Benefits of Keeping a Food Diary

Dear Diary… A food diary can help you balance your meals and recognize unhealthy habits.

A diary isn’t just a place to confess your inner-most thoughts and feelings. Keeping a log of your food can help you manage your healthy eating habits. There are numerous online sites and mobile apps that help you track your calories and daily activity accurately and efficiently.

Keep track of how much you’ve eaten, what time, where you were, who you were with, and how you felt during and after eating. Noting your environment and emotions can help you make healthy changes to your eating habits. You can learn to avoid certain people or places that lead you to overeat. Record your meals right away so you don’t forget anything and always be honest.

Benefits of a Food Diary

• Accountability for your food intake
• Track calories to lose or maintain weight
• Easy to share progress with doctor or nutritionist
• Visual proof of your progress
• Track trends in eating
• Recognize foods that don’t agree with you
• Balancing meals is easier when you can see your whole day or week
• Find out what your diet is missing
• Discover connections between emotions and eating
• Recording meals you are proud of will inspire you to continue to eat healthy
• Healthy eating is essential for a healthy heart

Diet and Heart Health

• A healthy weight takes stress off your heart
• Eating healthy reduces cholesterol
• Reduce blood pressure
• Reduce your risk for cardiovascular diseases

Click for sample food and activity diary formats from National Heart Blood and Lung Institute, My Food Diary, and the Center for Disease Control. Try out different formats until you find the one that works for you!

Central Florida Cardiac & Vascular Institute encourages you to eat healthy for your heart. Visit our online health library to learn more about changing your eating habits to help improve your cardiac health. If you would like to schedule an appointment with a cardiac specialist, call our free Consult-A-Nurse® referral service at 1-800-447-8206.

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Tags: cardiac, cardio, Central Florida Cardiac & Vascular Institute, diet, eating, FL, food diary, health, Heart, journal, kissimmee, log, meals, nutrition, record