"Bite and Write" For Better Weight Loss

Everything old is new again - even in weight loss. We've all been told a million times how important keeping track of your calories eaten daily is to effective weight loss.A new study shows that a "food diary" - whether the old-fashioned pen and paper, or an on-line spreadsheet version, can sometimes double your rate of weight loss! Can that be true?

We're all pretty bad at estimating what we eat. Studies show both regular folks and health professionals do not estimate calories correctly- we all underestimate. A food record does two things:

1. Makes you pay attention to every bite you eat (no selective memory here!) - better calorie monitoring.


2. Provides accountability to yourself - a major boost to focus and discipline, the basis of all successful plans.

For many, a food diary is a great help to jump start a plan and get you in touch with what and when you're eating. It helps point out some of the behavioral barriers you have in making better food choices.

While some people write for decades, a major goal over time is to translate the act of writing to what I call your "mental database". This is tough, but works for some people.

If you're just getting started with a weight loss plan - of any type - an easy and effective tool is a food diary. Give it a try. You've got nothing to lose but extra pounds!

Has a food diary worked for you??? I'd love to know.

Comments

One option to maintain a journal is iScale from All of Zero. It is a health management program for iPhone and iPod Touch. I need my diary there instantly wherever I am.

http://www.allofzero.com/

Check it out!

--Derrek

Everything if maintained and followed on regular basis will definitely hep to fight of obesity.

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Hi,you have posted a nice article.Learnt a lot from it.According to me,the diet is the sum of food consumed by a person or other organism. Dietary habits are the habitual decisions an individual or culture makes when choosing what foods to eat. Although humans are omnivores, each culture holds some food preferences and some food taboos. Individual dietary choices may be more or less healthy. Proper nutrition requires the proper ingestion and equally important, the absorption of vitamins, minerals, and fuel in the form of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.
"Bite and write" is an exact phrase for better weight loss.

"Keep diet,Be fit"

I've been keeping a food journal for 6 weeks and have lost 7 pounds. It has been a tremendous aide in getting me back to good eating habits.

since I recently started keeping a food diary, I find I think twice before grabbing "just one cookie." Knowing I'll have to write it down, usually makes me turn to a more nutritious, lower calorie snack. That prevents the inevitable out of control cookie eating that usually happens after that "just one cookie." Thanks for a great article!

since I recently started keeping a food diary, I find I think twice before grabbing "just one cookie." Knowing I'll have to write it down, usually makes me turn to a more nutritious, lower calorie snack. That prevents the inevitable out of control cookie eating that usually happens after that "just one cookie." Thanks for a great article!

since I recently started keeping a food diary, I find I think twice before grabbing "just one cookie." Knowing I'll have to write it down, usually makes me turn to a more nutritious, lower calorie snack. That prevents the inevitable out of control cookie eating that usually happens after that "just one cookie." Thanks for a great article!

since I recently started keeping a food diary, I find I think twice before grabbing "just one cookie." Knowing I'll have to write it down, usually makes me turn to a more nutritious, lower calorie snack. That prevents the inevitable out of control cookie eating that usually happens after that "just one cookie." Thanks for a great article!

since I recently started keeping a food diary, I find I think twice before grabbing "just one cookie." Knowing I'll have to write it down, usually makes me turn to a more nutritious, lower calorie snack. That prevents the inevitable out of control cookie eating that usually happens after that "just one cookie." Thanks for a great article!

since I recently started keeping a food diary, I find I think twice before grabbing "just one cookie." Knowing I'll have to write it down, usually makes me turn to a more nutritious, lower calorie snack. That prevents the inevitable out of control cookie eating that usually happens after that "just one cookie." Thanks for a great article!

since I recently started keeping a food diary, I find I think twice before grabbing "just one cookie." Knowing I'll have to write it down, usually makes me turn to a more nutritious, lower calorie snack. That prevents the inevitable out of control cookie eating that usually happens after that "just one cookie." Thanks for a great article!

So sorry for the muliple postings. It didn't seem to be doing anything, so I just kept hitting post.

Using a food diary/journal has definitely helped me. I have a paper journal, but also love the Healthy Living Program on I-Village.com, which helps me track my calories. I lost 34 pounds in 2003 and have more or less maintained it. This year marks my fifth anniversary as a Lifetime Member of Weight Watchers.

I had bariatric surgery 1/31/06 and have lost over 320 pounds since. I weighed in at 530 pounds prior to the operation. I make it a daily plan to record all food that goes into my mouth. EVERY DAY! It is important that I know just how much I eat every day and the relationship to fat vs calories and protein. I record everything on fitday.com, which is free, and it gives me the results. I'm now down to 201.4 pounds and find that I can gain or lose weight by eating more or eating less. This is a real eye opener for me. You can read my story on baribuddyrecipes.com under patient testamonials. There's even a short clip of me coming out of surgery. I'm a strong advocate of bariatric surgery as a last resort before death, as was my case.

what is the amount of carlories a person should stay under in order to lose weight. I am 42, female 5'6.

hay i am 36 yrs old i had diabetes n i went 2 dr bina wdhawan website n i contacted her she sent me some meds n now i am full cured check her website our
www.drbina.com

i love to eat,im lazy,what can i do to stop this negative behavior in me?

hey guys,i know that exercise,diet and writing diary is tiring but i believe no pain no gain so lets start proper diet,exercise and food diary.i think it will be more fun if i have you in my goal,let us all together attain same goal,total fitness.by the way,im ryan,26,single,brown eyes,tan skin and gentlemen from philippines.lets be friend,lets volt inn in being healthy inside out.e mail me anytime at reversenayr@yahoo.com or contact me at 00639197743222.see yah

I have found that keeping a food journal as well as joining an online forum for support and encouragement is an effective and fun way to lose weight.

