Can we do it?

I belong to a discussion forum for weight loss professionals. It just started up and seems to go in fits and starts (like so many things just starting up).

I commented on a post several weeks ago -- my post was essentially addressing the fact that, as a culture, we eat too much. And we are confused the difference between eating too much (of anything or everything)and that really nutritious foods shouldn't count when we are talking about eating too much. The fact is, there are people out there getting fat on nutritious foods.

I went on to opine: We (professionals) should be helping our clients deal with the real issues of weight gain (our love of being stuffed, using food for comfort, eating because we are bored out of our skulls at work, etc) -- without changes to our relationships with food, we will not be able to keep the weight off long term.

Obviously, I am passionate about this position.

Two days ago, a comment in response to my post showed up in my inbox. The commentor was advocating portion controlled meal supplements (Lean Cuisine style meals or Ensure-like meal replacement shakes) as part of long term weight control measures.

(as an aside: when I followed her link to her company page, she sells these products. I can't get in too much of a crank about that though -- even though I would like to -- because I provide Eating Coach services as part of how I make my living too)

So the question I am asking is:

Is it too much to expect from the general population to believe that we CAN control our weight by just learning to eat less?

Yes...I know it will take a cultural shift in how we approach food -- both macro (the US as a whole) and micro (the people you eat with most often).

But is it unrealistic to believe we can start listening to our bodies and eating in a sensible way without HAVING to resort to prepackaged portions -- can we learn to portion, sensibly, for ourselves?