Health

Health: Writing Away The Pounds

PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ― Julie Satterwhite lost 55 pounds by eating her words.

"It's worth the energy, and the effort you put into it," said Julie. She says her weight came off with the help of a healthy diet, exercising a half hour a day, and keeping a food diary.

"For me, writing down everything I ate made me more aware of what I was eating," said Julie. She took part in a two and a half year study that found those who keep track of everything they eat can double their weight loss. After just six months in the study, the average person took off 13 pounds.

"It gets you to focus on what you're eating. I think a lot of us eat automatically, and in this modern world, that's not a good thing to do," said Victor Stevens, Study Researcher.

Experts say a food diary doesn't have to be formal. They say just the act of scribbling down, sending yourself emails or a text message with a tally of what you eat and the amount of calories will work.

"It made me stop and think, if I walked into the kitchen and there was a cookie on the counter, I'd have to think, do I really want to write this down," said Julie.

Keeping track of what you eat is part of most weight loss programs, like Weight Watchers and NutriSystem.

Overweight & Obesity Information- http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/resources.htm

Food Diary Information-
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/
http://familydoctor.org/

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