Keeping a Food Journal

Staff Writer

Keeping a food journal

Studies have shown that keeping a food diary can double a person’s weight-loss efforts. The practice can increase awareness of why you’re eating, identify how certain foods make you feel and track your mood while eating.

Food journals can reduce mindless eating because each bite is recorded. But keeping a journal is not easy. It requires consistency, honesty and detail. The following tips can help you get started.

Know Why You’re Doing It

Be clear about why you’re keeping a food journal, what you hope to gain and what type of information you will record. You may want to identify which foods make you tired and which give you energy. Understanding how you feel when eating – both in body and mind – can help identify patterns and make diet changes.

Stick With One Format

Decide whether you will use pen and paper or an app to keep your food journal. Portability is key. A small notebook can fit in a pocket or purse.

Get Specific

Include portion size, ingredients, time of day, where you are and how you’re feeling before, during and after eating. Don’t forget to include beverages, too. What you drink can be a sneaky source of calories and sugar.

Be Honest

Decide how detailed you want to be from the start and stay consistent. Document everything, not just the foods about which you feel good. On the other hand, too much detail may lead to inconsistency. Find a balance and stick with it.

Know Your Barriers

Think about what may keep you from completing a food journal to help avoid those obstacles. Do you feel guilty about the things you eat or have doubts about whether a journal will help with weight loss? Are you worried about staying consistent? These are common thoughts that can be overcome by focusing on how useful a diary can be, acknowledging the difficulty and staying motivated by health goals.

Make a Date

Plan a consistent time to record information each day and weekly time to review your journal. This will help to notice patterns, emotions and habits related to food and to identify changes that can be made.