Want To Get Leaner? Do This Before Making Any Dietary Adjustments

Many individuals find it so difficult to calculate their daily caloric, protein, carbohydrate, and fat needs that they want to rush hysterically to the next all-you-can-eat buffet and drown their sorrows in sweet-and-sour pork with white rice before finishing at the chocolate fountain.

So here's a suggestion: Don't make any changes, but monitor everything instead. Seriously! Don't restrict or even count your calories. Simply note what you eat and drink at each meal and throughout the day. Use an app, keep a journal or a piece of paper with you, or write emails to yourself after meals—whatever works for you. Do it now.

It seems too simple to make any real impact, yet it does! Here are some reasons to think about it.

1. The Science Supports It

More than 1,700 men and women participated in a thorough research by the Kaiser Permanente Care Management Institute's Weight Management Initiative that examined the effects of a food diary on weight reduction.

Researchers came to the conclusion that no one dietary component was the greatest indicator of weight reduction. It was instead how often research participants updated their food diaries. Those who recorded their meals in writing every day dropped twice as much weight as those who didn't.

Lead author Jack Hollis, Ph.D., said that study "looks that the mere act of writing down what you eat promotes individuals to consume less calories." "People lost weight more quickly when they maintained more detailed eating logs."

2. It makes you more aware of decisions made in portions.

When you're sitting at the table, the difference between a single, paper-thin slice of key lime pie and a few thick pieces may not seem substantial. If you're used to eating a large dessert or two plates of anything, you may not even hesitate to ask for more. However, you are compelled to admit these choices when you log your meals. Even if you are unaware of the slice's calorie count, you are now more conscious of how you choose your quantities rather of having them dictated to you.

3. It Can Highlight Any Gaps in Your Diet.

Have you ever tried your own "no fun" diet only to find that you weren't losing any weight? You question yourself, "How is that possible? The solution is often not as enigmatic as you imagine.

You'll be forced to recognize all the additional nibbles and drinks you take throughout the day if you record every single meal you consume on paper. If you typically consume three glasses of wine a night, two sodas throughout the day, a sugary coffee in the morning, or all of the above, you may have become so used to your behavior patterns that you are no longer aware of them.

All of these things are valid, thus. If you're feeling especially motivated, you can go the additional mile and determine how many calories such foods have. But you're not required to. Maybe just tracking them will do.

How to Record Your Meals

Write down the foods you choose to eat and the portion amounts of everything you consume to produce the most accurate food diary possible. Even if you don't alter a single meal, try it for a day or, even better, a month. Don't forget to include the beverages you consume.

Whatever works for you may serve as your meal journal, including an app, a notepad, an email, or a text message to yourself. Simply taking careful note of it and writing it down is sufficient.

What not to do is as follows: Every meal you intend to consume should be planned out in advance. Yes, doing it this way could seem more efficient, but it won't likely be accurate since it depends on you eating precisely what you've written down, which many of us don't. Include all the snacks and nibbles you could consume during the day as well.

Before you try anything else, give this a go. The outcomes could surprise you.