[pavel_lishin]

I would wager that just paying attention to, and thinking about what someone eats has a decent impact on their health - so it feels like it's working, and like your estimates are accurate.

After all - once you started doing it, you started losing weight/building muscle/achieving whatever result.

[ericjmorey]

Which is a reason why keeping a food diary is an often recommended technique for changing your diet and eating healthier.

[ellisv]

Yes, the mere act of monitoring (including self-monitoring) leads to behavioral change.

This alone can be sufficient for some people.

[jacobr1]

One factor is just the sheer volume of snacks and treats - outside of the portion size of any particular meal. If your were not self-aware of constant eating that can have a big impact - at least it did for a few friends of mine.