Keep a Food & Mood Log

And then there was great groaning… ”

Except… it is *the* tool if you want to know whether you can/can’t eat something, whether your mind “forgets” the cookies, candies, pizza… in favor of foods considered “healthy”, and it is often key to uncovering foods that irritate you, uniquely, even if your diet is mostly healthy.

Write your name on it. Bring it to your next Nutrition Response Testing^® visit or email, snap-photo, tiny-scanner, mail it… I’ll personally look over what you are working on, validate what is good about your habits, and suggest your next step.

Food & Mood Log Instructions

1. Download the Food & Mood Log
2. If it goes in your mouth it goes on the log. Write down what it is in the white space next to the main category. Example: 2 eggs goes next to the protein section, toast goes next to the starches, grains section. Write everything down. If you put catsup or Cholula on it, write it down. If it goes in your mouth you do what? Write it down.
3. Write as you go—don’t wait until the end of the day because you’ll forget, sometimes selectively Just fold the paper up, take it with you, get food all over it, that’s fine.
4. Mark portions. Make a fist. Hold that fist up. Good. Your fist is about 8 ounces. To the left of each food category is a bracket. For each fist-sized amount, make a “slash” mark in those brackets.
5. Include Bowel Movements, Hours of Sleep, and how you Feel. Indicate whether or not you have a BM. If you have to strain or it’s too loose, indicate that. Write how much time passed between going to bed and waking up. If you woke up and couldn’t sleep then write how long that lasted. IMPORTANT: if you feel good, bad, have symptoms… write what occurred.

6. Mark how you feel. VERY IMPORTANT! Each section of the day has an ‘Emotions/Sensations’ section. What you eat will either help or drain your energy and can cause a lot of other problems. If you feel bloated or stomach ache or… mark that. If you feel annoyed for no reason or tired mid-morning or mid-afternoon… mark that. This is key to learning to listen to your body.

7. Write what type of exercise you get and for how long.

8. Optional: Use the scoring system to track your points. Some people like to see how things improve week to week. Some are motivated in other ways. Using this system is completely up to you. Do this:

• Multiply the number of marks for each “red”item by -3, each “orange” item by -1, each “black” item by 1 and each “green” item by 3. Add up your points and put that in the nourishment score box. It could look like this: