Module 23 FOOD DIARY 101
2 USING A FOOD DIARY A food diary is a powerful tool that supports communication and transparency between Health Coaches and clients. Let s get real most people tend to sugar coat their eating habits. They ll tell you they re dairy-free or gluten-free when they re actually eating pizza twice a week. Food is highly psychological and people are often under the illusion that they re eating much healthier than they actually are. This isn t about shaming your client, but as the coach, it s important to know what your clients are eating if you re coaching them in the area of food and health. Some coaches decide to take the focus off food entirely, but the majority of coaches use food tools to get their clients feeling their healthiest and happiest. If your client isn t being totally honest about their habits, it can cause friction and frustration, as you might be wondering why they re not feeling better based on what they say they re eating. You might even start to feel like a failure as a coach, and question your work. You can avoid that by using a food diary with your clients. Now of course, there is still room for human error whether someone forgets something they ate or intentionally left it out but you ll get a much more accurate picture by having your client keep a food diary for at least a short period of time.
3 By nature, using a food diary is a highly bio-individual practice: Some clients may rely on this tool daily to keep them on track, while others might prefer to only track food for short periods of time, or perhaps during the week, taking weekends off. Talk with your clients and coach them through the best food diary strategy content for them, based on their goals and personality type. There s no right way to use a food diary, and each client will need to approach it differently. Experiment with this tool in your coaching practice and see if it serves you and your clients to get better results and reach goals with ease and clarity. Warning: If a client has had an eating disorder in the past or is prone to obsessive thinking and self-shaming, it s best to avoid food diaries and use different tools to get them on track. Writing down everything you eat can lead to a lot of scrutinizing, guilt, and self-hatred. On the other hand, for people who are less obsessive and able to be objective, the food journal might be very helpful.
4 BENEFITS OF USING A FOOD DIARY: Awareness Reviewing a client s food diary periodically can empower you to coach from a place of genuine curiosity and compassion. Every person you work with is a unique individual, and you will most likely find that exploring your clients food choices and thought processes will help you in partnering with them to reach their goals. Symbol of Transformation A food diary is an empowering symbol that allows a client and coach to celebrate a client s health transformation, as you compare your client s habits when you first met to their habits after working with you for a few months or longer. It also provides objective evidence of what works and what doesn t work for a client when it comes to food. Accountability You may find that a client is struggling with consistency. A food diary can be a strong accountability tool as they work to integrate new healthy habits into their lifestyle. It also increases transparency so that you know what they re eating and can provide guidance based on how their food is making them feel.
5 WHEN TO USE A FOOD DIARY: At the start of a coaching relationship. Coaches can recommend clients use a food diary to get honest with themselves and give their coach a clear idea of where they are in terms of food and emotions. As a check-point at set intervals throughout a coaching program. Remember, as your client evolves, so do their unique challenges with primary and secondary foods. Food diaries are helpful to troubleshoot road blocks and course correct with ease. Every day. Some clients will want to record their food and connected feelings every day just be sure it doesn t cause obsessive behavior and/or lead them into a shame spiral. Check-in periodically to ensure that the food diary is still serving your client s evolution.
6 TIPS FOR YOU, THE COACH: Be sensitive. Remember that food journaling is deeply personal. It s likely that you ll be the only person who has the privilege of seeing your client s food diary. Be aware that this exercise might bring up strong emotions in your client, like guilt, fear, and shame. It s important to leave any judgment at the door when discussing your client s food diary. Emphasize progress over perfection. You might notice a lot of red flags in your client s food diary, especially when you first start working together. Keep your coaching points focused, and aim to provide clients with no more than 1 3 solid takeaways from each session rather than bombarding them. This will reassure your client that progress is within reach and that you re truly on their team. Seek to understand. Analyze your client s food diary thoughtfully. Look for clues that reveal your client s personal relationship with primary and secondary foods. Ask clarifying questions to reach a place of understanding. Ask high-mileage questions that push your client to explore patterns in their diary. Periodically ask clients How s it going? or How does this exercise feel for you? Be flexible. Encourage your client to customize their diary to fit their bio-individual needs. You may even want to create a version of this tool that your clients can adapt just prepare yourself to be amazed by your clients creativity! Finally, know when to move on to a different coaching tool or strategy if the food diary is no longer serving your client s needs.
