If you like texting and are trying to lose weight, a new study found that using texting to track diet and exercise habits may help you shed pounds.

Previous research has shown that keeping food and exercise diaries improves the likelihood of success when trying to shed excess weight. Using a computer or pen and paper to record information, however, can be a burden and cause some people to give up.

Researchers said using text messages can save time and increase the chances that people will stick with their weight-loss regimen.

The study included 26 obese women with an average age of 38. The women used daily texting as part of their weight-loss program.

Every morning, the women received a text from an automated system that said, "Please text yesterday's # of steps you walked, # of sugary drinks and if you ate fast food." Based on the women's responses to the text message, the system sent another text with personalized feedback and a tip, Newsmax Health reports.

After six months, the women who used daily texting lost an average of nearly 3 pounds, while another group of women who used traditional methods to keep food and exercise diaries gained an average of 2.5 pounds.

Тext messaging offers several advantages compared to other self-monitoring methods, data in a text message can be entered quickly , and this provides more portability.