Sometimes it feels like weight loss can be a never-ending process, but new research out of the US has shown just a few extra minutes of work a day are needed to shift the kilograms.
The study, published last week in Obesity journal, required 142 participants to self-monitor their diets by logging them online over a six-month period.
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The study, entitled 'Log Often, Lose More', found that the most successful study participants spent an average of 23 minutes self-monitoring each day, with many ending up losing 10 percent of their body weight.
If 23 minutes still seems like a long time to spend tracking, take comfort in the fact that it took the participants less time as the months went on. But by the end of the six-month study, they were taking just 15 minutes - and were still losing weight.
"We were not surprised that frequent self-monitoring was related to weight loss success. We were surprised that 15 minutes a day is all that's necessary," lead author Dr Jean Harvey told Healthline.
Previous studies have suggested that it doesn't matter how detailed your tracking is; it might just be the act of self-monitoring, rather than the accuracy of it, that keeps your weight loss on track.
That means those wanting to track their own food choices can nail it down to the exact calorie with popular apps like My Fitness Pal, or just keep a general overview of choices made during the day.
Newshub.
