Many people have a difficult time losing weight, albeit with all the delicious processed and unhealthy food that is readily available today. Contrary to what many people think, successful weight loss is not impossible. Countless books and articles have been written in the effort of explaining what exactly constitutes effective weight loss. There are so many diets out now that claim to guarantee effective and permanent weight loss, but strategies vary from person to person. However, there is a new technique that has been proven to work.
Recent studies have shown that keeping a food diary is an effective method for weight loss. However, more than simply writing what you eat, you must be able to identify what eating habits and bad food you need to quit. The studies show that people who keep a food diary and maintain diet and exercise significantly aids in weight loss.
The study, conducted by Kaiser Permanente, tracked 1,700 participants. Some of the participants did exercise and maintained a healthy diet, while those who did the same yet kept a food diary were shown to lose twice as more weight as those who didn’t keep a food diary.
In order to do this, one must be very detailed and specific as to writing down what foods you consume. A participant from the study named Julie Satterwhite noted that after the study was conducted, she was more inclined to avoid eating unhealthy food, because she was going to have to write it down in her food diary.
Using a food diary for weight loss is effective because people are more able to see where hidden calories come from. Also, you should describe your hunger level before you ate a particular item, so that you can distinguish if you are stress eating, really hungry, or are just psychologically hungry. Being able to notice the different types of hunger you have can help you stop bad eating habits and only consume just exactly what your body needs to stay healthy. The self-awareness that keeping a food diary brings about lets you notice any hidden patterns as well that lead to unnecessary weight gain.
Another benefit of keeping a food diary is gaining accountability. It helps to show your food diary to someone, it makes you accountable to what you write down. On the other hand, if someone shows you their food diary, you are accountable to them as they look at your food diary.
Bring your food diary with you wherever you go; it helps to write it down as it happens, and avoid waiting until the end of the day to write down what you ate. This way you can be more accurate in tracking down how many calories you consume in a day. At home, practice noting down portion size by making use of measuring cups and spoons, as well as food scales. Reaping the benefits of a food diary can go a long way, but you are also free to use whatever type of food diary works best, whether it be a good old fashioned notebook, or a digital version.
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