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
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
11 comments
Super helpful, more like this please.
you got it 🙂
I remember food journaling and I wish I did the same too about how I felt!
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!
Keep me posted!! best of luck
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 🙂
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?
keeping track of times is a great idea along with what foods you ate at what meal.
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.
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.