Journaling, it seems, is one of the most successful strategies for achieving long-term weight loss.[3-4] It increases a person’s awareness of what they’re eating and helps to unveil habits and patterns of eating. A Kaiser Permanente study with 1,700 participants found that those who kept food diaries six days a week lost twice as much as participants who didn’t journal.[5-6] Keeping a food journal also encourages us to take in fewer calories.[4-5]
Could Keeping a Food Journal Be the Missing Link to Finally Losing Weight? — https://nutritionstudies.org/could-keeping-a-food-journal-be-the-missing-link-to-finally-losing-weight/
I write in my journal nearly every day. I used to keep a food diary within my journal but somewhere along The Path I stopped.
I’ve gained some weight.
I have started to track my food intake again.
garyskitchen.net 
I have logged everything I eat daily for years.
I’m impressed!
OCD
Honestly that was my first thought but I am not licensed to practice medicine, do not make diagnoses, and did not want to offend you.
But it’s the truth. In my journal I write down everything, what I ate, what I did, how I exercised, how I felt…. I’ve been doing this for years. In more detail since I retired and have the time.
I’ve back to tracking my food intake and it’s helping. I’d forgotten how such a simple thing could be so effective in weight control efforts.
Yes you are so right. I have found it extremely helpful in tracking my weight and my hemoglobin A-1 C.
And I have pretty thick skin, so you don’t need to worry about offending me.