A recent study suggests that the best strategy to lose weight is to keep a diary or track of one’s fat and calorie consumption throughout the day, rather than spending hours on a treadmill. It’s exactly what it says: make a mental note of what you’re taking in as you go. Although self-monitoring diets may appear to be time-consuming and unpleasant, many people who want to lose weight but lack the will to do so find it extremely difficult to stick with them.
According to a study published in the journal Obesity in March, the reality of self-monitoring diet might not be as bad as the awareness. It took the successful participants an average of 14.6 minutes per day to track their diet consumption in an online weight loss activity for six months. Dietary fat and calorie intake, as well as the cooking methods and serving sizes, were all tracked by the study’s participants. At the University of South Carolina and Vermont, researchers conducted the first-ever study on how long self-monitoring a nutrition plan takes.
Self-monitoring one’s food is viewed as a horrible thing by many people, according to main author Jean Harvey of the storey from the University of Vermont, yet the only question they were asked was how much time it takes. There was a lack of information to go on. With the help of Harvey and her colleagues, 142 candidates were assessed for their online self-monitoring behaviours. For 24 weeks, a qualified nutritionist conducted an online session with the candidates. This is the method they use to collect data for their studies.