What DOUBLES Weight Loss?

Happy New Year friends! I hope you all enjoyed your holidays!
Many clients have told me they feel they've put on a few pounds this past month and now feel it's time to get to work. Now we all know to exercise frequently and eat healthy foods, but do you know the one thing we can do to double our weight loss?
According to a study published in the August issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, people who kept food diaries lost twice as much weight or more as those who didn't keep a tally of their meals. One participant in the study, who dropped 55 pounds, says it was easier to maintain the weight loss using the food diary than her past efforts using Slim-Fast, the Atkins high-protein regime, or other fad diets. The difference was a slower, stable lifestyle change.
Not only does keeping a food diary allow you to see what you're eating, it also allows you to see how often you're eating. Many find that they're snacking through the day due to running errands or attending meetings and calls at work. When they get home, they're starving and have a large dinner to make up for the food they've missed all day. Seeing our daily food patterns encourages us to plan out our meals more efficiently.
Now it's your turn! What is your experience with food and exercise diaries? Have you tried them before? If you have, did you find success? If you haven't, what stopped you?