A recent study showed that diet-resistant obese persons-those who have long histories of unsuccessful dieting, underestimate their average intake by one-half. The 10 obese persons in the study reported an average daily intake of 1,028 calories, yet they were actually ingesting 2,081.

One reason for this so-called “eye-mouth gap” is that people don’t realize how much food they’re putting on their plates. Nutritionists suggest that, at least initially, you shouldn’t trust your eyes. To build trust, you can weigh, measure, and record everything you eat. But who has time for that? Or you can buy processed foods that have already been weighed and measured. But these designer fake foods have a list of disadvantages almost as long as the list of the chemicals from which they’re made.