Help With Food Logs

[AZGirl]

I have been gluten free since Sept. 2010, but off and on I go through bouts of issues and I am not always sure why. I did try to keep a food diary, but as soon as I was feeling better I stopped.

I'd like to know how everyone is logging their food. I mean, how is it organized? What info should be recorded etc...

Thanks in advance to the help. I am feeling well now, but have been sick for the last few weeks without a known cause. This could really help me and hopefully others our in the future.

If we can come up with great ideas maybe I can compile them into a sample page and load it as a pdf for others to print and use.

Thanks again!

[tictax707]

hi! I found a fantastically easy, but semi-roundabout way to keep a food diary. I used one of those calorie counter apps. My favorite is "my fitness pal." it has TONS and TONS of gluten free foods. Plus you can enter your own recipes with all the ingredients you used so you can refer back to it and see what was in any given food you ate. You can use it on your phone and on the web. The calories you can ignore if you want, but it totally works to keep track of what you ate - you can categorize it into breakfast/lunch/dinner. There is another app called GI tracker that you can use to track your symptoms, but I think that the "notes" portion of the my fitness pal works ok as well. I hope this helps!

[jenngolightly]

Although I'm a big fan of electronics, gadgets, and software, I found it easiest to do it the old fashioned way and each night before I go to bed I write down everything I ate that day and what kind of "off" symptoms I had - bloating, eczema, gas, headache, etc. Patterns emerge.

Anytime I try to use electronic options, I get lazy because there's a barrier between me and the food log. I have to turn on the computer, log into the software, deal with the format that the log requires , etc. It's just easiest for me to keep a little notebook and do it by hand.

For a while I tried carrying the log around with me and log as soon as I ate, but I kept forgetting to do it and then I felt like I was doing things wrong... I just needed something really simple that I could remember to do.

[cahill]

I use an online web site to log my food intake,, I track everything I put in my mouth.Except water

There are several I can think of sparkpeople.com , myfittnesspal.com ,livestrong.com ,the basic food journals are free on these sites

if you would like to see my online food journal to get some ideas to make your own printouts just message me

[jlee2]

I just got the "my fitness pal" app for my iPhone last night and I already love it! Keeps track of my food and symptoms while counting my calories! Hopefully I'll she a pound or two!

[Cinnamongirl]

I've kept a food diary for just about a year now. I use a spiral bound notebook and at the top of the page I write "Date and Time", "What I ate or drank", "How I feel physically" and "How I feel emotionally". I try to log after every meal and I also log supplements. I have personally found it very useful to find what agrees with me and what doesn't. I also like to look back and see the improvements that have occurred over the past year...I like data

[bridgetm]

I keep a little spiral bound notebook in my desk drawer and whenever I get back to my room I make a note of anything I've eaten since the last chance I had to pull it out. I rarely write the exact time of consumption; instead, I'll leave spaces indicating meal groupings and general time of day. If I don't have a snack between lunch and a late supper, I'll skip down to the last few lines of the page. I've found that those little spirals are just the right size to log one day per page. If I notice any odd symptoms, I write them in red ink and draw lines connecting them to any likely food causes. In those post-glutening days I'll write a D or C at the top of the page so I can keep track of how severe that particular cycle of recovery is. I've also found it helpful to note periods, different activities especially anything abnormally stressful (like finals weeks or holidays), restaurant name and location (bacon and eggs from Perkins affect me differently depending on which of the three nearby locations I go to). Supplements usually make it onto the page and if I have to pull out the Pepto I'll note which food it followed.

It takes practice, but eventually you'll find the system that works well for you. It can turn into a fine science.

[Fire Fairy]

I had been writing down what I was eating in a blank journal. After reading this topic I'm starting an online food diary with myfitnesspal. I'm pretty impressed so far and I like that i can print it to show my Dr when I go for my checkup in a few months.

[catarific]

I do it the easy way too - write it down in a notebook. One column is Foods I Ate and the Other is Feelings when I ate the food. I don't write reactions - because sometimes a reaction won't show up for a few days.

I also keep a daily log of bowel movements - how many, consistency, etc. to give me an idea of what I might have ate the day before or a few days before.

[AZGirl]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions! It really helped. I'm going to try the "app" I like the convenience of using my phone. I'll go from there and see how that works for me. I was on the right track, but you all helped me tweek some of my documentation.

Happy Logging!