Food journaling has had a bad reputation, and I totally get it. The idea of tracking everything you eat and drink down to the last detail can be daunting, and might even become a source of stress. Being overly meticulous about every tiny moment of your day could eventually lead to a negative relationship with food and your body. But have you ever tried to include mindfulness in your food journal? If not, keep reading!

In this blog post, I’m going to tackle this topic in more depth to show why and how you should practice mindful food journaling with the right approach to improve your health, rather than harm it. 

Let’s dive right in! 

Why should you start a mindful food journal? 

Being surrounded by so many distractions wherever you go can make it hard sometimes to pause and become aware of your feelings, both mentally and physically. Your inner cues might also be diminished by illness, dysfunction, or as a side effect of medications, which makes it even more challenging.

As discussed in my previous blog, mindful eating allows you to pay attention to the food you’re consuming and how it makes you feel. It’s the art of presence during mealtimes which brings your awareness to the present moment. Writing down your food intake, as well as the physical and emotional feelings in response to eating helps you make more conscious food choices and allows you to tune into your internal cues of hunger and fullness.[1] It can also help you identify any sensitivities or symptoms you might be experiencing especially when it comes to gut health.[2] 

Not gonna lie, it took me YEARS to figure out how to practice mindful food journaling. Now I teach my clients to do so, and because of this newfound awareness and intention they now have, they can finally tune into their bodies cues, figure out what foods serve them well, and also challenge their prior misconceptions/thoughts about food. Sounds pretty great, huh?

Mindful food journaling prompts

These prompts will help you start a mindful practice in your daily life:

When, Where & What?

The first step is to write down the time and the intervals between each meal. Then add your location during these meals, whether it be at your dining table, at your work desk, or on your couch. Sometimes I eat hiding in the pantry from my kids (lol). Then describe what you ate, and note that it doesn’t need to be extremely detailed and count every gram, a brief overview of the food is more than enough.

What was your hunger state before and after eating? 

This includes your hunger and satiety levels before and after the meal or snack. The hunger/fullness scale is a great tool to help you here. Write down the type of hunger as well:

• Physical hunger: It’s the one that builds gradually, and occurs several hours after a meal. It’s the body’s natural response to needing fuel.[3] Our body can tell us we are hungry by shakiness, dizziness, headaches, and mood changes. 
• Emotional hunger: This one is sudden and unrelated to time. This type of hunger happens when we seek food to fulfill an emotional need.[3] Remember that food is also designed to provide pleasure, so it makes sense that we would seek out food for a natural pick-me-up or to escape/soothe the uncomfortable feelings of being sad, angry, anxious, etc. 
• Desire hunger: This is commonly referred to as “cravings”, and it usually occurs due to a certain trigger or, for us women, during that time of the month. We want to eat for more of a physiological reason than a physical cause. 
• Taste hunger: When we seek a specific taste (sweet), or a certain texture (crunchy), it’s called taste or mouth hunger. Taste hunger (along with emotional need) is often considered a subtype of brain hunger. We often associate different flavors and foods with emotions and memories. 

What were you doing while eating? 

Were you holding the fork in one hand and your phone in the other, scrolling through social media, or were you sitting on the couch watching your favorite show? Being aware of what you were doing during mealtimes is crucial to notice all the distractions that surround us. There is no judgment while answering this question, just awareness.

How were you feeling during the whole process?

This is a space to add your thoughts and emotions that came up during the whole process. The type of hunger highly affects your emotions during and after the meal. You may find that the food tastes delicious and satisfying, and feel content and satisfied after finishing your meal. You may also find that food doesn’t taste as good as you expected. Instead, feelings of guilt or shame might be arising along with preoccupation with your body or weight. 

It’s also important to write down your post-meal feelings. If you notice bloat or stomach discomfort after eating a certain food, it may be a sign of a food sensitivity or intolerance. It’s also important to keep track of the foods that leave you feeling energized and nourished and those that make you feel tired or sluggish after eating.

Remember, there are really no right or wrong answers. Try mindful food journaling a few meals this week and send me a message on how it went over on Instagram! 

As you become more aware of your food intake, the reasons why you eat, and how these foods make you feel, it will be easier to pinpoint the root cause of your health problems.

Food journaling is a powerful tool for understanding your eating habits and identifying food triggers. Practicing mindfulness allows you to gain deeper insight into your thoughts and feelings around food, and learn how to make better choices.

References:

1. Warren, J. M., Smith, N., & Ashwell, M. (2017). A structured literature review on the role of mindfulness, mindful eating and intuitive eating in changing eating behaviours: effectiveness and associated potential mechanisms. Nutrition Research Reviews, 30(2), 272–283.
2. Food journaling & mindful eating: Benefits, how to practice. Ro. Retrieved January 19, 2023. 
3. Thecenterformindfuleating.org. Retrieved January 19, 2023. 

Diets, no matter how popular they are, are rarely sustainable or healthy. They frequently come with a long list of rules and can encourage disordered eating habits and can lead to eating disorders. If you’ve had this experience, there’s some good news: there’s a shift toward non diet approaches.

Mindful eating and functional nutrition are both alternatives to fad diets and are very important aspects of nutrition. But do you know what they actually mean?

In today’s blog post I’m going to break it down for you! 

What is mindful eating? 

Mindful eating is a way of eating that helps you pay attention to the food you’re consuming and how it makes you feel. It’s an opportunity to practice self-care by being present in the moment and enjoying your food rather than over-indulging and not feeling your best. The key to mindful eating is listening to the signals your body sends about taste, satisfaction, and fullness. 

