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Write Your Way to
Weight Loss
Believe it or not, writing down what
you eat can double your weight-loss success and help you keep those
kilograms off permanently. After all, maintaining your weight can be
harder than losing it, so you need all the helpful tools you can
get.
A study of 1,700 overweight men and
women showed that those who kept a regular food and exercise
journal, along with eating a low-fat diet and exercising 30 minutes
per day, lost 9 kilograms in 20 weeks, compared to a 4.5kg loss
among those who did no journaling.
Researchers believe food journals
work because:
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They make you accountable.
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They help you identify where extra
calories are sneaking back into your diet.
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They can act as a deterrent because
if you know you have to write down that you ate a second generous
helping of cheese cake, you might not eat it!
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They provide a concrete record of
your success.
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One of the lessons many people take
from their experience of food journaling is the difference between
a serving size as printed on a nutrition label and the amount of
food that they consider to be a healthy portion size. For example,
a serving of pasta is about a half a cup, so you may be surprised
when you start keeping your food journal that your usual helping
of spaghetti could be as many as four portions.
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