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Believe It Or Not, Weight Loss Diary Works

Doctor: By Keeping Track Of What You Eat And Drink On Paper, You Are Less Likely To Be A Repeat Offender

NEW YORK (CBS) ― A surprising trick may double your weight loss. Plus, there's a new warning of serious side effects on some common antibiotics. That's just part of Tuesday's health headlines.

A black box warning about tendon problems has been added to a group of popular antibiotics. The drugs called flouroquinolones, including name brands Cipro, Levaquin and Norfloxacin.

Labels for the antibiotics already caution about tendonitis and ruptured tendons, but the black box warning is stronger.

Also Tuesday, if you're trying to lose weight perhaps you should reach for a pen and paper.

New research shows keeping a food diary may help slim down your waistline.

Writing down every morsel of food may seem tedious, but a new study says it could double your weight loss.

"If you see it in black and white in your journal that you're eating this and you're not losing weight it helps you to pinpoint the things that are throwing your diet off," said Dr. Jana Klauer of Weight Reduction & Nutrition.

The study in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine showed those who kept a daily food diary dropped up to 20 pounds. That's twice as much as those who didn't.

"I'm sure that I could better my diet by keeping a food journal," said Vincent Morgan of Harlem.

"I've kept a food journal a couple different times and it worked for me," added Kate Taylor of Manhattan.

Many participants said they thought twice about eating certain foods because they didn't want to see it in their diary.

"I think a food journal would help people realize what they're eating, that people eat unconsciously," said Emilia Merchen of Chicago.

And jot down what you drink, too. Simple H2O has no calories, but other beverages do.

"I had something to drink, I had a glass of lemonade," Dr. Klauer said. "Well, it has about a hundred calories if it's, uh, made with sugars."

A diary also helps dieters avoid common pitfalls.

"People eat for many reasons and one of ... one of the things is boredom. Another thing is stress -- um if you record in the journal the times of your eating -- hmm uh perhaps it helps you to identify when you become hungry," Klauer said.

It's not just keeping track of what you eat that's important. Exercise is crucial, too. Thirty minutes a week is enough to make a difference.

The food diary is also a good technique to use if you are trying to count calories.

Most people only eat about 30 to 40 different food items, so with a little bit of practice you can easily keep track of how many calories are in your diet.

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