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Losing weight can seem like a really complicated task.
Every week, there is a new hack or diet that makes fat loss easier or more effective.
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But scientists say that the key to a successful and easy thinning is actually incredibly simple.
They say that even though people believe that keeping a food diary takes time and is boring, the opposite is actually true and this can be an incredibly effective way to lose body fat.
New research suggests that keeping a food journal is not so bad that many of us think so.
After six months of recording what they ate, the top performers of an online behavioral weight loss program spent an average of only 14.6 minutes writing what they had eat.
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They recorded the calories and fat of all foods and beverages consumed, as well as portion sizes and cooking methods.
Conducted by experts from the University of Vermont and the University of South Carolina, this study is the first to discover exactly how long people who lose weight manage to record their meals.
"People hate it, they think it's painful and horrible, but the question we had was: how long does self-monitoring for food?" said Jean Harvey, president of the Department of Nutrition and Food Science at the University of Vermont and lead author of the study.
"The answer is, not much."
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142 dieters followed the online behavioral weight control program for 24 weeks.
In addition to having a weekly online session with a qualified dietician, they also noted their daily food intake, also recording the time it took them to do it and how often.
Dieters who lost 10% of their body weight – the best performers in the group – spent an average of 23.2 minutes on the task, and after six months, the time had dropped to 14.6 minutes.
Apps like MyFitnessPal recognize foods once you've entered them, saving you a lot of time each time you use them.
Scientists discovered that it was not the time spent writing diaries that mattered, but the frequency with which they wrote them.
"Those who self-monitored three times a day or more and who followed day after day were the best performers," said Dr. Harvey.
"It seems to be the act of self-control itself that makes the difference – not the time spent or the details included."
She said that time probably pbaded as plan members became more efficient at writing newspapers.
"We know that people do better when they have the right expectations," said Dr. Harvey.
"We were able to tell them that they should do 200 minutes of exercise a week.
"But when we asked them to write all their food, we could never say how long it would take, now we can do it."
So, if you want to lose weight – for good – you have to start following what you eat.
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"It's very effective and it's not as hard as people think."
MyFitnessPal has a free version, while Lose It! also has an exercise diary next to the food diary.
If you do not want to use an application, you can always keep a notebook and record what you eat there.
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