Verified by 
Nothing stops random eating in its tracks faster than the decision to keep a food journal. When you’re trying to stop any type of overeating, a food journal is the best tool you can start with. When you write down everything you eat—whether it’s on paper or in an app—it’s there for you to see throughout the day and at the end of each day. Studies have proven the effectiveness of keeping a food diary but, really, it’s just common sense: You’re sure to think twice before you grab a handful of pretzels or a second helping of pasta when you have to write it down. Dietitians have known this for a long time and for ages have used food journals successfully as teaching and monitoring tools.
Any time I’ve worked with someone who wants to lose weight or needs advice on changing their diet for health or medical reasons, I’ve asked them to keep a food diary for at least three days, including one typical weekday and one weekend day, or one typical working day and a typical non-working day, before I meet with them. I always say “Don’t feel you have to lie about what you eat; I’m not here to judge; I’m here to help you continue eating the way you like to eat but in a healthier way.” That’s what you need to do for yourself: be honest and don’t judge.
A food diary reveals information about your eating habits, such as where you eat and the time you eat, that can be just as useful when you’re making changes to your diet as the specific types and amounts of food you choose to eat on a regular basis. You can also use a food diary to record your emotions and the day-to-day situations that trigger problem eating.
You can search for food journal apps online, but you may find that using pen and paper is more effective because that way you can customize your journal to your own needs. To create a food journal, you can use a notebook or just a few pieces of paper stapled together. Whatever you use, it should be easy to carry and have enough space for at least a week’s worth of entries. Write the date at the top of each page, then across the top, write the following categories: Time, Food, Amount, Reasons, Location, Partner(s), and Duration. Every time you eat, whether it’s a full meal, a planned snack, or a quick bite on the run, record this information in your journal:
- Under Time, write the time you started eating.
- Under Food, write the type of food you ate. Be specific, and break down mixed foods as much as possible into ingredients so you can see how much you actually eat of different types of food.
- Under Amount, fill in the quantity or weight of each food you listed in the Food column.
- Under Reason, write down your motivation for eating. It might simply be “hungry,” or it could be “bored” or “angry” or any other emotion that caused you to turn to food for a diversion.
- Under Location, fill in where you were when you were eating.
- Under Partner(s), write down who you were eating with or if you were eating alone.
- Under Duration, fill in the total amount of time you actually spent eating.
If you don't know how many calories you're getting from the foods you eat, add another column in your journal and start keeping track. There are many calorie counters online but the most comprehensive and reliable is the USDA Food Composition Database.
After you’ve kept this type of food journal for a few days and examined all your current eating habits, you can start to use your journal as a goal organizer. You’ll recognize certain food and behavioral patterns and you can start taking steps to change them by coming up with substitute behaviors and coping mechanisms and writing them down to remind yourself of your goals. You can start to plan daily meals and menus ahead of time, again referring to a calorie counter when you want to start cutting back, and even use your journal to make food shopping lists. A journal helps you keep all your thoughts and plans related to food and health in one place.
A food diary can be a reward onto itself—you can look back to measure your progress and find evidence that you have displayed great discipline and self-regard by practicing healthier eating habits. Even if you slip up, get frustrated and eat unhealthy food from time to time, your diary can help you get on track again. You will feel good about your achievements, and continue to feel motivated because a food diary is one weight loss tool that works as long as you use it.
