Free App Triples Weight Loss

By Lisa Collier Cool May 21, 2013 43 Recommend

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If youre trying to slim down for the swimsuit season, now theres an a randomi&ed !lini!al trial !om aring a smart hone a weight%loss methods#

for that,

ba!"ed by solid s!ien!e# In fa!t, British resear!hers ha$e !ondu!ted the first%e$er to other do%it%yourself

'!!ording to results ublished in the Journal of Internet Medical Research, o$erweight $olunteers who used the a , !alled My Meal Mate, lost more than tri le the amount of weight as those who used an online diet diary# ( e!ifi!ally, a users dro ed an a$erage of 10 ounds during the si)%month

trial, !om ared to 3 ounds for online diet diary users and *#+ ounds for eo le who tra!"ed meals with a a er diet diary# ,he !lini!al trial in$ol$ed 12o$erweight $olunteers# In another new ilot study, resented at the 20th .uro ean Congress on /besity this month, o$erweight $olunteers dro four wee"s, using a different mobile a ed a mean of 3 ounds, 0 oun!es in 1ust , British resear!hers re orted#

23i$en that our trial was a $ery brief inter$ention with little !onta!t time and no nutritional ad$i!e or su ort, this is a romising finding,2 resear!her .ri! 4obinson, 5h#6#, from the 7ni$ersity of Li$er ool in the 78, told 7ni$ersity 9ews#

The (#artphone Weight Loss (ecret

Ironi!ally, some ty es of te!hnology:in!luding ,;, radio, and !om uters:!an ma"e us fat, while mobile a s ha$e the o osite effe!t#

,hats be!ause we eat u to +0 er!ent more when were distra!ted by surfing the <eb, wat!hing the tube, or listening to the radio, both during a meal and later in the day, the 7ni$ersity of Li$er ool s!ientists ha$e found# Mobile a s, on the other hand, en!ourage mindful eating, whi!h has been ounds without dieting,

shown in multi le studies to be an effe!ti$e way to dro

says =ean >ain, LIC(<, a Har$ard%affiliated sy!hothera ist and author of The

Self-Compassion Diet. 7nderstanding the 3ly!emi! Inde)

)s trac ing calories an e**ective weight loss strategy"

,he two studies used different ty e of a Mate a from the 3oogle 5lay (tore# ,his British a has a large database of foods !ommonly a$ailable in the 78 and s# ,he si)%month trial used the My Meal , whi!h is now a$ailable for free download for 'ndroid smart hones

is based on tra!"ing !alories, foods !onsumed, and e)er!ise# 7sers also get feedba!" about their rogress towards their weight loss goals $ia a wee"ly te)t message# Howe$er, as >ain oints out, on a$erage, the smart hone grou only re!orded their diet data for about three months during the si)%month trial, suggesting that they found the !alorie%tra!"ing a diffi!ult to use# ,he resear!hers also a!"nowledge that se$eral arti!i ants !om lained about bugs in the software# ?Most eo le dont want to "ee on entering data month after month,@ says >ain# ?Counting !alories or !arbs may wor" o$er the short term, but o$er the long term, it often leads to weight gain, be!ause eo le get tired of these methods, dit!h the diet, and often gain ba!" all the ounds they lost: lus some e)tra ones#@ ,he study also re orts that e$en during its si)%month s an, a signifi!ant number of the $olunteers dit!hed the method theyd been assigned to use and tried something else# >or e)am le, one erson who was su dro ed about A0 ounds# osed to be using a diet diary sele!ted by the resear!hers instead downloaded My>itness5al and

A Pict!re is Worth +,--- Calories

In the 0%wee" ilot study at the 7ni$ersity of Li$er ool, before eating or drin"ing, eo le used a smart hone a to ta"e a hoto of the food or be$erage# 'fterwards, users answered Buestions about how mu!h they ate and how full

they felt, while fo!using on the on%s!reen image of the item !onsumed# ,he a also ro$ided a !hronologi!al slide show of e$erything they ate or dran" that day# ?,his is a mu!h better a roa!h, sin!e its an easy way to ay attention to what

youre eating:both before and after you !onsume it:and noti!e how that food ma"es you feel,@ says >ain# ?7nderstanding your eating atterns and refle!ting on them !an be e)tremely hel ful with weight loss#@ <hile the a smart hone a used in the study isnt !ommer!ially a$ailable, similar free s in!lude 5i! Healthy % 5hoto >ood 6iary and MealLogger%5hoto

>ood =ournal# 5i! Healthy also lets you sna a hoto of the food and as" your friends to rate how healthy or unhealthy it is, earn oints for ma"ing healthy !hoi!es, and !om are your sele!tions to those your friends are ma"ing# >oods ,hat >ight >atigue

How a Food Log Can .!#pstart Weight Loss and Boost Health
8ee ing a daily food log doubled weight loss in a 200- 8aiser 5ermanente study in$ol$ing nearly 1,A00 o$erweight eo le, with the a$erage arti!i ant dro diseases# ,he study authors re ort that losing 1ust nine ounds, as did more than two%thirds of those in study, is enough to result in ?$ast de!reases@ in ris" for high blood ressure, high !holesterol, diabetes, heart disease, and stro"e# Indeed, in an earlier study, the resear!hers found that shedding 1ust fi$e ounds !ut the danger of de$elo ing hy ertension by 20 er!ent# >ain has a food log a$ailable for free download on her website that lets you tra!" what you ate, when and where the food was !onsumed, how hungry you felt, your thoughtsCfeelings about the meal or sna!", and what situation rom ted you to eat# ing 13 ounds in si) months:enough to signifi!antly redu!e their ris" for !hroni!

?.ating mindfully:as o

osed to ha$e meals in front of a ,; or !om uter s!reen

:!an really in!rease the leasure of eating as you fo!us on the taste and te)ture of what youre eating,@ says >ain# ?It also hel s you understand your eating atterns and what might be tri ing you u in your efforts to lose weight#@

>or e)am le, you may ha$e a tenden!y to turn to !omfort food during stressful situations or o$ereat when youre feeling lonely or bored# (u!h insights !ould hel you find healthier solutions for these roblems, adds >ain, who oints out that a food log:whether "e t on your smart hone, online, or on a er, hel s you get in better tune with your body, whi!h in turn !an be your best diet !oa!h# ?/n!e you learn to listen to your body:and trust your hunger signals:you wont need a food log#@