Food diary

Why this works

Most of us don't really know what we eat. We remember the meals but forget the snacks. We underestimate portions. We don't connect the afternoon slump to the lunch we had. A food diary changes that – not by magic, but by making the invisible visible.

It's also useful for figuring out food sensitivities. If you feel off after eating and can't pinpoint why, a week of tracking often reveals the pattern. That mystery stomach issue might just be the dairy you forgot you keep eating.

What to actually track

Keep it simple enough that you'll actually do it:

1. What you ate. Specific is better – "two slices of pizza" not "lunch." But don't obsess.
2. When. Just the rough time.
3. How you felt. Before and after. Hungry? Stressed? Bored? This context matters more than people realize.
4. Snacks count. Every handful of chips. Every bite off someone's plate. These add up.

The honest version

The only food diary that works is an honest one. Nobody's judging your entries. If you ate ice cream for dinner, write it down. The point isn't to be perfect – it's to see what's actually happening so you can decide what to change.

A lot of people try paper notebooks and give up. Having something you can access from your phone – wherever you are – makes it more likely you'll actually log meals when they happen instead of trying to remember at night.

What you'll probably notice

After a week or two, patterns emerge. Maybe you snack more on stressful days. Maybe you skip breakfast and overeat later. Maybe that "healthy" salad with all the toppings has more calories than the burger would. These aren't failures – they're just information. What you do with it is up to you.

The research

A study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine¹ found that people who keep food diaries lose twice as much weight as those who don't. Not because tracking burns calories – because knowing what you're eating changes what you eat.