The food diary for printing: template and tips
Do you want to eat healthier? Then our printable food diary will help you. The food diary shows you much more than just what and how much you eat. Step by step, you will recognize your personal habits and can then incorporate small changes into your daily routine, making it easier to eat more consciously in the long run.
)
Table of contents
What is the purpose of a food diary?
You may want to feel fitter, reach your ideal weight, or simply have more energy. For all these goals, a change in diet is advisable. To succeed in this, it is recommended to keep a food diary for a while. This not only shows us what and how much we eat, but also reflects our individual eating patterns and habits. Each eating behavior is individual and shaped over years, which is why it is so useful to spend a few days focusing on what you eat and drink and how it makes you feel. Every unhealthy habit can be addressed by gradually incorporating better habits into our daily lives.
Why does a food diary work so well?
Snacking out of boredom or to cope with stress, consuming many sugary drinks - each of us has habits that don't quite fit into a conscious diet. To overcome them, we must first and foremost: recognize them and make it easy for our brain to make better decisions by gradually incorporating small changes into our daily routine. Keeping a simple food diary helps us to uncover our unhealthy habits and understand ourselves. Only then can we consciously decide next time whether and especially what we want to eat and drink.
How to keep a food diary
Our food diary covers a period of 7 days. After this time, most people already have their first "aha" moments and recognize some eating habits that prevent them from eating healthier. If desired, the period can also be extended by another week.
Each diary page is designed for you to uncover your current eating habits and see what has prevented you from achieving your goals for well-being and a healthier diet.
Keeping a food diary is very easy. You only need a few minutes each day to focus on your food and eating patterns:
Note down what you eat and drink and the most important rule: Be honest and conscientious. Don't forget even the smallest details. It is recommended to do this for a period of 7 to 14 days.
Please also note the time, if possible, so that you can track snacking or eating on the side, or to identify intolerances more easily.
After just a few days, you can review your notes and already start to recognize patterns: Am I snacking too much? Am I eating large amounts unconsciously while watching TV? Does my food satisfy me enough or do I tend to have cravings? How much fresh food (fruit, vegetables, herbs) enriches my daily diet? Do certain foods cause discomfort and unease?
Also note whether it is a workday or if you were off or on vacation, as usually eating habits differ in those cases.
To find out which foods are good or not so good for you, you can add information about your well-being daily.
At the end of days 7 to 14, take stock: What do you want to change? Take smaller steps rather than bigger ones (e.g. "I will only snack once a day" or "I will have a full meal for lunch instead of just getting a snack from the bakery"). Write down your goals. It's best to focus on only one or two goals at a time.
For printing: Your 7-day food diary
With our free nutrition diary, you have the power to change your diet, eat healthier, reach your ideal weight, or prevent health issues. Download your nutrition diary here and track your eating habits to develop new routines.
