09 Dec Tip-79: My Top 10 Tips for a Healthy 2011

Tip #8 of My Top 10 for 2011

I love making lists. When I was trying to lose weight, I started writing down what I was eating. I didn’t do it everyday and even then I started to notice a pattern. On the days I kept a food log, my eating habits were much healthier.

Eventually I found studies to support what I had discovered; people who journal what they eat, lose weight. In fact, research shows they lose twice as much weight as those who do not keep track of what they eat.

Why does it work so well? If you’re like me, sometimes you just don’t want your food to count. For example: eating the broken cookies at the bottom of the bag or the last bite of macaroni and cheese. But these calories do count. You can figure that every bite of food is about 25 calories. And an extra 100 calories every day, turns into a pound of fat gained each month.

Key point: Look for patterns in your eating. Do you always overeat with your best friend? If so, plan a walk with her instead a trip to Claim Jumper.

Click here for a free download of my food journal.