Can Food Diary Help Lose Weight?
Q: Are food diaries useful? Do you have any tips that would help me stick to writing a food diary every day?
Annabelle, 28, Oklahoma.
A. Food diary is your best and least expensive ally against obesity. Actually, keeping a food diary can double your weight loss. It seems that the simple act of writing down what you eat encourages you to eat less calories, binge on desserts and junk food, and cut down the portion size.
Scientists agree with me on that. According to a study from Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Health Research, funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health, those who kept daily food records lost twice as much weight as those who kept no records.
“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.
“More than two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese. If we all lost just nine pounds, like the majority of people in this study did, our nation would see vast decreases in hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease and stroke,” said study co-author Victor Stevens, Ph.D., a Kaiser Permanente researcher.
For example, in an earlier study Stevens found that losing as little as five pounds can reduce the risk of developing high blood pressure by 20 percent.
This study shows that most people can lose weight if they have the right tools and support. Food journaling has been recommended as a weight loss tool since 2002, but it didn’t gain that much popularity.
Keeping a food diary doesn’t have to be a formal thing. Just the act of making a honest and complete list of what you eat has enormous power over your subconscious. You can also list what you eat on a Post-It note, send yourself e-mails or text messages with details of each meal, or simply add a note into your weekly planner. It’s the process of reflecting on what you eat that helps you become aware of your nutritional habits.
I find that buying a pretty, solid diary to keep track of my food choices is the best bet. With a small yet stylish diary, such as Moleskin, you are less likely to lie to yourself. As you get used to carefully and meticulously writing down your daily menus, you can make a step further and make suggestions to self on how to make your eating habits healthier.
Instead of a food diary, I keep a notebook where I jot down my weekly menus. This serves as a helpful shopping list that helps me stay within budget and avoid buying things that will be left rotting in the fridge. Each Sunday I make a list of lunch and dinner meals I will be cooking. It can be something as simple as grilled chicken breast or something more adventurous, perhaps one of the recipes from the diet book I am working on. I carefully list all breakfasts, snacks, soups and salads. Then I shop only for food items needed to cook these recipes. Simple and very budget-friendly, don’t you think? This way, my food diary serves more than one purpose.
Tags: diet, food diary, Weight Loss
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