Write Your Way to Weight Loss

Find out how keeping a journal can keep off those pounds.

By Madeline Vann, MPH

Medically reviewed by Lindsey Marcellin, MD, MPH

Writing down what you eat can double your weight-loss success and help you keep those pounds off permanently. After all, maintaining your weight can be harder than losing it, so you need all the helpful tools you can get.

Keep Your New Weight: Why Journaling Works

A study of 1,700 overweight men and women showed that those who kept a regular food and exercise journal, along with eating a low-fat diet and exercising 30 minutes per day, lost 18 pounds in 20 weeks, compared to a nine-pound loss among those who did no journaling.

Researchers believe food journals work because:

• They make you accountable.
• They help you identify where extra calories are sneaking back into your diet.
• They can act as a deterrent — if you know you have to write down that you ate a second generous wedge of double fudge chocolate chip brownie pie, you might not eat it!
• They provide a concrete record of your success.

One of the lessons many people take from their experience of food journaling is the difference between a serving size as printed on a nutrition label and the amount of a food that they consider to be a helping. For example, a serving of pasta is about a half a cup, so you may be surprised when you start keeping your food journal that your usual helping of spaghetti could be as many as four servings.

Read full article: http://www.everydayhealth.com/weight/journaling-your-weight-loss.aspx?xid=nl_EverydayHealthHeartHealth_20100314