According to research conducted by sports brand Timex an average woman tells about nine lies about foods and drinks she has tucked to every week. The most “lied-about” foods include chocolate and chips, which makes sense. It is not completely clear how this research was conducted. From our own experience we aren’t asked about what we eat nine times a week or even a month, but let’s give Timex the benefit of the doubt and assume that’s exactly what they saw.
Facing our reality
If we assume you are a little liar, someone keeps bugging you about what you eat at least nine times a week and you actually DO lie about your food, the advice would be to stop lying. Living in the real world and being tough realists we think that’s probably not your case. However it is possible that you simply forget what you eat or at least are not completely aware of all foods you consume during the day. This scenario is much more likely. Try to ask any random person about what she ate yesterday. She will probably give you a blank stare and you’ll receive no answer. Forgetting and lying are very different things!
The most effective weight loss strategy
According to some researches food diary is the most effective strategy for losing weight long term. A study concluded by researchers from National Cancer Institute found that women who monitored their food intake and kept food diary lost about 6 pounds more than those who didn’t (1). Home prepared meals and eating at regular intervals gave an additional boost. This makes sense because if you are keeping a food diary, you are more likely to be cautious about what you eat, which in turn makes you more likely to plan and prepare your food at home.
Moms in trouble
Surveys suggest that one in five moms finishes her children’s meals (keep in mind that many people actually lie on surveys, so the number might be much higher), and one in four moms will eat some of her kids’ food in attempt to make them eat more. These type of snacks can add up easily to another extra 1,500 calories per week and tend to be unnoticed. Keeping food diary and calorie count would be a good solution. Just one handful of pretzel might not seem as much but you might be surprised when you add up all these numbers!
Photo diary
According to Dr. James Beckerman, the cardiologist at the Providence Heart and Vascular Institute in Portland, Oregon, and the author of The Flex Diet
Free download
To help you get started we prepared for you a free food diary sample. You can download it by clicking here (.rtf format).