But you have to really want it - you have to honestly want to lose weight more than you want to eat - for some people,that isn't achievable yet. But I believe that everyone will have their time...

I am starting right now to write everything down. I think this is a super way to control weight. I am only 5" tall - so every extra pound I gain me is like 5 extra on a taller person. I only have to lose 5 pounds, however it's like having to lose 25 - because I have always watched everything I put in my mouth - I guess I have to eat less. My husband would always say you have to eat more - I learned to eat more and it shows. I am very unhappy with the extra weight. I am going to be diligent about writing everything down. I just started. So happy to have read this.

i am so heavy that i could not even stand that long

Hey Victorino and Anna. I found a website called Sparkpeople.com. It's not a diet website, per se, but more of like a Weightwatchers-esque support group fused with some Myspace/Facebook qualities. The site helps you keep track of calorie intake and output, as well as putting and keeping you in touch with supportive people who are in the same boat as us. It's not as over as you think, TRUST ME!

The one think that I think you could stand to hear is that you don't need (and medically shouldn't) go all out with the exercise in the beginning. You can make a great start with 10 minutes a day, and that could be simply mopping the kitchen floor. I got tons of other stuff, but I'm not gonna take up too much space here.

If anyone else is interested, you can check out the site at www.sparkpeople.com. They even have city minigroups! I'm lucys_gold, btw, if you do come by and want to hang.

Thanks for the tips, basic tips such as these do make a difference.

I started on the Flat Belly Diet on 1/1/08. I began keeping a food and exercise diary for the first time in my life. I have lost 10 1/2 inches in my waist and over 60 pounds. I still have 6 pounds to go to reach my Happy Weight. My good cholesterol is now the highest it's ever been (57 vs. 28), and my triglycerides are below 100 (down from 250)

The food diary helps me to keep better track of what I am eating. It helps me to control my calories, and to make sure that every day I am choosing enough of the foods that are good for me--vegetables, fruit, whole grains, dairy, and lean protein--as well as the MUFA (mono-unsaturated fatty acid) that the diet requires at every meal.

yes i keep a food diary

i eat 1,000 to 1,200 calories a day and i lose 2 to 4lb a week

Go for it, i eat whatever i want to!!

hj

i read the article, and i want to lose mw weight.... i will try to make some of the idia that i read from this page to lose my weight...thanks and wish me luck..im Mylyn of Brooke's Point Palawan, Philippines.....

mentally i am doing it daily during the party i still do it. i am in my mid 60's i also follow the insurance guideline depends on your frame the basic 5' should weigh 100 lbs , 5lbs for every inch added works for me dancing is my exercise does maintaining my weight.

Hi, it is a nice article certain to yield results if scruplously adhered to. but, in this whirlwind world of non-stop working habits, it is not possible to maintain a healthy diet as well as creating such notes. The general habit on working days (six days)is to bite a breakfast, skip lunch and drown in a late dinner as the stomach would be crying out. Even the normal exercise routine also sometimes gets upset. is there any effective exercise available which will surely reduce the flabs while sitting continuously at the desk?

I do a plan every night for the next day, then an actual for the day that's just passed. I'm happy to see that the plan and the actual are coming together. I'm using Bill Phillips' Success Journal format on Transformation.com and it works really well.

I start on with all good intentions and then forget. Used to do it and lost 50lbs so looks like I will have to start again.....

EAR LESS TO LOSE WEIGHT! Excersice to Stay In Shape!

Sorry spelling wrong! Just woke up. EAT LESS TO LOSE WEIGHT! Excercise To Stay In Shape!

I began dieting October 12, 2007. I weighed in at 349 lbs. and as of this date, August 4, 2008, I now weigh in at 237 lbs. My fieance started out weighing in at 275 lbs. he is now at 197 lbs. I have rewrote all recipes and how I cook. When I kept a record of all I ate and of all calories and fat. I lost weight big time. Now, because, I have became lazy in what I used to take as a religion I am in a rutt. I have been obese my entire life and I can tell you this, "You must, take pride in what you are doing to better yourself." I was on oxygen 24/7 and I had to use a walker to get around. No longer is this true. My biggest problem is is that, I need to add excercise in to my diet if, I don't want have skin that sags once I loose weight and yet, I use the excuse that, my ex-husband cheated on me to even though I worked so hard to be my best. DO IT FOR YOU NOT, FOR ANYONE ELSE OTHERWISE, YOU HAVE FAILED EVEN BEFORE YOU HAVE BEGAN. GOOD LUCK AND REMEMBER YOU ARE WHAT IS IMPORTANT.