New research published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics illustrated the link between maintaining a food diary and achieving weight loss.
The study conducted by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center showed women who kept up-to-date food diaries lost around six pounds more than their counterparts who did not.
It was also demonstrated that skipping meals worked against weight loss, with women indulging in this behaviour losing nearly eight pounds less than those who ate frequently.
The study was conducted across 123 overweight-to-obese women aged between 50 and 75, indicating the results may be more relevant to postmenopausal females.
Director of the Hutchinson Center's Prevention Center Anne McTiernan said: "For individuals who are trying to lose weight, the number one piece of advice based on these study results would be to keep a food journal.
"It is difficult to make changes to your diet when you are not paying close attention to what you are eating."
It is perhaps not surprising that those who ate out at least once a week found it more difficult to shed the pounds than those who did so less frequently.
Still, lunch seemed to be the worst meal to dine out for, with women doing this once weekly losing five fewer pounds than those who did not.
The top tips for maintaining a food diary as outlined by the study are to be honest, accurate, complete and consistent.
That means writing down everything you eat, no matter how embarrassing you find it, while measuring portion sizes and detailing how the food was prepared to identify areas where you can cut back.
Ms McTiernan reminded dieters that they could keep the diary on their mobile device and that it did not necessarily have to be recorded in a notebook or paper pad.
