In the past we have talked about the value of tracking your food when you are trying to lose weight. When it comes to trying to figure out where you are going wrong, seeing you patterns or just keeping yourself accountable for what you put in your mouth then tracking your food is the way to go. It is one of the cornerstones of a certain popular weight loss program that trades counting your calories in for points, you know the one I'm talking about. The great thing about the tracking system is that is works, even without the points and the weekly fee you can get on track with your tracking habits. A study put out by the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research showed that people who kept a food diary could double their weight loss efforts. And in case you are curious that study included absolutely no skinny people at all. Seventy nine percent of the people in the study were obese, and the rest were overweight, as per their BMI. So you can keep an eye on your food and double your results by doing nothing else. It sounds too good to be true right? Well there is one little catch to the plan. You have to be one hundred percent honest about what you eat. You can't cheat. You can't "forget" to write things down when you are busy, or tired, or just trying to avoid the truth. You can't start to take days off in the middle of the plan. You have to give it your all and be completely honest with yourself. Will it be painful to see the good, the bad and that day that you pigged out an ate two banana splits at 9 at night. Yes it will sit there like a big blemish on your record, but you will be honest. And you might be much more likely to think twice before you eat that second bowl of ice cream again because you are upset. As we have talked about in the past you can also use your food diary to take a look at your patterns. Maybe you pig out on the weekends, when a feeling of no obligations kicks in. Maybe it is the busy workday and you end up at the drive thru. A journal lets you see the patterns and make your own choices about your foods and your patterns. The last bit in the best part, complete a total secrecy. The food journal allows you to have a place to be accountable, but only to yourself. You don't have to share your dirty little secrets with any of the other people in your life, unless you happen to want to. As long as you really want to shed those pounds your own thoughts on the matter should be enough to keep you in line when it comes to what you eat. You know inherently when you have done something bad and when you have done something good. Trust your instincts and you will be on the right course.