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Keep a food journal and don’t eat out for lunch – new tried and tested slimming advice revealed

Keeping food diaries and never skipping meals are amongst the tried and tested slimming tips revealed by a new study, so if you want to slim down this summer – listen up!

New research from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre shows some of the dos and don’ts of how to faithfully lose weight, with eating out for lunch topping the list as one of the biggest dieting don’ts.

The research, by Dr Anne McTiernan studied how diet-related behaviours affected weight change amongst overweight and obese women over 50 and found that keeping a food journal was by far the best technique, with women keeping a diary losing six pounds more than those who didn’t.

The researchers explain that a diary doesn’t have to be anything fancy and can just be a simple notebook, here are their tips for making a food diary work for you:

• Be honest – record everything you eat
• Be accurate – measure portions, read labels
• Be complete – include details such as how the food was prepared, and the addition of any toppings or condiments
• Be consistent – always carry your food diary with you or use a diet-tracking application on your smart phone

Dieting Don’ts
Topping the dieting don’ts included skipping meals, with women who skipped their meals losing almost eight pounds less than women who did not. Ladies who lunch could also be in trouble, as the research shows that women who ate out for lunch at least weekly would lose on average five pounds less than those who didn’t.

Dr McTiernan suggests that eating in restaurants can often give women less portion control and can encourage unhealthier choices and that although eating out at any time can hinder your diet, eating at lunch time was often the worst time.

Have you ever kept a food diary? Do you have any other tried-and-tested tips to help other mums wanting to slim this summer?

PLUS - if you're looking to try and eat healthier and cut out the junk, read our favourite Healthier Summer Snacks to Help Cut Calories.