How can food diaries help you track nutrient intake?

A food diary is used to examine your regular dietary patterns of the foods and beverages you eat and drink. It is critical if you want to try to improve your eating habits.

As a dietitian, the format I recommend to my clients depends on their tech literacy rate. Some clients will feel more comfortable using a paper diary, others wouldn't mind using an app. Those who are constantly surrounded by computers would prefer a spreadsheet or a website. It's crucial to give recommendations based on the client's preparedness and comfort.

Keeping a food diary helps you 1. How is your diet going for the day 2. Reduce too much cheat meals 3. Helps in maintaining your weight 4. Saves unnecessary food expenditure 5.you will have an idea of the macros - that is the intake of carbs, protein and fats.

One other trick to help with recording your nutrient intake is to set reminders that will alert you to record your food intake immediately after eating. This is even more important if you're dealing with elderly clients who have the tendency to be forgetful.

This can also be done in conjunction with an expert such as a dietitian or nutritionist. When you know you are accountable to someone, it makes you more careful and conscious with what you do, there by helping you to stay on track.

Tracking the food and drinks a person consumes can be helpful to identify patterns, especially if a person is eating certain foods based on an emotion they are experiencing. A food journal is also helpful to see the amount of the important categories they are eating, protein, fat and carbs. This is where a spreadsheet or paper format will be less helpful. A person may be eating enough protein but is the source of protein appropriate, there is a big difference in having a deep fried chicken breast compared to a chicken breast seasoned with herbs, this is where an app would provide a bigger picture. Fats and carbs are the same, they are not all created equal and are they the best option to help a person reach their goals.

It is important for nutrition professionals to understand a person’s past history. Asking a person to track their nutrition who previously had an eating disorder, this could cause them to return to unhealthy habits. Tracking food intake can show a person certain habits they have, it is important for that person to understand changing habits takes time. Good health is more than the food we eat, it is overall lifestyle, personal and work environments, along with mental and emotional wellbeing. When I hear one of my clients say they were bad because they had a dessert, that tells me either they have been shamed by someone for having dessert or the social pressure to look and eat a certain way is affecting how they feel about themselves.