diaries
Mindless munching adds up -- but you don't usually know it
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, snacking in front of the TV, 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). Watching every mouthful is tough, even if you're an expert. Researchers at Louisiana State University asked dietitians to estimate their daily caloric intakes, and even the professionals lowballed the number by 10 percent. That may explain why shedding pounds is so hard, no matter how good the plan.
The simple solution: Keep a food diary
Studies show that a journal doesn't just aid weight loss: 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.)
Why you need to journal your food
Here are five more reasons to start a journal today -- even if you swore off diaries in middle school.
1. You'll get a reality check about how many calories you consume
Americans typically underestimate their daily intake by about 25 percent, reports nutritionist Carrie Latt Wiatt, author of Portion Savvy. The situation gets even more complicated when you eat out. In a 2006 study led by Cornell University, 105 diners in fast-food restaurants were asked how many calories were in their orders. For the small items, almost everyone guessed correctly; for the larger orders, the diners underestimated the calories by a whopping 38 percent. It may be an issue of perception, says study author Brian Wansink, PhD. The larger the quantity, the harder it is to make an accurate guess; the same is true for distances and heights.
Hefty portion sizes caven professionals can be tricked by hefty portion sizes. When an NYU researcher asked 200 dietitians to estimate the calorie count of four popular restaurant dishes, the experts lowballed the number for each by a whopping 250 to 700 calories.
So stop assuming and start calculating. A good manual, like the classic Calorie King Fat & Carbohydrate Counter, makes it easy by giving you the calorie counts and fat grams for a huge number of foods. Or try Nutritiondata.com.
2. You'll cut back on between-meal munching
Make a mental checklist of what you ate yesterday. Sure, you can probably remember breakfast, lunch and dinner -- but what about that mini-Snickers bar you snatched from your coworker's stash? Or that spoonful of mashed potatoes you took off your husband's plate?
Overlooking bites, licks and tastes (known as "BLTs" to professionals) is all too easy. But that's a huge mistake: On average, each mouthful packs 25 calories. Translation: Six little bites a day add up to around 15 extra pounds a year.
"I remember one client who was keeping a diary and couldn't understand why she wasn't losing weight," says Bethany Thayer, RD, spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. "We were discussing the problem when she took out a peppermint. I asked her how many she ate every day, and she said, ‘A bag.' They're nine calories each, but the whole bag is several hundred."
Writing everything down also can help you make smarter food choices. If you often order a Starbucks Grande Dulce de Leche Latte, entering the data will bring you face-to-face with the fact that your beloved drink packs 440 calories, versus 23 calories for the same-size regular coffee with milk.
3. You'll discover where your diet detours
"I thought I ate a lot of vegetables. It seemed like I was constantly cooking spinach, broccoli or Brussels sprouts," says Melissa Smith, a 32-year-old mom from Omaha who's been keeping a food diary for the past 18 months. "But looking back over a few weeks of my journal, I was surprised to realize that I was eating veggies only once or twice a week." So she made salads a regular part of dinner and noticed that it helped her eat less of her entrée. Her analysis and follow-up action paid off: She's lost nearly 30 pounds.
A balanced diet is the key to weight loss, says Suzanne Farrell, RD, who owns Cherry Creek Nutrition in Denver. "Whole grains, low-fat dairy, green vegetables, orange veggies, beans, nuts... science shows that we need to eat these regularly to reach a healthy body weight. So when I flip through my clients' journals, I always look for what I'm not seeing."
To find out how many servings of each food group you should be eating, go to Mypyramid.gov. This tool will calculate the correct portions based on your age, gender, height, weight and level of physical activity. It'll also tell you the number of calories you should aim for daily to lose weight.
4. You'll learn why you pig out
Experts suggest that, to help break bad habits, you record not only what you eat, but the circumstances that prompt you to eat. For example, maybe you indulge in more sweets at work because you sit close to the vending machine. Maybe you have a milkshake several times a week because you pass Wendy's on the way home. Or maybe every time you worry about money, you retreat into the kitchen for chips.
When you begin to notice these patterns, you can figure out ways to change them. If the vending machine is a constant temptation, stock your desk drawers with fruit and granola bars. If you can't resist a fast-food sign, MapQuest a new route to work. If you eat when you're under pressure, steer clear of snacks and take a short walk instead (it's a scientifically proven stress buster).
Another bonus: "When you increase awareness of what's going into your mouth," says Thayer, "you'll feel fuller sooner than if you were just mindlessly munching."
5. You'll see real results -- quickly
Your food diary can be as revealing as the one you kept in fifth grade. For example, to get a glimpse into how much you've improved your diet, compare the entries in week one (Twinkie-filled) to week four or five (ideally, veggie-filled). You also can discover which decisions translated into weight loss. For instance, you might notice that you lost weight that week you had fish for dinner twice.
Food journals also let you give yourself credit where credit is due (personally, I reward myself with a gold star each day I resist eating candy). And that positive reinforcement is essential for shedding pounds.
