A food diary provides your endocrinologist with valuable information about the way your diet affects your condition. Hormones produced by endocrine system help the body use food efficiently for optimal energy and nutrition levels. If you have an endocrine system disorder, such as diabetes or an underactive thyroid, wise food choices are important in controlling your condition. A food diary will ensure that you and your doctor are aware of the way the food helps or worsens your condition.
Step 1
Create a food diary using several blank pieces of a paper, a notebook or your computer's word processing program. Allow one page for each day. Keep your diary with you at all times and enter any food you eat immediately after consuming it. If you keep your diary on your computer, you might still want to carry a small notebook to jot down information that you could later enter into the computer.
Step 2
Draw vertical lines to divide the page into nine equal columns. If you are using unlined paper, draw several horizontal lines across the page. You will write information about each food item on the horizontal lines.
Step 3
Label the first column "Food Type." In this column, you will write a brief description of the food and how it was prepared. Writing "fried" or "baked" potatoes in your diary will provide more information for your endocrinologist than simply writing "potatoes."
Step 4
Label the second column "Amount." Use this column to record the amount of food you eat in ounces, grams, cups, teaspoons or pieces.
Step 5
Label the third column "Grams of Saturated Fat." The fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh columns should be labeled "Grams of Unsaturated Fat", "Protein" ,"Carbohydrates" and "Calories Consumed." You might not always have detailed information about food items readily available, but it will help your doctor if you include the information when possible.
Step 6
Label the eighth column for the time of day that you ate the food. You should label the ninth column "Activity" and use it to describe what you were doing while you were eating. If you eat while you watch television or work, note these activities in this column.
Step 7
Finish the food diary with a column labeled "Effects." List any negative physical effects that you felt after eating the food.
Tips and Warnings
- If you have diabetes, your endocrinologist might ask you to test your blood sugar level before and after eating. If this is the case, add these headings to your food diary. Use measuring cups and spoons when you begin keeping your food diary to determine exact food amounts. Even if you eat at a restaurant, guess the food amounts based on the amounts you measured at home. Several websites, such as Fit Watch, myfitnesspal and Schaller Anderson provide food diaries . If you don't want to create your own food diary, you can print out one of these diaries, although you might need to add categories that your endocrinologist requires.
- Don't leave out items you add to your food. If you poured gravy on your meatloaf or ketchup on your French fries, include these items in your diary.
Things You'll Need
- Paper
- Writing instrument
- Measuring cups and spoons
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