Encouraging Health

Study shows value of food diary in losing weight

Keeping a food diary — a detailed account of what you eat and drink and the calories it packs — is a powerful tool in helping people lose weight, Many studies have shown..
The study involving 1,685 middle-aged men and women over six months found those who kept such a diary just about every day lost about twice as much weight as those who did not.

The findings buttressed earlier research that endorsed the value of food diaries in helping people lose weight. Companies including Weight Watchers International Inc use food diaries in their weight-loss programs.

“For those who are working on weight loss, just writing down everything you eat is a pretty powerful technique,” Victor Stevens of Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Health Research in Portland said in a telephone interview.

“It helps the participants see where the extra calories are coming from, and then develop more specific plans to deal with those situations,” said Stevens, who helped lead the study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

The technique also helps hold dieters accountable for what they are eating, Stevens said.

The study involved people from four U.S. cities: Portland, Oregon; Baltimore, Maryland; Durham, North Carolina; and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Their average weight loss was about 13 pounds (6 kg). But those keeping food diaries six or seven days a week lost about 18 pounds (8 kg) compared to 9 pounds (4 kg) for those not regularly keeping a food diary.

The average age of people in the study was 55.

What information should I include in a food diary?
Whether you are using your food diary to identify food allergy or intolerance or as a tool to help you lose weight and eat better, don’t change your eating habits for the first few days. Evaluating your current diet is the only way to recognize changes that should be made. Write down everything you eat. Be honest and thorough.

To find foods that may be causing allergic or digestive symptoms, record the following information:

all the foods that you eat (be specific about the food and any added toppings, such as cheese, mayonnaise, and sauces)
how much (portion sizes) of each food
the times of day when you eat
any symptoms you have after eating a food, such as allergy symptoms or digestive problems
the time symptoms started and how long they lasted.
When using your food diary to improve your diet and help you lose weight, include the following:

All the foods that you eat (be specific about the food and any added toppings, such as cheese, mayonnaise, and sauces)
How much (portion sizes) of each food
The times of day when you eat
Where you eat your food
Who you eat with
What you are doing while you eat, such as watching TV
Your thoughts and feelings at the time you were eating.

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