if you bite it, write it (m)

I didn't make this expression up....WW did.

They know with certainty that people who "track" their food intake-- i.e. write down everything that goes into their mouths--are more successful at losing weight than those who do not.

She polls us:  not many of us write everything down.  "Why not?" she asks.  Answers generally are in the "I know what I eat. I don't have to track it" category.

Karen, our leader, does a little exercise with us.  She takes a green nylon bag, about 12 inches by 18 inches and holds up individual items, asks us what they are and says she is going to ask us about these items in a minute.

Like a bunch of fourth-graders in a foreign-language class, we repeat after her:

1. brownie
2. bag of nuts
3. pack of parmesan pita chips
4. plastic straw
5. plastic fork
6. caramel
7. one point candy bar
8. WW instant oatmeal
9. package of Jello
10. bottle of water

"Now, who can list everything I just put in the bag?" she asks once the bag is stuffed and closed.

No hands.  "Okay, let's do it together".  And we do.  We, combined, remember everything.

Then Karen asks: "Why did I have you do this?  Because if you can't remember a simple list of things 5 minutes later, there's NO WAY you will remember everything you ate in one day." 

"Write it down, people!"