Photo Diaries More Effective Than Food Diaries?

I’ve been taking photos of food for a while now, not so much to lose weight, but simply because I like taking pictures and I love food and it’s a great way to remember what I eat. Now, a new study suggests that this habit may actually be more effective than a written food diary for weight loss.

From the New Scientist:

[Researchers] at the University of Wisconsin-Madison told 43 people to record what they ate for one week in words and as pictures.

When they quizzed the volunteers, photo diaries seemed to be the most effective. Not only did they provide powerful visual documentation of snack binges, they also triggered critical evaluation at just the right time – before the food was eaten. “I had to think more carefully about what I was going to eat because I had to take a picture of it,” was a typical response.

In contrast, written diaries are often completed long after the meal and do not create as powerful a reminder of the quantity and quality of the food that was eaten.

At the moment, I only take pictures of my food if it’s really yummy or pretty and I can be bothered. But I love the idea of doing this all the time, for every meal, so I can have a historical account of my eating habits over time. I think it’d be interesting to correlate what I’m eating with my mood, and to see how the types of food I eat changes with the seasons and my ever-changing tastes.

Does anyone else do this? I think I’m going to start!

Snap-happy dieters reap benefits [New Scientist]