7 Food diaries are invaluable for clients because they promote awareness and allow clients to track their physical and emotional reactions to food. This way, they can see for themselves what works and what doesn t. From there, they learn their power foods, and those that negatively impact them, based on evidence, not concepts. It s one thing to read a book about how bad junk food is for you, but it s another thing to see how it affects your body, energy and mood firsthand. As clients journal, they ll come to their own breakthrough moments and essentially learn to coach themselves. This doesn t mean they won t need you everyone needs outside perspective but when they learn how food affects them through experience and observation, you can dive into other subjects in your sessions, instead of lingering on food. Often, clients have much deeper primary food conflicts that they need support resolving. By having clients use a food diary you put the power in their hands, and less responsibility on yourself. This isn t to say that you re trying to do less work for the client, it s just a fact that most people have to see for themselves what works and what doesn t if they want to make lasting, sustainable changes. You can t just tell clients to stop eating gluten, for example. They have to witness for themselves how it impacts them, then from there they can decide if it s worth eating.
8 TIPS TO SHARE WITH CLIENTS: Be honest. Write everything down, and be as specific as you can. This is the whole point of a food journaling. Be kind. This is a safe space for you! Avoid self-judgment and overanalyzing. Be creative. There s no right or wrong way to keep a food diary, so experiment to see what works for you. You might find you enjoy keeping a food diary every day, just on weekdays, or every so often as a check-in. Be intuitive. Allow your food diary to strengthen your intuition around what to eat and what makes you feel your happiest and healthiest. Explore the categories that feel right for your life, and be open to evolving your use of this tool as you grow. Your intuition will guide you. It will also reveal patterns that you can discuss further with your Integrative Nutrition Health Coach. In the following pages, you ll find instructions on how to fill out the Food Diary Template, so you and your clients can get the most out of it in your practice. Feel free to print the instructions on pages 9 16 to give your clients with the template.
9 FOOD DIARY INSTRUCTIONS: A completed sample of the Food Diary Template. FOOD DIARY Name Jon smith Date March 18, 2105 Food Emotional Physical Breakfast 8 AM; take out from coffee shop Bagel Chive cream cheese Black coffee 2 packets Sugar Stressed. I felt rushed this morning and ate quickly. I started thinking about eating lunch mid-morning, even though I wasn t hungry. Felt jittery. Feel very full. Lunch 12 PM; ate at desk ½ Homemade mandarin chicken salad Balsamic vinaigrette Whole wheat breadstick Stressed about a project at work that isn t going as planned. Craving something sweet Feeling tired and having trouble focusing. Drank an iced tea for boost. Still feeling a strange fullness sensation from this morning; bloated. Notes: Unsweetened iced tea Dinner 7 PM; at home Grilled lemon pepper salmon Asparagus Feeling anxious and a little depleted from worrying about a work project all day. Bloated. Experiencing mild constipation. Felt more alert after walk home. Quinoa Red wine Today s accomplishments: Snacks 3:30 PM Apple slices with peanut butter Anxious I increased my water consumption from 4 cups to 7 cups today! I made time to catch up with my sister who lives in another state. Healthy dailies Glasses of water (80 oz) I went to a yoga class before work. Vegetables and/or fruits Protein Tomorrow s intentions: Healthy fats Supplements (Fish oil, multivitamin, probiotic) I focus my energy on things I can control. Movement (45 minute Run - 4.5miles) Sleep Self-Care (6 hours, had trouble falling asleep) (Homemade lunch)
10 FOOD List the food items you eat below the Food column for each meal including Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, & Snacks. You may find it helpful to note the time and source of each meal to have a complete picture of your eating habits. You can be as specific or as general as you d like here. Check out samples below of general food entires, and what we would consider more detailed entries. Experiment with different ways of tracking your food to discover what works best for you! General food intake sample Detailed food intake sample Food Emo Food Emo Breakfast 8 AM; take out from coffee shop Bagel w/cream cheese Black coffee with sugar Breakfast 8 AM ; take out from coffee shop Everything bagel Chive cream cheese 1c. black coffee Lunch 2 packets sugar Lunch
11 PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL When you eat, it s important to be mindful of how your food makes you feel, both emotionally and physically. Tuning into your emotional responses can reveal patterns and imbalances in your Primary Food. Identifying physical symptoms your body has after eating particular foods can reveal food intolerances that are interfering with your ability to feel your best. To support your efforts, there is space on the Food Diary to record both the emotional and physical responses that might come up for you before, during, or after eating. If you choose to track your emotional or physical responses to food, be sure to set aside time for reflection and analysis. Look back at your logs and search for patterns. At first you will want to review and reflect on your log every day. Eventually, it may be helpful to check-in after a few days or weekly.
