by undertaking a serious process of changing yourself, then you aren’t so much at the mercy of food manufacturers, who may or may not take excessive sugar and salt out of their products.

We talk a lot these days about being in control of your life. This is a perfect place to do it, and it can make a huge difference in your comfort level, as well as your sense of self-esteem—not to mention your looks!