A food diary tracks your food consumption as a way to analyze your diet. According to the Cleveland Clinic, written records of food consumption can help you lose weight and maintain that weight loss. Documenting your diet allows you to identify areas in your diet that need improvement. The more information you put in your food journal, the more it will reveal about your diet, allowing you more room for growth toward a healthier diet.
Step 1
Divide each page of the notebook into sections to help organize the data you record. Include columns for the date and time, food, amount you ate, where you were, what you were doing while you ate and how you felt. Choose a notebook or journal with enough room to record your food data.
Step 2
Write down every item you eat and drink during the day, right after consuming it. FamilyDoctor.org cautions against waiting until the end of the day because you are likely to forget some of the items you consumed. Fill in all of the categories for each food to help discover patterns in your eating.
Step 3
Fill in estimates on the amount you ate if you don't have an exact measurement. Write down specific items you eat or use in your meals to get a better sense of how much you are consuming.
Step 4
Read through your food diary at the end of each week to look for eating patterns, both positive and negative. For example, you might notice that you eat high-fat foods when you are feeling stressed or you eat healthier foods when you eat lunch with friends who are healthy eaters.
Step 5
Calculate the number of servings you consume from each of the different food groups. Compare those numbers to the recommended servings in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's MyPyramid.gov. Make an effort to come closer to the recommended servings if you are falling short of the guidelines.
Step 6
Write goals for the following week based on the patterns and problem areas you discovered in the food diary analysis. Write down steps to achieve those goals. Assess your progress toward those goals each week by continuing to write in and analyze your food diary.
Tips and Warnings
- Be honest in your food diary. If you ate five cookies after lunch, document it that way instead of fibbing and writing in two cookies. An accurate food diary will better enable you to analyze your habits and change them.
Things You'll Need
- Notebook
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