Want to get rid of those extra pounds? Well, then all you need to do is simply write down your daily food intake, for it can double your Weightloss, according to a new study.

The study, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, followed 1,700 Fat people over six months, and revealed that those who wrote down everything they ate lost an average of 13lb.

“Recording what you eat can really help you with Weightloss, because a lot of the time, you’re not conscious of your behavior,” Times Online quoted Azmina Govindji, a consultant nutritionist and author of The Hot Body Plan, as saying.

“Some eating habits are situational - for example, having tea and a chocolate biscuit while watching your favorite television program. We do it on autopilot. If you know that you actually have to record every item you eat, it gives a split-second pause for thought. You think, ‘Do I really want to write this down.’

“Through the use of a food journal, we often become aware of patterns that are self-destructive.

“We become more authentically honest with ourselves, and we start asking the question ‘What’s eating me?’ instead of ‘What can I eat?’ ” Govindji said.

Even people who believe that they are resolutely healthy can get a shock when they see everything written down in black and white.

“Once someone spots a pattern, then they can do something to change it,” Govindji said.

The most common patterns she uncovers are in those who eat naughty foods because they are bored, hormonal or depressed.

Over-restriction

Did it occur to you why a lot of weight loss programs record failures? The primary factor responsible for that is the characteristic over-restriction found with most of the weight loss programs. Anyone that chooses such would eventually have to limit the kind of foods eaten down to the amount of calories consumed.

Often times, the body refuses to adapt thus leaving it with no other option than bowing to the strings of needless weight gain. This makes the primary reason for finding the right weight loss program remain that it allows the eating of a good variety of foods and therefore not too restrictive. However, this does not send the signal of eating unnecessary foods like cupcakes, candy bars and milkshakes every day. If one does that, one would never lose weight.

Crash-dieting

The absence of crash dieting is another factor to be looked at when choosing a good weight loss program. Good weight loss programs allow one to shed excess weight safely and healthily over a long period of time. Most of the time, the urge to lose weight immediately is there, but one has to resist it. One might eventually have to quit the weight loss program if resistance to the urge was unsuccessful and then go back to the previous weight again.

Good weight loss programs would not allow one to feel hungry often, unlike the crash diets would do. Rather, one would be allowed to be filled comfortably. One would also be allowed to eat some of their favorites while still losing weight.

It can be concluded from the above discussion that not all weight loss plans are able to deliver what they claim. Two most important features of an effective and healthy weight loss program is the one that is not too restrictive and isn’t based on the idea of instant results. An effective diet plan uses flexible approach and it brings desirable results over a period of time in a healthy manner.

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