How to keep a food journal. Learn from my mistakes.

by purelytwins

Do you have a food journal? Does it help you keep track of your health?

Today I am answering a reader’s question – the question comes from Sara.

I was wondering if you could address how you keep a food/symptom journal. I’ve started and stopped journaling about my gut issues numerous times but always get overwhelmed. Because I have numerous issues that I THINK stem from my gut (hormonal stuff, a little bit of anxiety/depression, etc.) it’s hard to keep straight what may be helping one thing but not another. It’s also hard to keep all of the food straight, i.e.: My stomach feels better today, is that because of the banana I ate yesterday afternoon? Or is the oatmeal I’ve had for breakfast for the past week helping? Or is it just a crazy fluke and will be back to hurting again tomorrow?

How to keep a food journal for gut, hormonal and skin health

Quick recap of video:

Tips to keep a good food journal to help you learn your body and heal

Important tips on how to keep a food journal for gut and skin health.

1 – Be as detailed as you can. Keep track of everything.

2 – Keep going even if your symptoms are better.

3 – Write in journal after each meal.

4 – Keep it all in one journal.

5 – DATE IT!!! So important to write the dates.

6 – Pictures. Another way to keep track of how well your are doing.

Resources I mentioned in video: I have no affiliation with them

Practical Paleo

Digestive health with real food

Hope you enjoyed my tips and in the video I shared all my mistakes I made so you can avoid them.

Leave me a comment below if there is something I missed or share how you food journal.

xoxo

Michelle

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11 comments

CareyReynolds March 20, 2015 - 7:57 pm

Super helpful, more like this please.

purelytwins March 20, 2015 - 11:23 pm

you got it 🙂

Cassie March 21, 2015 - 7:55 pm

I remember food journaling and I wish I did the same too about how I felt!

Sara G March 23, 2015 - 8:21 am

Thanks for responding to my question – and so quickly! This was really helpful and I’m going to try and keep a very detailed food (and symptom, and supplement, and activity, etc.) journal starting today, while also keeping the eats simple. Hopefully Future Sara will have less pain and fewer health issues as a result 🙂 Thanks again!

purelytwins March 23, 2015 - 12:42 pm

Keep me posted!! best of luck

Real Food with Dana April 7, 2015 - 5:19 pm

Love these tips! So helpful, even though I’ve been doing this for a long time to keep track of food sensitivities. I started using an app called twogrand that lets you take pictures of your food in a diary style – so you can keep track of it all on your phone (including symptoms and how you felt about your whole day), but you don’t have to keep track of calories or anything. much better for me 🙂

Adam Trainor June 17, 2015 - 3:58 pm

I have never been one to keep a food journal myself, but I do think it’s a great idea. Many of times people and myself include, we will eat food and then feel horrible afterwards and we try and think back to what we have eaten but it could be anything that has upset our guts. You have said to be detailed in your journal, how detailed do you mean? Just being specific of what foods you had in your meal? Are you including times of when you have eaten too?

purelytwins June 17, 2015 - 7:50 pm

keeping track of times is a great idea along with what foods you ate at what meal.

Adam Trainor June 19, 2015 - 6:27 am

Great! thanks for the reply, I will keep this in mind from now on. I haqve tried to do it şn the past but forgot to write down what I had and then I am trying to thik back and in the end I gave up.

purelytwins June 19, 2015 - 9:39 am

It can be hard to keep a good journal, just do what you can. Don’t worry about being perfect, just write when you can.

Comments are closed.

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