Emotional Eating Tip: Begin Using a Food Log

*Food logs do not work for everyone…this may increase preoccupation with food for some individuals

*Food logs can be used ongoing (if helpful for some people), but you may want to utilize a food log for an abbreviated amount of time. I think about it in terms of phases:
Phase 1: (~1month) – Just observe and gain awareness about what you are eating and associated situations, emotions, and behaviors.
Phase 2: (~3-6 months) – make lifestyle changes based on insights gathered from food log process and health goals.
Phase 3: (Beyond 6 months) – transition slowly to mindful/intuitive eating (erratic eating habits, restriction and overindulgence should be regulated at this point)
Phase 4: (Maintenance/Relapse Prevention) – return to food log if dysfunctional eating habits return
Why keep a Food Log?

*I actually call it a “thoughts/feelings/food/hunger” log, and I recommend the recovery record app if you are not a paper/pencil kind of person. I think you can also set reminders on this app. It is used specifically for eating disorder treatment, but I think it could be helpful for anyone with eating concerns.

1) We are born knowing how to intuitively eat, but dieting and unhealthy eating are common in our society derailing our intuitive eating skills. Keeping a food log can help you reconnect with your intuitive hunger and feel less of a need to “control” your food choices and portions. Our bodies are smarter than we are…thank goodness we don’t have to remind ourselves to keep breathing or maintain our body temperature.

2) Rating your hunger and fullness can help with portions and intuitive eating (you may need a period of time with balanced eating to regulate hunger before this is truly beneficial). Aim to begin eating at a 3 or 4, aim to stop eating around a 7 

(Scale from: http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/the-simple-tool-that-can-help-prevent-overeating/)
·         0 = Empty. I want to eat everything and anything all at once. I’ll take one of everything on the menu, and I’m definitely getting dessert tonight. I may have low blood sugar because I feel dizzy, lightheaded and flat-out hangry (slang for: so hungry you’re angry).
·         1 = Nearing Empty. Energy levels are low, and productivity is down. I may feel shaky, and I have poor concentration and mood swings.
·         2 = Really Hungry. Pit-in-the-stomach hunger and food are dominating my thoughts. I need to find some food fast, and my energy levels are dropping. I’m likely tempted to order unhealthy food at a restaurant and make poor food choices.
·         3 = Hungry. It’s time to eat a meal, and if I wait any longer I’m going to start feeling physical symptoms that are unpleasant.
·        4 = Slightly Hungry. I’m beginning to think about my next meal. I can absolutely wait to eat. If I eat now, I won’t need much to fill me up.
·         5 = Neutral. I am neither hungry nor full. Food is not on my mind.
·         6 = Slightly Satisfied. There is food in my belly, but I could eat more. If I stopped now, this meal may not last me longer than two hours.
·         7 = Satisfied. I’m no longer hungry. While it might be easy to eat more for comfort reasons or for the fact that the food tastes amazing, I feel content and satisfied and I don’t need to eat more.
·         8 = Full. I ate my fill and may need to loosen the belt buckle at this point. Those last three to four bites put me over the edge.
·         9 = Nearing Uncomfortable. I overate. Polishing off my whole meal was not a good idea. It’s easy to zone out and disconnect from conversation at this point, because all I can think about is how overfull my stomach feels. I may even begin to feel nauseated.
·         10 = Stuffed. Ugh, why did I eat so much? I’m feeling stuffed like a turkey at a holiday party. At this point, I may put on some baggy clothes to get comfortable and either go to sleep or binge on Netflix to zone out.

3) Food logs help us understand what might trigger unhealthy eating. It also helps us identify what foods we may be more likely to eat due to emotional hunger rather than physical hunger. During the 2nd phase of food logging, you may want to cut out/limit these foods and slowly reintroduce (e.g. if having cookies at home triggers binge eating, order a cookie while out to eat instead as you reintroduce foods)

4) If you don’t log your food, you may be more likely to consume extras, which can add up quickly

5) Logging food can help you become aware of social situations that trigger excessive consumption (again, the recovery record offers an option to note who you eat with). After starting the app, many people are shocked to learn how much more they eat with significant others, or how they restrictively eat with others and overindulge in private.

6) Logging how quickly you eat may also be eye opening. Many of us mindlessly eat, which results in increased consumption. You may notice a connection on your log or app that you eat less when you slow your eating.

7) Tracking energy level and mood can also help you connect how the foods you eat influence how you feel after eating. If you are less energetic and motivated the afternoons after you consume certain foods, you may be more likely to make healthful decisions.

8) A food log will also help you identify shortchanged food groups that could be depriving you of important nutrients or causing you to feel more hungry. You may also notice on days that you eat adequate satisfying foods (whole milk, real butter, regular salad dressing with foods), you actually consume fewer overall calories due to satiation!


Well, that’s all I have for now….so let me know how it goes! 

Recovery record app: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/recovery-record-eating-disorder/id457360959?mt=8

Example log:
time
FOOD & lIQUID cONSUMED
(INCLUDE AMOUNTs)
pLACE
Alone or with others
hUNG.
LEVEL
fULL.
LEVEL
THOUGHTS/feelings BEFORE & AFTER EATING
(include any activity while eating)
























































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