Three simple rules?
McTiernan and colleagues tracked the habits of 123 women who were taking were part in the larger Nutrition and Exercise for Women study. At the study's start, the participants' average age was 58, and their average body mass index (BMI) was 31.3. (People with BMIs of 30 and higher are considered obese.) During the year-long study, the participants lost, on average, 10.7 percent of their body weight.
The researchers found that women who kept diligent food logs lost about six more pounds than those who did not keep a food diary.
"We found that the better women in our study were at consistently writing down everything they ate and drank, the more weight they were able to lose," McTiernan said.
The study also found that women who consistently ate three meals daily lost almost eight more pounds, compared with those who reported skipping meals. People who skip meals are likely to be hungrier by the next meal, and overeat, the researchers said.
Eating meals in restaurant may result in a lack of control over calorie intake. Women who ate lunch outside their home at least once a week lost five fewer pounds on average, compared with those who ate out less often. The more meals out that women ate, particularly lunches, the less weight the women lost.
And fast food can't be blamed, according to the study, because only 10 percent of participants reported frequenting fast-food restaurants.
"I think the real key is knowing how many calories you're getting, and controlling the amount," McTiernan said. That's very difficult to do in restaurants where you can't always tell how many calories are in your meal, she said.
The approach taken in the study allowed the researchers to identify the behaviors associated with long-term success, said James O. Hill, professor at the University of Colorado, and director of the Colorado Nutrition Obesity Research Center, who was not involved in the research.
Both Hill and Thorndike said that the results are likely not limited to overweight postmenopausal women, but also apply to the general population.
Are total calories more important than calorie type?
Studies, including this one, consistently show that focusing on restricting the total number of calories consumed yields better weight-loss results than following any diet based on food types, such as low-fat or low-carbohydrate diets.
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