Keep a Food Diary, Lose Twice as Much Weight

Food Diaries Best Done Right After Meals

If you're new to food diaries, here's advice from Dr. Keith Bachman, a weight management specialist at Kaiser Permanente Care Management Institute and its Weight Management and Obesity Initiative, in Portland, Ore.

• Write down your intake (and calories) using whatever method is easiest -- pen and paper, sticky note, an entry in your computer or PDA, even an e-mail to yourself.
• Aim to write down your food intake after each eating episode; it's typically more accurate than reconstructing the entire day's intake at once.
• The task of keeping the diary may help you cut down. "Remembering you have to write it down may make you decide you don't need the food," Bachman said.