Waiter: "May I take your order please?"

Dieting diner: "Yes, thank you. And after you're finished writing it all down, can you make me a copy? I'm keeping a food diary."

This request may sound a bit far-fetched, but it turns out that the simple act of writing down what you eat every day may be more powerful than a kick-boxing class when it comes to weight-loss success.

A study from Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research found that keeping a food diary significantly boosts weight loss. The longer food and physical activity records are kept, the more weight is lost. Results of the study involving nearly 1,700 overweight men and women, published in the August issue of the American Journal of Public Health, found that people who kept daily food records lost twice as much weight as those who kept no records.

Reflecting on what you eat helps dieters become more aware of bad habits. It puts the brakes on mindless munching such as grabbing an extra handful of chips or snacking on chunks of a broken cookie.

This study adds more weight, if you will, to what dietitians have said for years: One of the best ways to identify your cravings and eating triggers is to keep a food journal.

The best ones are a running record of not only what you eat each day, but what happened and how you felt before and after eating.

Journaling is considered one of the most powerful tools for changing behavior, from anger management to weight management. You'll be surprised at what you'll uncover about your food triggers and the in-between-meal baby bites that add up over time to tip the scale. Continue after you've started making healthful changes in your eating habits and marvel at the progress you've made.

YOUR FOOD DIARY

Check out menu offerings on the restaurant's Web site. Some provide nutrition information, and many include serving sizes. Print out the menu and make your notes on this paper at the restaurant.

• Ask the server to quantify portion sizes. Is the pasta a 2-cup serving?

• Watch those extras. Don't forget to write down the nuts nibbled at the bar while you waited for your table. Or how much olive oil you used when you dipped your bread at an Italian restaurant.

• Give yourself credit for good behavior such as ordering salad dressing or sauce on the side. It will be easier to estimate how much you used when you apply it yourself.

• Do you leave your journal in the car? Use your cellphone to text or e-mail yourself and add it to your food diary later.

• You can also call yourself with all the dining details and it will be e-mailed to you via voice transcription. It's a free service provided by www.jott.com. Once you're signed up, call 1-866-568-8123 and leave yourself a message. Minutes later, the typed message appears in your e-mail in box.