The Food Diary

Behavior modification weight control is the number one most successful method for long-term weight management and the number one tool used in behavior modification weight control is the food diary. Why is a food diary so effective? In order to lose weight, you must understand your eating habits and what triggers overeating. You cannot assume that we are all overweight for the same reasons. A food diary helps you identify why your client is overweight or makes poor eating choices. Most food diaries simply measure food intake. It’s important though to use a lifestyle diary, which addresses the most common behavioral aspects of weight control.

Why Use a Food Diary?

Does your client scratch his head and wonder why he’s overweight? A food diary turns what is abstract into black and white. You can’t deny that which is on the paper. A food diary takes the feeling out of the eating and puts it into a factual format. Without a diary, you eat without awareness. Our most damaging eating happens when we’re not paying attention. We eat as a reflex to certain situations or emotions. By using a food diary, you can instantly create awareness where before there was none. How many times have you been on the phone while snacking on some chips and soon realized that the entire bag was gone? Or does this sound familiar. You sit down in front of the TV to watch your favorite television program and realize by the first commercial that you finished your entire dinner. By using the food diary, you turn automatic behaviors into conscious decisions. A food diary links the connection between food and mood. A food diary that measures only food intake is missing the most important components of behavior. How often do we eat because we’re bored, stressed, celebrating, etc? These emotional connections to food should be recorded so they can be identified. If you find that you eat because you’re stressed, then maybe your focus should be on finding stress reduction techniques rather then a weight loss program.

How to Use a Food Diary

The food diary is one of the most powerful tools in weight management, but it is also one of the most resisted. It can be tedious to write down every morsel that goes into your mouth, much less the environment that you ate it in. When your client complains that they don’t want to participate in this part of the program, you have to stress that it is not an option because it is just that important. Your clients should carry their diary with them at all times and record immediately upon eating. Nothing should be left out. If you took a sample while strolling down the market aisle, that bite needs to be recorded. Don’t depend on memory at the end of the day for recording your entries. Remind your clients that it’s the times that they don’t want to write down that are the most important. The only person that they’re hurting when they’re not honest on their diary is himself. The purpose of a food diary is not to put someone on a diet and see that they’re sticking with it. Instead, give them the food diary to find out what they are naturally doing. You can buy a pre-made lifestyle diary like the one I sell or make one of your own. The following categories should be included on your food diary:

Location: Where was the food eaten? The car? Your desk? Your dining room table? We want to track where you’re eating to see how it’s connected to your food choices. For instance, if you are eating in the car, we can pretty much guess that you’re not eating with awareness.

Time Started/Time Finished: Most people who are overweight eat too fast. By tracking the time that you start and finish eating, you can become more aware of if you take time to savor your food or if you scarf it down in a matter of minutes. By now, most of us know that small frequent meals are better then a few large ones throughout the day. By graphing the times your client eats, you can easily show him / her that they don’t eat often enough or that they often skip breakfast.

Position: You might be wondering why we care what position someone is in while they eat. Well, can you truly be aware of your eating if you’re walking? Ideally, we want our clients to sit down when eating.

Company: Have you ever noticed that you always make poor eating choices when eating with certain people? Or on the reverse side, maybe you make great eating choices when eating with certain people. It’s important to know how your company effects your eating.

Type of food: This is what you typically record on a food diary. If you want to lose weight, it makes sense that you need to know what you’re eating. It’s very important to be specific. Don’t just write "chicken". Write "fried chicken breasts". It’s the little things that add up. Don’t forget about condiments, sauces, etc. If you try a sample while strolling through the aisle at the super market, it needs to be recorded.

Quantity of Food: Along those lines, you need to be specific about how much you ate. Did you eat 1 or 3 chicken breasts? Was your roll about the size of a yo-yo or a softball? Be very specific in describing portions. If possible, use weight, volume or inches to describe your food. (Suggestion: Give clients a handout on portion sizes to help them better understand how much they’re eating).

Calories/Fat (Optional): Because the food diary is already time consuming, you may choose to skip having your clients’ record calorie and fat. If this task is too overwhelming for them then they won’t do it. I have sometimes used a nutritional software program to analyze my client’s actual calories and fat intake.

Activity: Ideally, we want your clients to only be eating when they eat. If they have other distractions such as the TV, the phone or the computer, it takes their mind away from the task at hand.

Level of Hunger: We want your clients to get in tune with their hunger levels. I suggest having them rate their hunger on a scale of 1 – 10, with 1 being full and 10 being famished. We’re looking for clients to eat when they are hungry and to stop eating when full. We don’t want them to be so hungry, however, that they don’t make wise food choices. If you find that your poorer eating choices are a result of extreme hunger, then you may want to suggest more frequent, high fiber meals or increased water intake.

Mood: This is an important one. Our food choices are very often a result of our emotional state, not necessarily our hunger. By having your clients track their moods, they can see connections between how they feel and what they choose to eat.

Check your client’s diaries regularly to be sure they are keeping up with it. It’s very important when reading a food diary to read without judgment. You are not a psychologist and should not delve too deep into your client’s emotional state. However, it is very easy for you to "track the facts". When time permits, collect your client’s diaries and graph the results for them. I give my clients easy to read charts that track how often and when they’re eating, how many calories / fat they’re eating a day, etc. I summarize virtually every part of their diary. We use the diaries to develop a strategy to encourage better eating habits. There’s nothing to be gained by trying to look good on your diary. Be honest and your diary will lead you to better health. Whether you encourage your client to use a diary for a week or for months, it can be one of the most powerful tools in your bag of tricks. Keeping a food diary can be useful in promoting weight loss, identifying food allergies or disordered eating behavior. Before you ask your client to begin one, try using it yourself!

FIGURE 1. SAMPLE FOOD/EXERCISE DIARY PAGE