One Proven Tip to Double Your Weight Loss

As a Weight Loss Coach, I've seen fad diets come and go.  The only thing these diets are full of is empty promises.  Fad diets can be dangerous, not to mention bizarre - cabbage soup diet anyone???

The good news is you don't have to try crazy diets to lose weight.  In fact, I have found one powerful weight loss tip that helps people lose twice as much weight as other diet methods. My Golden Rule of weight loss is Thou Shalt Keep Track of Your Diet.

Writing down EVERYTHING that you eat and drink has been scientifically proven to DOUBLE your weight loss!

In one weight loss study of 1,700 people, two-thirds of the subjects lost 9 pounds or more over the course of 6 months. Not bad, right?  But those who kept a Food Journal, lost TWICE as much weight as those who didn't. If you are on a weight loss journey, a Food Journal could be the secret to doubling your weight loss.

While keeping a Food Diary might seem cumbersome, you can bet your muffin top there isn't one of my clients who wasn't amazed by the results achieved when they kept a Food Log. Why do Food Diaries work?

Create Awareness

Perhaps you think you "don't eat that bad" or "eat pretty healthy." The truth of the matter is there is ALWAYS room for improvement in your daily diet. Keeping a Food Diary helps create awareness of what you're actually eating, not just what you "think" you're eating. The calories from the orange juice you had with breakfast, the dressing you put on your salad and the "few bites" of your partner's dessert can add up to an extra 300 calories per day. Multiply that over 365 days and you could gain four and a half pounds in one year! 

Mindless Eating

Did you REALLY just sneak back to the conference room to eat leftover cookies from your meeting?!?! Maybe not, but I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that I have! With the abundance of available food in America, we don't think twice about heading to the fridge, even if we aren't hungry. Stress, boredom or the need to take a break (please reference the "cookie incidence" above), can lead us to mindless eating. Writing down everything you eat, every day, helps you think twice about the food choices you might subconsciously be making.

Hidden Calories Revealed

Do you know how many calories are in your favorite cocktail?  What about your go-to energy bar or your famous lasagna? Food Journals are an important educational tool when combined with calorie counting. That's why I'm an advocate of weight loss programs like Weight Watchers. They educate you about the quality and quantity of food you're eating. But you don't need weekly meetings to start empowering yourself. Keeping a Food Diary can help you make healthier food substitutes and navigate through the grocery aisles as an informed consumer today.

How to Start a Food Diary

Keeping a food diary might seem cumbersome at first, so here are some tips to making the transition fit into your life.

• How long should you track what you eat?
  If you'd simply like to educate yourself and make some small changes to your diet, I'd suggest keeping a Food Diary for 2 weeks.  If you have goals of losing weight or that last layer of fat you can't seem to shed, keep track for 4-8 weeks.  After that set time period, re-evaluate your goals and decide if you'd like to continue.
• Your Tracking Medium
  You might prefer a good ol' pen and paper Food Diary rather than online Food Logs. However you choose to track your food, ask yourself "will this method work for me no matter where I am and who I'm with". Whether you travel for work or are juggling kids while you eat, you need to find a method of tracking your food intake that works every day for every meal. Consistency is key.
• Get to It
  You might be surprised how many "meals" per day you might eat - anywhere from 4 to 8 meals isn't uncommon!  Each time you eat something that is 30 minutes from the last time you ate is considered a meal.  So your day might look something like this:
  

  1. 6:15am - 16 oz latte, 2% milk
  2. 8:20am - Blueberry Muffin, small banana,8 oz orange juice
  3. 12:00pm - Veggie Pizza slice, small side salad w/tomatoes, mushroom, carrots, 1 tbsp Italian dressing, Orange/Mango yogurt smoothie
  4. 2:45pm - Diet Coke
  5. 4:15pm - Handful Almonds, big apple
  6. 7:30pm - Chicken Tikka Masala, medium bowl, garlic naan, 2 glasses of wine

  When tracking meals, don't skip over the small things. Dressings, sauces, side dishes, candy, drinks...it all matters!!!  If you don't know the exact ingredients in your restaurant meal, ask! While the wait staff might be surprised by your request, simply tell them you have "special dietary needs." Which, in all honesty, is the truth! Also, don't be afraid to ask questions, "inconvenience" your server or take charge of your nutrition when you're amongst your peers.  YOU are the ONLY PERSON in this world who is in charge of your weight and your body!!
  
  If you want to enhance your Food Diary, make notes about how you felt before or after the meal. For example, "got tired 60 minutes after eating," "had a headache, needed a caffeine boost", "ugh, indigestion", "energized!," "satisfied, not stuffed." You might begin to see some patterns forming that you otherwise might not have realized. Try incorporating more of the food combinations that make you feel good and less of the ones that make you feel bad.
• Go the Distance
  Tracking your calories as well? An Internet or app store search for "calorie counters" will reveal many options. You'll happily find calorie counting tools that not only will give you the calorie counts based upon the amount of food you ate, but that will let you store and track your Food Diary online. Sometimes they call these tools "calorie trackers" or, you guessed it, "food diaries". With an online Food Journal, you can create and save a "favorite foods" list. That way you don't have to research the calorie count for every single ingredient in your favorite recipes every time you cook. It's a big time saver.
• Kick the Struggle with Support
  Let others in on your weight loss secret! Ask your partner, friends and family for encouragement to help you stick with your Food Diary. As your eating habits change, it will effect those around you. If you have a weakness for fried foods, you'll want your friends to understand why you don't want to frequent the pubs as often. If you're cooking new recipes, you'll want your family to be open to new foods. Communicate just how important and committed you are to your Food Journal and weight loss journey.

If you find that a Food Diary alone isn't enough to help you reach your goals, seek out support from professionals in your neighborhood.  Weight Management Coaches and Nutrition Counselors can help you develop a food plan that works with your schedule, tastes and lifestyle.  And since you're already keeping a Food Diary, you'll have a head start!

If part of the reason you're keeping a Food Journal is medically related - to help reduce bloating, diarrhea or stomach discomfort or regulate disease - seek the help of a Registered Dietitian or Physician. They have the tools and knowledge to get you on track and double your weight loss!