Health Health Tips Weight Loss

How A Diet Journal Can Double Your Weight Loss

March 2, 2009
By J White

Wishing for a way to double your weight loss? Well that wish has been answered according to a study from the Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Health Research.

From an article published on Science daily, the lead author of the study said:

“The more food records people kept, the more weight they lost,” said lead author Jack Hollis Ph.D., a researcher at Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Health Research in Portland, Ore. “Those who kept daily food records lost twice as much weight as those who kept no records. It seems that the simple act of writing down what you eat encourages people to consume fewer calories.“

It was also reported that:

In addition to keeping food diaries and turning them in at weekly support group meetings, participants were asked to follow a heart-healthy DASH (a Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet rich in fruits and vegetables and low-fat or non-fat dairy, attend weekly group sessions and exercise at moderate intensity levels for at least 30 minutes a day. After six months, the average weight loss among the nearly 1,700 participants was approximately 13 pounds. More than two-thirds of the participants (69 percent) lost at least nine pounds, enough to reduce their health risks and qualify for the second phase of the study, which lasted 30 months and tested strategies for maintaining the weight loss.

This is encouraging news as it adds a new weapon to your weight loss arsenal. And, as I am sure you are aware, the more choices you have to aide you in losing those extra inches, the more likely you’ll discover a strategy that works for you.

The easiest way to keep track of what you eat is to purchase a diet journal or diary. You should be able to find one in most major book stores located in the diet and health section of the store. In the journals, the pages are partitioned so that you can list what you eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner; there are also sections to list the snacks you eat as well.

An even simpler way to keep track of what you eat is to buy a small notebook to carry with you in your purse or pocket. That way, you have a convenient means to write down whatever you eat, when you eat.

If you wondering why it works, Keith Bachman, MD, a Weight Management Initiative member said that “It’s the process of reflecting on what you eat that helps us become aware of our habits, and hopefully change our behavior.”

So, the process of simply noticing the foods you eat can help you make better choices about what you eat. The principle is similar to noticing things around you that you normally don’t pay attention to. For instance, look around and notice how many items in your room are green; then notice how many are blue or any other color.

The color of the items were always there, you just never paid attention to them before. The same process happens when you keep a food diary. It brings what you eat from the background of your mind to the center of your conscious awareness. It is this new awareness that will hopefully lead you to make better choices about what you eat.

So why not make a commitment now to yourself to track what you eat. When you do, the simple act of writing now helps you to lose weight, bringing you closer to having the body of your dreams.

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