The Food Journal

Food Journals are another obligation of the programme. If you show up to your appointment without your food journal you will not be seen. And don’t forget that you have to see them once a month, so if you have missed the appointment because of a forgotten Food Journal you are going to have to make another for the same month.

A Food Journal is where you are going to write down everything you eat and drink. You have to record what, when and how much you eat. There are many ways of doing this, buy an agenda or note book and record your intake in that, use a little note book, or like Ally and I create a page on the computer. I am on the computer many times throughout the day and just update as I go along, while Ally, who logs on less often, carries a pocket size note book with her and then updates her log whenever she gets the chance. We then print them out at the end of the month or before each appointment. If you are someone who often eats out or on the go you might want to make a note on your cell phone (voice recording apps are good for this), and then just write/type it out when you get a chance. They are not particular about which format you use as long as you can see and read it.

Some people find it helpful to record other things about their eating in the Journal as well. Such as how they were feeling, what they were doing, and how hungry they were on a scale of one to 10. Things like these help identify patterns that occur outside  of what you are eating. Some might eat more when they are depressed or make unhealthy choices when they are sad or celebrating something.

The point of your food journal is to identify patterns in your eating that might be holding you back from your goals. Are you eating more than you think because you snack or graze throughout the day and then only eat small meals? Maybe you are making great choices during the day but have to have that midnight snack. People often eat their meals and then move throughout the day to the next, forgetting what they had the previous day. They take each meal as they come and then move on. Your Food Journal will give you a chance to look back and figure out what needs to change.

It’s not something they expect but I started my Journal back in August when our referral went in and Ally started hers a few months before orientation. You don’t have to and since some don’t even know what a Food Journal is until orientation it is perfectly alright to wait and start after orientation.  

The most important part of your Food Journal is to be honest, because if you aren’t then there really is not point to doing it at all.

I am going to attach the link to an example of some Food Journal entries as well as the Food Journal Template that Ally created and we both use. Feel free to use it or if it’s not exactly what you are looking for there are plenty downloadable off the internet. Jut type “Food Journal” or “Food Journal Template” into Google or your favorite search engine.

Entry Examples
Food Journal Template

XOXO, Evie and Ally