WebMD's solution to keeping a diet simple

Kathleen · Post by **Kathleen** » Fri Jul 31, 2009 7:22 pm

This was from WebMD and sent to me by email:

If you're anything like me, you have no idea how much food you inhale on a day-to-day basis. Thanks to multitasking, grabbing grub on the go, parking myself in front of the TV while munching, and various other weight-loss crimes, I often barely register that I'm eating. Take last week: I was totally oblivious that I was popping jelly beans into my mouth until my nephew complained that I was about to polish off his bag (sorry again, Jake). It's tough to watch every mouthful you eat, even if you're an expert. Researchers at Louisiana State University asked dietitians to estimate their daily caloric intake â€” and even the professionals lowballed the number by 10 percent. That may explain why it's so hard to shed pounds, no matter how good the plan is.

But there's a simple solution: Keep a food diary. Studies show that a journal doesn't just aid weight loss â€” it turbo-charges it. When researchers from Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research followed more than 2,000 dieters who were encouraged to record meals and snacks, they found that the single best predictor of whether a participant would drop weight was whether the person kept a food diary. It trumped exercise habits, age, and body mass index. The number of pounds people lost was directly related to the number of days they wrote in their log. (It's no coincidence that Weight Watchers, one of the most successful diet programs, asks participants to track what they eat.)

My personal opinion: I HATE FOOD DIARIES! I find it much simpler just not to snack! Also, it is so much easier to see how much you eat when you look at all the food before you before you take one bite.

Kathleen

~reneew · Post by **~reneew** » Fri Jul 31, 2009 8:58 pm

I totally agree! I hate being a food accountant and inventory specialist. No S is so way easier! I think that of the "diets", keeping track probably does help just to make you aware of what does go in, but on no S when nothing is going in exept for meals, no problem. They'll hopefully learn some day.

Thanks for the info.

Amyliz · Post by **Amyliz** » Fri Jul 31, 2009 9:43 pm

Thanks for posting this; it makes me thing of one of the quotes on this message board somewhere ...

'No offense to all the diet and fitness gurus out there (well, maybe a little), but it's like my house was flooding, and everyone is trying to tell me where water comes from, how we need the water, how the water got into the faucet, how the faucet works, how the water will damage the woodwork inside the house...but no one says, "turn off the water, Moron." '

I kept a food diary for years, it didn't help me eat less, it just meant I was writing down 'snickers, ice cream, cookies ...'

StrawberryRoan · Post by **StrawberryRoan** » Fri Jul 31, 2009 10:12 pm

I never really understood how keeping a food journal did much good. I did it for a while on CalorieCount's board.

If I was eating well, posting the food was redundant as I wasn't over my daily "allowance".

If I was eating poorly, posting the food was sorta like the old closing the barn door after the horsie is running in the pasture.

BrightAngel · Post by **BrightAngel** » Fri Jul 31, 2009 11:22 pm

I love keeping my computer food journal.
It has become an enjoyable Habit for me.
I've written down all my food for the past consecutive 1776 days.
.. starting September 20, 2004.
It was the Key to losing 75 lbs in 16 months
from 191 to 115,
and to keeping it off for the past 3 1/2 years.

StrawberryRoan · Post by **StrawberryRoan** » Sat Aug 01, 2009 12:11 am

Well, one certainly cannot argue with success Bright Angel.

I have posted my daily weight on Calorie Count since January 2008 (and now I do on here) so I know what you mean - sometimes seeing something in black and white is validating.

Whatever works...

You have done amazingly well, that's for sure.

Berry

spleener · Post by **spleener** » Sat Aug 01, 2009 12:24 am

I'll join the "I hate food diaries" club. That's one aspect of No S that has been genuinely freeing. Whether I was counting carbs or calories, I had to account for every single thing I ate. If I ate out I needed to either visit the restaurant's website for the calorie info or try to estimate the damage. I think I did pretty well, but I literally spent an hour or more a day trying to keep track of what I ate, or plan the next meal. Accounting for calories or carbs was part of what would eventually drive me off the wagon. Now, I feel like there is no wagon; I just eat what I eat.

Bushranger · Post by **Bushranger** » Sat Aug 01, 2009 1:43 am

Amyliz wrote:Thanks for posting this; it makes me thing of one of the quotes on this message board somewhere ...

'No offense to all the diet and fitness gurus out there (well, maybe a little), but it's like my house was flooding, and everyone is trying to tell me where water comes from, how we need the water, how the water got into the faucet, how the faucet works, how the water will damage the woodwork inside the house...but no one says, "turn off the water, Moron." '

I kept a food diary for years, it didn't help me eat less, it just meant I was writing down 'snickers, ice cream, cookies ...'

That quote is gold....pure gold.

Nichole · Post by **Nichole** » Sat Aug 01, 2009 2:26 am

lol, I don't mind keeping a food journal. Let's see, today was

Cereal w/skim milk
Salad
Yogurt w/granola (I allow one snack a day)
Homemade pizza
Cookie - FAIL!

When you're doing No-S, it's easy to keep a food journal. I know it helps me when I do that at the beginning of the day.

Kathleen · Post by **Kathleen** » Sat Aug 01, 2009 2:40 am

Nicole,

I had to chuckle at the last entry in your food diary:
Cookie - Fail!

Part of my problem with food diaries is the diet became keeping the diary. In other words, I considered myself successful if I just wrote down what I ate.

WebMD seems to be saying that keeping a diary helps you eat less. It had the opposite effect for me. I felt so pained by keeping the diary that I ate more, justifying that at least I was writing it down.

Just goes to show how different people are --

Kathleen

Nichole · Post by **Nichole** » Sat Aug 01, 2009 2:44 am

Yeah, it doesn't really make sense. Maybe they are trying to say if you see how much you are eating, you'll look back and say "oh, I shouldn't have had that Twix bar at 10 am". In other words, if you see what you've been doing, you can more easily assess what you're doing wrong and make steps toward a healthy lifestyle?

My lists are more plans that journals. I don't think writing as you go would make much of a difference.

Bushranger · Post by **Bushranger** » Sat Aug 01, 2009 4:20 am

Of course 3 plates on No S makes seeing what you are doing obvious too, but without the pain of keeping track like that. As Reinhard has pointed out, you can see the excess right in front of your eyes.