Losing weight is a challenge that many people struggle with. Studies show that many people who do manage to lose weight often gain the weight back after stopping the diet. What is the secret to losing weight and keeping it off?
Recent research proves that keeping a record of what you eat doubles the amount of weight you will lose when following a healthy diet and exercise program. In this study, coordinated by the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, participants were recruited to follow the DASH diet, along with an exercise program.
In this study of 1700 overweight participants, the participants who kept a food diary lost an average of 20 pounds while the participants who did not record their food intake lost an average of nine pounds. Why was there such a big difference between the two groups?
Researchers speculate that food diaries are helpful for the following reasons:
- You are more likely to think about the impact the food will have on your daily calories.
- A food diary helps you to plan your food each day so that it includes healthy and nutritious foods.
- When you record your food, it is easier to understand the correct portions for your body.
- You can discover some eating patterns that are not good for your health.
Using a Nutrition Tracker
You can use just a simple notepad to record your daily food intake. But there are online programs that are available that allow you to calculate exactly the calories you are eating. I find it is easiest to keep a notepad in the kitchen to record the foods at each meal. Then I transfer the food to the computer when I get a chance. There are many online programs that include food diaries as part of their program.
I use a free program offered by SparkPeople that allows me to record the foods I eat each day. The SparkPeople website includes a Nutrition Tracker. I can create my own recipe collection where I see the calories and fat I am eating. It can be especially difficult to know how many calories you are eating if you are making your own food, so the ability to calculate the calories in your own recipes is invaluable.
Benefits of tracking your food intake
The greatest benefit of recording your food intake is that it teaches you the correct portions for your body size. Even after you stop recording your food, you will still be better able to correctly judge the optimal portion sizes of your favorite meals.
Remember that diets don’t work! If you want to succeed in reducing your weight, you will need to change your lifestyle so that you are active and eat healthy foods in the right portion sizes for your body size.