Research Says Yes!
According to a new study from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, women who kept a food journal lost more weight than those who didn’t.
I’ve always thought that a food journal is a valuable tool when it comes to helping you stay on track with Atkins, and now there is research to confirm this approach. Whether you are tracking your daily food (and net carb) intake on a sticky note, smart phone or the online journal we have in our Community, this type of accountability will help you be more successful with your weight loss goals. Countless Community members have posted about how using a food journal has helped them overcome a stubborn weight-loss plateau. Maybe you’ve been doing Atkins for a while, and the pounds have been steadily coming off… until they aren’t. Tracking your daily food and net carb intake will give you an honest snapshot about what you are eating. Maybe your net carbs have been gradually increasing, and you haven’t noticed it until you started writing it down. Seeing the hard facts on paper (or on the computer) will help you get right back on track.
A journal can also help you identify those trigger foods that have the potential of setting you off on a carb free-for-all. Or maybe you’ve noticed that you are ravenous every day at 3 p.m. Once you figure this out, you can have an Atkins-friendly snack ready to eat before your hunger gets uncontrollable. A journal can help you with meal timing, and help you track with accuracy how often and when you are eating.
With all that being said, I understand that not everyone has the time to keep a detailed account of everything he or she eats every day, but it is certainly a good habit to return to it regularly just to help ensure you are on track with Atkins. And men… this works for you, too! Fortunately, the tools we have in our Community make tracking your meals, net carbs and progress that much easier as well. If you’ve stepped away from the habit of journaling for a while, take this opportunity to get back into it. It may be exactly what you need to jumpstart your weight loss.