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The #1 Weight Loss Secret You've Never
Heard of...

"Self-Monitoring is the single most important aspect of
effective weight control."

--Daniel S. Kirschenbaum, Ph.D., The 9 Truths about Weight Loss

The number of diets being sold today is incredible. A recent search for the word "diet" on Amazon.com returned 27,187 matches -- and that's only counting books! Most of these diets have no scientific basis, and many flatly contradict each other. And yet -- if you believe the advertising -- each one has been used by a number of people to lose weight. How can this be? How can two completely contradictory diets both work?

The secret that makes these unscientific diets work is Self-Monitoring. Anyone motivated enough to follow a diet carefully (and you have to be pretty darned motivated to follow some of these diets!) is very likely to keep track of everything they eat. And that's what does it. Studies show that people who consistently monitor their weight-loss efforts lose more weight and keep it off longer than people who don't (see sidebar). These benefits of self-monitoring are so strong that they can make even an unscientific diet program effective in the short term.

Of course, that doesn't mean you should just try any old diet. If you're serious about weight-loss you'll want to follow the best diet -- one that's based on sound science and designed to work for your body and your specific goals. But whatever diet you choose, if you really want it to work, you must monitor your eating and exercise.

In its most complete form, monitoring means that every day you write down:

1) What you eat, how much, and when
2) How much water you drink and when
3) How many calories it has (or anything else you're specifically tracking on your program)
4) What kind of exercise you do and for how long

Some people succeed with a simpler approach, by just writing down the calories of everything they eat, without recording what they ate or when. On the other end of the scale, if you have a Palm Pilot or other brand of PDA, you can easily automate the process and record such things as how the food tasted, how you are feeling, etc. That's a great way to really find out how different foods affect you.

What makes self-monitoring so effective? It's a combination of things. The simplest reason is that many people just don't realize how much they're eating; a couple of crackers with cheese here or a piece of candy there might not seem important enough to keep track of -- until you start adding them up!

But the strongest benefit may be one of the least obvious. For so many people, dieting is a chore. You have to do it all day long, and the only reward you get is when you step on a scale and (maybe) discover you've lost another pound. But monitoring gives you a feeling of accomplishment and positive reinforcement every time you eat or exercise.

Each time you write in your log that you ate a meal on your plan, you'll feel a little better about yourself. That's the kind of ongoing reward that makes staying on your plan so much easier.

Then, when you do step on the scale, you'll see the results that matter most. That's the real power of Self-Monitoring.

Three EZ Tips for using Self-Monitoring to reach your weight-loss goals

1. Get Organized.
You can buy an incredible variety of organizers and handheld PDAs. They all work. But you know what else works? A pad of paper and a pencil. Note: The best commercial weight-loss programs include log sheets to make monitoring easy.

Special Bonus:
Click here to download a handy weight-loss log and print out as many copies as you need.

2. Write Down Everything.
The temptation to leave off "small" snacks that "don't count" is great. Everything counts! If it goes in your mouth, it goes on the paper.

3. Monitor Your Exercise.
Especially walking. The more you keep track of how much you walk, the easier it is to find easy ways to add more walking into your daily routine (like parking a little bit further away from the mall and walking across the parking lot). Studies show that people who are the most successful at losing weight are also the best at finding ways to increase the exercise they get in their everyday lives.