According to a research study reported in The Los Angeles Times that tracked the weight-loss efforts of 1,700 obese and overweight adults. if you’re trying to lose weight, simply keeping a food diary has proven to nearly double the number of pounds you will lose.
The study, which will be officially published in the August issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, counseled participants to take in a variety of strategies: follow the so-called DASH diet (rich in fruits and vegetables and low-fat dairy), keep a food diary, and exercise moderately for 30 minutes a day. All participants also attended weekly support group sessions. In addition to being overweight, all participants were on medications to lower their blood pressure and/or cholesterol. 44% of the participants were African American, a group that hasn’t really been represented within weight-loss studies in the past of this type.
The average weight loss after six months was about 13 pounds. “The more food records people kept, the more weight they lost, ” said lead author Jack Hollis of Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Health Researh in Portland, Oregon. In the news release about the study, those who kept a food diary every day lost twice the amount of weight as those who didn’t keep one.
Although thirteen pounds doesn’t seem a big number, it’s about average for studies that are deemed successful in weight-loss, and losing that amount of weight is enough to help improve choloesterol, lower blood pressure and lower the risk of developing diabetes.
Why does recording your food habits matter and help? The authors aren’t really clear on it, but they suspect it helps one to really consider on what is going into one’s body. Also helpful for shredding pounds: The group sesions and physical exercise.
According to a research study reported in The Los Angeles Times that tracked the weight-loss efforts of 1,700 obese and overweight adults. if you’re trying to lose weight, simply keeping a food diary has proven to nearly double the number of pounds you will lose.
The study, which will be officially published in the August issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, counseled participants to take in a variety of strategies: follow the so-called DASH diet (rich in fruits and vegetables and low-fat dairy), keep a food diary, and exercise moderately for 30 minutes a day. All participants also attended weekly support group sessions. In addition to being overweight, all participants were on medications to lower their blood pressure and/or cholesterol. 44% of the participants were African American, a group that hasn’t really been represented within weight-loss studies in the past of this type.
The average weight loss after six months was about 13 pounds. “The more food records people kept, the more weight they lost, ” said lead author Jack Hollis of Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Health Researh in Portland, Oregon. In the news release about the study, those who kept a food diary every day lost twice the amount of weight as those who didn’t keep one.
Although thirteen pounds doesn’t seem a big number, it’s about average for studies that are deemed successful in weight-loss, and losing that amount of weight is enough to help improve choloesterol, lower blood pressure and lower the risk of developing diabetes.
Why does recording your food habits matter and help? The authors aren’t really clear on it, but they suspect it helps one to really consider on what is going into one’s body. Also helpful for shredding pounds: The group sesions and physical exercise.