A food diary is a record of the food you eat each day. It can help you and your healthcare provider check your diet. The diary can show your eating patterns, how much nutrition you are getting, and possible food allergy symptoms. You can also track how many calories you eat every day.
A food diary is an important tool for finding problem foods if you have a food allergy, food intolerance, or digestive problem, such as reflux or irritable bowel syndrome.
If you are trying to lose weight, a food diary can be used to create a meal plan that focuses on your problem areas. The information about your diet and eating habits can help you create a realistic meal plan for gradual and healthy weight loss. A food diary can show when you overeat or eat too much fat or sugar. It can show if you don't eat enough fruits and vegetables or don't drink enough water. It can also help you to keep healthy eating habits when you reach your weight-loss goals. People who lose weight and keep it off often are those who keep food diaries even after they reach their weight goals.
Whether you are using your food diary to identify food allergy or intolerance or as a tool to help you lose weight and eat better, don't change your eating habits for the first few days. Evaluating your current diet is the only way to recognize changes that should be made. Write down everything you eat. Be honest and thorough.
To find foods that may be causing allergic or digestive symptoms, record the following information:
If you are using the food diary to improve your diet and help you lose weight, include the following:
Include information about your thoughts or mood when you eat. Hunger may not be the only reason for eating. For example, sometimes you may eat because you are bored, stressed, or depressed. Once you are aware of your eating triggers and patterns, it can be easy to see what may need to change. For instance, if stress is a trigger for overeating, exercise can be a healthier way to deal with the stress.
Keep your food diary with you throughout the day and try to write down foods as you eat them. If you wait until late in the day, you will be more likely to forget some items or underestimate portion size.
You can get computer and cell phone applications that make it even easier to keep track of what you’re eating.
For portion sizes, use measurements such as inches, cups, and ounces for the amounts of foods that you eat. For example, you might record that you ate a 2 x 2 inch piece of cornbread, 1 cup of oatmeal, a 12-oz soda, or a 3-ounce chicken patty.
Here are some simple ways to measure portion sizes:
Standard portion sizes have been developed by the American Diabetes Association and the American Dietetic Association. Portion size information and interactive tools to plan meals are also available at http://www.choosemyplate.gov/. Sometimes the portion sizes on the lists developed by these different organizations differ slightly. If you are diabetic, it is easier to use the Diabetic Food Lists. You can also use food labels to learn typical serving sizes, the amounts of calories in each serving, and other nutrient content.
If you are trying to lose weight, at first you need to be specific about the types and amounts of every food, and you need to record this information every time you eat. After you have mastered measuring portions of food, you may able to use a quicker method, as follows:
For example: If your goal is 1,500 calories per day, a healthy balance would include 7 servings from the starch food group, 3 to 4 servings of fruit, 2 servings of low-fat or skim milk or yogurt, two 3-ounce servings from the meat group, and 4 servings from the fat group. You can eat as many vegetables as you like, but you may want to have a goal of eating at least a certain number of vegetables every day.
This quick and easy food diary might look something like this after you eat breakfast:
Daily Goal Number of servings
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7 starches * * *
3 to 4 fruits *
2 milks *
2 meats
4 fats *
vegetables
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Each star in the table stands for 1 serving of a food. For example, the table shows a meal of 1 cup of cereal (2 portions of starch), 1 slice of toast (1 starch) with 1 tablespoon of light margarine (1 fat), one half of a banana (1 fruit), and 1 cup of skim milk (1 milk).
Use a small notebook, starting with a new page every day. Keep it with you at all times and make an entry each time you eat something. Except for nonstarchy vegetables, try not to eat more than your goal for each food group.
For more information about food groups and portion sizes, see the following Web sites:
