Secret Eaters

by Kyn Chan

Secret Eaters was a British TV program series that followed people who tried to lose weight. So there would be cameras following people in the course of a day.

Naturally cameras do not forget so the footage is recorded. When the people being recorded revealed what they ate there were often discrepancies between the footage and what the participant to the show recorded.

So being brutally honest either the camera people were lying and concocting evidence or the participant forgot to report everything. Now, this theme continued to repeat itself throughout the series. It showed participants did not report their full consumption. The secret eaters nearly always avoided reporting specific meals - so it is likely some snacks, going to the pub with friends and restaurants, had become so habitual and part of life that people no longer thought they were eating (sort of like sleep walking).

(Break times, going out and in between meal times were often not fully reported by the secret eater/participant but was captured by the camera.) This is very likely one of the areas where people who say calorie counting does not work fail - because large sources of calories are not being recorded - somehow only breakfast, lunch and dinner (and supper) was recorded but not snack times.

To emphasis, on virtually every show secret eating happened. (Is it realistic to say the show hired actors to take the place of the secret eater on every show?)

This is so simple and should be common knowledge to record everything. (Every snack bar, packet of crisps and cake, pint of beer, glass of wine, bottle of coke etc should be recorded. Just because something is easy to eat or drink does not mean it should be omitted.)

Now, it may be impractical but if we managed to record all our eating times throughout the day then it is likely we could catch ourselves out - or get a friend to do it if they live with us.

In the mean time calories do count but they are not fully accurate depending on the macro ratio and micronutrients we get with it. But generally, it is so rare for someone to have a real calorie deficit and not be losing weight. I can't think of an example, if someone finds that person I would love to interview them. (There are even claims that humans can photosynthesis like plants but that is a story for another time.)