12 Food, Emotional, and Physical close up. FOOD DIARY Name Jon Food Emotional Physical Breakfast 8 AM; take out from coffee shop Bagel Chive cream cheese Black coffee 2 packets Sugar Stressed. I felt rushed this morning and ate quickly. I started thinking about eating lunch mid-morning, even though I wasn t hungry. Felt jittery. Feel very full. Lunch 12 PM; ate at desk ½ Homemade mandarin chicken salad Balsamic vinaigrette Whole wheat breadstick Unsweetened iced tea Stressed about a project at work that isn t going as planned. Craving something sweet Feeling tired and having trouble focusing. Drank an iced tea for boost. Still feeling a strange fullness sensation from this morning; bloated. Dinner 7 PM; at home Grilled lemon pepper salmon Asparagus Feeling anxious and a little depleted from worrying about a work project all day. Bloated. Experiencing mild constipation. Felt more alert after walk home. Quinoa Red wine Snacks 3:30 PM Apple slices with peanut butter Anxious
13 CIRCLE OF LIFE CHECK-IN Our eating habits are often directly linked to the level of satisfaction we re experiencing with our Primary Food. Use the Circle of Life tool for a daily, weekly, or monthly Primary Food check-in. Remember that you can return to the Circle of Life anytime you find yourself struggling with making healthy dietary choices. FOOD DIARY Name Jon smith Date March 18, 2105 Food Emotional Physical Breakfast 8 AM; take out from coffee shop Bagel Chive cream cheese Black coffee 2 packets Sugar Stressed. I felt rushed Felt jittery. this morning and Feel very full. ate quickly. I started thinking about eating lunch mid-morning, even though I wasn t hungry. Lunch 12 PM; ate at desk Stressed about a project Feeling tired and having at work that isn t going trouble focusing. Drank ½ Homemade mandarin as planned. an iced tea for boost. chicken salad Craving something sweet Still feeling a strange Balsamic vinaigrette fullness sensation from Whole wheat breadstick this morning; bloated. Unsweetened iced tea Notes: Dinner 7 PM; at home Grilled lemon pepper salmon Asparagus Feeling anxious and Bloated. Experiencing a little depleted from mild constipation. worrying about a work Felt more alert after project all day. walk home. Quinoa Red wine Today s accomplishments: Snacks 3:30 PM Apple slices with peanut butter Anxious I increased my water consumption from 4 cups to 7 cups today! I made time to catch up with my sister who lives in another state. Healthy dailies Glasses of water (80 oz) I went to a yoga class before work. Vegetables and/or fruits Protein Tomorrow s intentions: Healthy fats Supplements Movement Sleep Self-Care (Fish oil, multivitamin, probiotic) (45 minute Run - 4.5miles) (6 hours, had trouble falling asleep) (Homemade lunch) I focus my energy on things I can control. Notes:
14 HEALTHY DAILIES Self-care is a vital component of health. Your Food Diary is a great place to record the loving actions you show yourself each day, like drinking water, moving your body, and sleep. Everyone s personal care routine will look different, so feel free to record your Healthy Dailies in a way that works for you! FOOD DIARY Name Jon smith Date March 18, 2105 Food Emotional Physical Breakfast 8 AM; take out from coffee shop Bagel Chive cream cheese Black coffee 2 packets Sugar Stressed. I felt rushed Felt jittery. this morning and Feel very full. ate quickly. I started thinking about eating lunch mid-morning, even though I wasn t hungry. Lunch 12 PM; ate at desk Stressed about a project Feeling tired and having at work that isn t going trouble focusing. Drank ½ Homemade mandarin as planned. an iced tea for boost. chicken salad Craving something sweet Still feeling a strange Balsamic vinaigrette fullness sensation from Whole wheat breadstick this morning; bloated. Unsweetened iced tea Notes: Dinner 7 PM; at home Grilled lemon pepper salmon Asparagus Feeling anxious and Bloated. Experiencing a little depleted from mild constipation. worrying about a work Felt more alert after project all day. walk home. Quinoa Red wine Today s accomplishments: Snacks 3:30 PM Apple slices with peanut butter Anxious I increased my water consumption from 4 cups to 7 cups today! Healthy dailies Glasses of water (80 oz) I made time to catch up with my sister who lives in another state. I went to a yoga class before work. Healthy dailies Vegetables and/or fruits Protein Healthy fats Supplements Movement (Fish oil, multivitamin, probiotic) (45 minute Run - 4.5miles) Tomorrow s intentions: I focus my energy on things I can control. Glasses of water (80 oz) Sleep Self-Care (6 hours, had trouble falling asleep) (Homemade lunch) Vegetables and/or fruits Protein Healthy fats Supplements (Fish oil, multivitamin, probiotic) Movement (45 minute Run - 4.5miles) Sleep (6 hours, had trouble falling asleep) Self-Care (Homemade lunch)
