Food Diary

A food diary helps you make important decisions about your medication, meal plan, and exercise plan. Following are tips for keeping a food diary.

Record information you need. If you want to lose weight, measure your serving sizes and write down how many calories or fat grams you're getting over several days. Looking up the nutrient values of foods helps you learn what nutrients each food gives you.

Keep records that are easy to use—a notebook, calendar, or form created on your computer. Write down what you eat and the time you eat it; don't wait until later.

Use the information. Bring your record to the next appointment with your registered dietitian (RD). Look for patterns in your eating behaviors and blood-sugar levels.

For example, your records may show that high-fat snacks in late afternoon result in high blood sugar at dinner.

You may also notice that your lunch is much smaller than other meals, which causes you to feel too hungry before dinner. You may want to adjust the size of lunch and decrease your afternoon eating.