The Real Secret to Lose Weight

The key to losing weight is to eat fewer calories than you burn every day. That is what we have so often heard. And it does make sense. There is logic in the thought that if you do more in a day than you consume, calorie wise, then the calories have to come from somewhere.

(hint, hint) Food Journal

Our body's fat stores are where we need to have the excess calories come from. Burn those fat stores and live happily ever after. That is our goal. Right?

The problem is that we try diet after diet. Never quite finding the right one. And there are so many. Which one is the right one.

They all work. We know that. At first they usually work for us. And even if they do not, we know someone whom that particular diet did work for. Or our doctor recommended it. Maybe it was that latest fad diet book we got out of the bargain bin.

So what is the missing ingredient? Is there something wrong with us? These diets are supposed to work. After all, they are not rocket science. We should be able to figure this out and make it work.



So what happens? We lose our motivation. Give up. Look for something else to try. Become depressed. Drown our sorrows. Or just feed them.

Well there is a solution. And it is unbelievably simple. What is it we must do. Keep a food log.

Really? That is all we need to do. Keep a diary of what we eat. Again, really? Yes, that is what it takes.

So many health and fitness professionals recommend keeping a food diary for anyone wanting to lose weight, doing any kind of fitness or sports program. or having certain medical conditions. So why do we not follow this advice? We know it is a good idea. We may have even started a food log. Maybe on a little pocket calendar or notebook. Or even on our PDA or phone.
Well it is not always convenient. Is it? So why should we bother? Well it should not come as any great surprise to know that it works. And there have been numerous studies to prove that it does work.

The consensus is -- on average those who keep a food diary lose twice as much weight as those who do not. Okay, now that is an attention getter. Maybe we should be keeping a food journal of what we eat. Yes we should!

So, that is the real Secret of weight loss. Keeping track of what we eat. The calories consumed. And even the carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Depending on our goals and the philosophy of our current diet, or none diet, the ratio of carbs to proteins to fats will have relevance to us. And so will the amount of calories consumed and those calories burned during our workouts.

Keep a food log. Track your calories, carbs, proteins, and fats. Know where you are each day. Knowledge is power.

Good luck!