A new weight loss study shows the power of tracking what we do – a lesson applicable for anyone wanting to use money more effectively as well. The research, conducted by the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research and described in a U.S. News & World Report article, followed nearly 1,700 overweight people as they used a daily food journal to write down and estimate the calories of everything they ate or drank over a period of six months. Their average weight loss? About 13 pounds. Researchers found that the more days a person kept a careful record of what they ate, the more weight they lost. Another important factor was setting a daily calorie budget.
Participants noted how eye opening it was to see how many calories they were consuming, and that the knowledge better equipped them to manage their choices. The same is true when tracking our spending, which is why I’m such a big believer in the use of a budget. Interested in giving it a try? Download my free three-page quick start guide.
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