Food Diary Time: Soul-Searching Food Journal™ to Help You Now

food diary

At the end of the day, have you completely lost track of what you ate? Are you at a loss as to what sweets, culprit carbs or fatty snacks you’ve put in your mouth? Do you wonder why you’re packing on the pounds or feeling sluggish and unfocused?

Well, research shows that if you keep a food journal, you stand a greater chance of losing weight and achieving better health.

10 a.m.   _______________________________________________________________
10 a.m.   _______________________________________________________________

11 a.m.   _______________________________________________________________
11 a.m.   _______________________________________________________________

12 noon  _______________________________________________________________
12 noon  _______________________________________________________________

1 p.m.     _______________________________________________________________
1 p.m.     _______________________________________________________________

2 p.m.     _______________________________________________________________
2 p.m.     _______________________________________________________________

3 p.m.     _______________________________________________________________
3 p.m.     _______________________________________________________________

4 p.m.     _______________________________________________________________
4 p.m.     _______________________________________________________________

5 p.m.     _______________________________________________________________
5 p.m.     _______________________________________________________________

6 p.m.     _______________________________________________________________
6 p.m.     _______________________________________________________________

7 p.m.     _______________________________________________________________
7 p.m.     _______________________________________________________________

‘8 p.m.     _______________________________________________________________
8 p.m.     _______________________________________________________________

9 p.m.     _______________________________________________________________
9 p.m.     _______________________________________________________________

10 p.m.   _______________________________________________________________
10 p.m.   _______________________________________________________________

11 p.m.   _______________________________________________________________
11 p.m.   _______________________________________________________________

12 a.m.   _______________________________________________________________
12 a.m.   _______________________________________________________________

1 a.m.     _______________________________________________________________
1 a.m.     _______________________________________________________________

2 a.m.     _______________________________________________________________
2 a.m.     _______________________________________________________________

3 a.m.     _______________________________________________________________
3 a.m.     _______________________________________________________________

4 a.m.     _______________________________________________________________
4 a.m.     _______________________________________________________________

5 a.m.     _______________________________________________________________
5 a.m.     _______________________________________________________________

6 a.m.      _________________________________________________________________
6 a.m.      _________________________________________________________________

Review

What low nutrient (unhealthy) foods and drinks (with sugar, refined carbs, salt, artificial sweeteners) did I have today?____________________________________________________________________

How
many times today did I have these low-caliber non-foods? ______________________________________________________________________________

How did I feel afterward? ___________________________________________________________

What were the most healthy foods and drinks I had today?________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

How did I feel immediately afterward? ________________________________________________

How did I feel 2 hours later?________________________________________________________

How did I feel 4 hours later?________________________________________________________

How much water did I have today?  __________________________________________________

When were my low points of the day (what time?) _______________________________________

What were my high points? ________________________________________________________

What
exercise did I do today?

  • Aerobic (What kind and how
    long?)______________________________________
  • Resistance Training (What kinds and how
    long?) ___________________________
  • Any other exercise ___________________________________________________

When did I feel best today? Why? ______________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

When did I feel worst today? Why? _____________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

What were my physical symptoms, if any? (Headaches, low energy, difficulty concentrating, etc.?)  _________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

What were my main emotions? How did I feel emotionally? (Sad, frustrated, lonely, angry, etc.?) _________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

Did I ever eat when I wasn’t hungry? When? Why? _________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

How did I get along with my loved ones and co-workers? Explain.

_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

Did
I embarrass myself today or behave in a way I was not proud – in other
words, was I moody, crabby, angry, irrational, short-fused, etc? Specify. (You’re just watching yourself compassionately. So know that It’s OK you acted these ways — knowing how food
affects you is the first step to becoming more calm.)

_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

Was I a zombie at any time today? What did I do to pep myself up?

____________________________________________________________________________

What trends did I notice as to which certain foods affect me? ____________________________

What new healthy foods did I try today? _____________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

Were
there any trigger situations in which I found myself?
______________________________________________________________________________

Was
I trapped in any situations by saboteurs (whether intentional or not?)
What happened?
_______________________________________________________________________________

What
are my biggest obstacles today to my leading a clean, sugar-free,
artificial-sweetener-free, low-salt life?
___________________________________________________________________________

Did I feel deprived today? How so? ____________________________________________________

If I ate sugar or refined carbs: What did that do for me? _____________________________________

Did it really work? (Honesty!) __________________________________________________________

What
is my tricky time of day? Why? Where am
I?__________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________

How
did I bring sweetness into my life today? In other words, did treat myself in non-sugar way(s) today?
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________

How can I treat myself tomorrow in non-food ways? _________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________

What food(s) agreed with me least? _____________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

What food(s) agreed with me most? _____________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

What can I do differently tomorrow? ______________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

How can I put a positive spin on what I did today? What’s are today’s 2 or 3 most important lessons/blessings?

_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

Copyright, Connie Bennett & Stop Sugar Shock, 2010. The Soul
Searching Food Journal™ . Feel free to share this with others, but please
include this entire entry and the fact that it first appeared on the
Sugar Shock Blog. Join me the Facebook page for Smart Habits Fans and share your experience using this. (http://www.Facebook.com/SmartHabitsFans)