15 TODAY S ACCOMPLISHMENTS At IIN, we re all about celebrating the small shifts that add up to big transformations. Take the time each day to record a few accomplishments you re celebrating. FOOD DIARY Name Jon smith Date March 18, 2105 Food Emotional Physical Breakfast 8 AM; take out from coffee shop Bagel Chive cream cheese Black coffee 2 packets Sugar Stressed. I felt rushed Felt jittery. this morning and Feel very full. ate quickly. I started thinking about eating lunch mid-morning, even though I wasn t hungry. Lunch 12 PM; ate at desk Stressed about a project Feeling tired and having at work that isn t going trouble focusing. Drank ½ Homemade mandarin as planned. an iced tea for boost. chicken salad Craving something sweet Still feeling a strange Balsamic vinaigrette fullness sensation from Whole wheat breadstick this morning; bloated. Unsweetened iced tea Notes: Dinner 7 PM; at home Grilled lemon pepper salmon Asparagus Feeling anxious and Bloated. Experiencing a little depleted from mild constipation. worrying about a work Felt more alert after project all day. walk home. Quinoa Red wine Today s accomplishments: Snacks 3:30 PM Apple slices with peanut butter Anxious I increased my water consumption from 4 cups to 7 cups today! I made time to catch up with my sister who lives in another state. Healthy dailies Glasses of water (80 oz) I went to a yoga class before work. Vegetables and/or fruits Protein Tomorrow s intentions: Healthy fats Supplements (Fish oil, multivitamin, probiotic) I focus my energy on things I can control. Movement Sleep Self-Care (45 minute Run - 4.5miles) (6 hours, had trouble falling asleep) (Homemade lunch) lert after Today s accomplishments: I increased my water consumption from 4 cups to 7 cups today! I made time to catch up with my sister who lives in another state. z) I went to a yoga class before work.
16 TOMORROW S INTENTIONS Spend a minute or two each day reflecting on your food diary. Then, identify an intention related to mind, body, or spirit for the next day. Taking the time to commit to your dreams on paper is an important action step in making them a reality. When you wake up each morning, re-anchor into your goal to set yourself up for success. FOOD DIARY Name Jon smith Date March 18, 2105 Food Emotional Physical Breakfast 8 AM; take out from coffee shop Bagel Chive cream cheese Black coffee 2 packets Sugar Stressed. I felt rushed Felt jittery. this morning and Feel very full. ate quickly. I started thinking about eating lunch mid-morning, even though I wasn t hungry. Lunch 12 PM; ate at desk Stressed about a project Feeling tired and having at work that isn t going trouble focusing. Drank ½ Homemade mandarin as planned. an iced tea for boost. chicken salad Craving something sweet Still feeling a strange Balsamic vinaigrette fullness sensation from Whole wheat breadstick this morning; bloated. Unsweetened iced tea Notes: Dinner 7 PM; at home Grilled lemon pepper salmon Asparagus Feeling anxious and Bloated. Experiencing a little depleted from mild constipation. worrying about a work Felt more alert after project all day. walk home. Quinoa Red wine Today s accomplishments: Snacks 3:30 PM Apple slices with peanut butter Anxious I increased my water consumption from 4 cups to 7 cups today! I made time to catch up with my sister who lives in another state. Healthy dailies Glasses of water (80 oz) I went to a yoga class before work. Vegetables and/or fruits Protein Healthy fats Supplements Movement (Fish oil, multivitamin, probiotic) (45 minute Run - 4.5miles) Tomorrow s intentions: I focus my energy on things I can control. Tomorrow s intentions: Sleep Self-Care (6 hours, had trouble falling asleep) (Homemade lunch) biotic) 5miles) I focus my energy on things I can control. e falling asleep)