Diet & Lifestyle Journals – How To
I’m going to come right out and say it – I hate keeping a diet diary or lifestyle journal BUT ya gotta do what ya gotta do.
This practice isn’t just for weight loss but also anyone ready to incorporate a mindfulness into their daily routine. BUT this practice isn’t for everyone, long-term. In fact, there are very few people I would recommend do this long term. When I ask a client to keep a diet diary or lifestyle journal, it’s usually for 3-14 days, a few times a year. There are some special cases for those who are really struggling to lose weight who may have to keep the journal for several months but the goal is to always have you become aware, change your habits and create sustainable strategies that don’t require life-long tracking.
Ok, so how do you know, for yourself, when it may be a good time to track?
You know those times when you’re eating super well, exercising regularly and still not losing weight - That’s when.
When you’re always hungry and can’t stop eating – that’s when.
When you feel like you’ve been mindlessly eating and can’t remember what you last ate – that’s when.
When you are tossing and turning and can’t figure out why you ‘just can’t’ fall asleep’ - that’s when.
Tracking your intake and lifestyle is like shining a spotlight on your dietary habits, allowing you to spot patterns and make more mindful choices. It's the ultimate tool for reviewing your eating habits and understanding what fuels your body best. It also shines a light on your how exercise and sleep or lack their of may be affecting your diet and energy as well of other key factors you may be asked to track.
A diet diary should be honest and not staged. It's not about restriction or judgment; it's about cultivating awareness and taking charge of your nutrition and lifestyle. If you drastically alter your diet while you’re keeping a short journal for analysis, the data you collected will be useless. The practice of keeping track would have still been beneficial if you take note that the exercise in and of itself altered your dietary patterns through awareness and mindfulness. If this is the case, then I would encourage you to continue tracking till these new habits become routine. Like I said earlier, it's not meant to be a lifelong practice but you can come back to it whenever you feel it would be helpful.
When shouldn’t you keep a diet diary?
If you have a history of eating disorder or have been told by a health professional not to.
How to keep a diet diary or lifestyle journal:
There are a number of apps which you can use to track your calorie intake as well as mealtime and exercise. Some apps also allow you to track your sleep. If you are a client of mine, you will know that I ask for more than just your dietary intake because while it is the largest part of the picture, it is not the only part. Exercise, stress, sleep and satiety are important factors to examine when trying to determine what needs to be changed in your routine or what could be impacting your weight, energy or mood.
You’ll also know that I want specifics. I want to know every morsel of food or liquid that passes your lips – the measurement, brand, time… I want it all. The more data we can collect, the better we can determine what’s going on.
If you want to keep it simple and on paper, you can download my free Diet Diary Template here or you can use this as a guide to create your own. You can also enter this data manually in your calorie tracking app if it allows for it. I like a combination of both.
Ideally, I would have a client track on Cronometer and fill out the Calorie Mastery Worksheets which are very different than the Diet Diary Template but, to each their own.
If you haven’t been sent a diet diary template from me before, here is a snap shot of the preamble and the tracker:
You will be asked to include the following:
· The date
· The time you fell asleep and the time you woke (eg. 11:00pm-7:00am)
· How rested you were (scale of 1-10, 1 = not at all rested and 10 =very rested)
You will also be asked to track your diet in detail. The measurement of your food is just as important as how much you ate.
· The time you ate
· The food you ate (including measurement eg. 1 cup cooked rice, 1 cup chicken, 2 cups vegetables or weights like 200g vegetables, 3 oz chicken etc.)
· Drinks including water and the amount
· Level of satisfaction
If you are eating at a restaurant, please include the restaurant name.
If the item is premade/packaged, please include the brand, and don’t forget to write how much you ate of it.
Nutrition labels and serving sizes can be confusing. If you are interested in learning how to read and use them better, please check out this guide: https://www.wellwithfelicia.com/get-started/p/serving-sizes-and-portions-guidebook
Here is an example of what is not helpful and what is helpful:
Not helpful:
12:00 pm Sushi: Bento box: avocado roll, miso soup, vegetable tempura and salad. Felt full
Very helpful!:
12:00 pm Sushi: Bento box: 1 large avocado roll, 1 bowl miso soup, 2 pieces vegetable tempura, 1 tsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp tempura sauce, 1/2 cup mixed salad with oil based dressing, 2 green tea from (restaurant name). Felt full but lethargic 1 hour later
If you prefer to track online, please download the Cronometer app in your app store. Once you have set up your account, go into: Settings -> Targets -> Energy Settings and turn OFF Thermic Effect of Food (TEF)
and so on for the remaining meals and snack including late night snacking.
Again, this form works best when using them in combination with the Calorie Mastery Worksheets but its up to you if you want to use them.