Striking new results of a paper published in the August issue of American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Scientists at several clinical-research centers in the U.S. found that dieters who kept a food diary lost twice as much weight as those who didn't.

The study tracked nealy 1,700 overwight or obese adults across the country who were at least 25 years old. Men and women were inluded, and 44% of the group was African American. All participants were encouraged to use such weight-loss maintenance stratiegies as calorie restriction, weekly group sessions and moderately intensive exercise as well as to keep a food journal.

"Hands down, the most successful weight-loss method was keeping a record of what you eat" said victor Stevens of the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, OR.

With a detailed food diary, you can see where those extra calories are coming from.

A terrific Web site call the Daily Plate at:

     LiveStrong.com

not only lets you accurately count calories but also helps you find people with eating habits similar to your own.

As reported by Sanjay Gupta, M.D. and Danielle N. Dellorto