Have you ever watched TV with a family-size bag of chips that was half full one minute and empty the next, leaving you wondering how they disappeared so quickly? How about grabbing a piece of candy every time you walk past the candy jar at work? 

Learning how to eat mindfully will help you to reduce/eliminate these mindless eating habits so you can take control of your food choices.  

Fundamentally, mindful eating involves: 

• Eating slowly and without distraction
• Listening to physical hunger cues and eating until you’re satisfied
• Distinguishing between true hunger and non-hunger triggers for eating
• Engaging your senses by noticing colors, smells, sounds, textures, and flavors
• Learning to cope with guilt and anxiety about food
• Eating foods that are both pleasing and nourishing
• Appreciating your food 

Eating mindfully has numerous benefits including: 

Improved digestion. Eating mindfully involves slowing down and chewing your food thoroughly, which will make it easier for your body to digest your food. 

You’ll most likely choose healthier options. Think about it… you probably feel  more energized when you eat more nutrient-dense meals. On the other hand, if you eat fast food quickly, you will probably feel sluggish and bloated afterwards. This knowledge encourages you to make better food decisions moving forward. When we eat more nutritionally dense foods and meet our nutrient needs, we feel it.

You’ll feel more satisfied after your meals. If you rush through eating, you might not even recall the tastes and textures of what you ate, which can decrease your level of satisfaction, meaning, you might reach for a snack even though you just ate. However, when you implement mindful eating principles and limit distractions while you eat and pay attention to what you’re eating for example, you’ll be more satisfied by the end of your meal. 

You’ll have a healthier relationship with food. By listening to our body instead of some app like MyFitnessPal to tell us what to eat, how much, and when, you’ll be able to trust your body and honor what it’s telling you. 

What is functional nutrition? 

Functional nutrition and medicine focuses on getting to the “root” cause vs. symptom management. It incorporates Individualized care, understanding what best “serves” you at the moment, and looking at the individual as a whole, not just parts. 

Functional nutrition uses food as medicine/healing (both physically and emotionally). This can be done by ordering specific labs that indicate inflammation in your body, or looking at micronutrients and how they impact each other as a whole. Therapeutic diets or supplement plans are used to help improve and rebalance your immune system and inflammatory symptoms. Functional medicine also can mean improving your mental and emotional health and incorporating new health and lifestyle behaviors. 

Important areas of functional nutrition include:[1]

1. A focus on whole foods. Optimal health is built on a foundation of essential nutrients found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, quality protein, and healthy fat. In fact, one of functional nutrition’s mottos is “food as medicine,” which means avoiding processed foods and eating a colorful, diverse diet.
2. Taking care of your gut. It’s important to maintain the gut environment through food and lifestyle choices because more than 70% of your immune system is located here. The gut lining can be severely damaged by a diet high in processed foods, which can result in leaky gut and a number of health problems like bloating, gas, indigestion, mental fatigue, and chronic inflammation. Consuming lots of fiber, staying hydrated, and engaging in physical activity can all help to support your gut.
3. Looking at health beyond food. Your relationships, stress levels, and sleep habits are just a few aspects of your life that have an impact on how your body digests and absorbs the food you eat. Your body won’t be able to effectively use the high-quality foods you’re feeding it if you don’t get enough sleep and are under a lot of stress. You may turn to sugar-rich foods that give you a temporary “feel good” feeling in the brain but quickly create a drop in your mood and energy if you are sleep deprived and stressed out. Functional nutrition can help you make better food decisions that meet your needs and goals by looking at your experiences off the plate.

What are functional foods? 

Many foods can be considered functional foods. Functional foods can include both minimally processed whole foods and fortified, enriched, or enhanced foods. In general, these foods have the ability to improve health when consumed frequently and in a specified amount. Some examples of functional foods include:[2] 

• Fish (fatty fish, like salmon, sardines, trout and herring, are among some of the best choices). Fish can help lower risk of heart disease and improve infant health when consumed by women during pregnancy or while breastfeeding.
• Unsalted nuts. Nuts can help promote heart health and are good sources of magnesium, which plays a role in managing blood pressure. 
• Whole grains. Whole grains may help lower cholesterol and assist with blood sugar control.
• Beans. Beans are naturally high in dietary fiber, as well as protein, potassium and folate. 
• Berries. Berries contain anthocyanin pigments which may offer health benefits. 

How does mindful eating and functional nutrition work together? 

Functional nutrition is the holistic approach to diet, taking into consideration one’s lifestyle factors that could affect their food choices, such as activity levels, environment, or the presence of chronic disease. Basically taking all aspects outside of just eating to improve your health into consideration, which is SO important! 

Mindful eating is a way of eating that helps you pay attention to the food you’re consuming and how it makes your body feel. As mentioned previously, this can look like eating without distractions, slowing down and chewing your food thoroughly, tuning into your hunger and fullness cues, etc. 

As you can see, both functional nutrition and mindful eating are both important strategies to use to improve one’s health. 

Improving your digestive, or “gut,” health is another primary focus of functional medicine and nutrition. By using mindful eating practices, you may help your body to digest food and absorb nutrients more effectively, which can have a significant impact on many different areas of your health as well. 

You can incorporate functional nutrition and mindful eating concepts into your day-to-day life in the following ways: 

• Practice gratitude. According to research, our psychological, physical, and social health can all benefit from cultivating gratitude. Practicing gratitude can look like appreciating your food before you eat it, writing in a daily gratitude journal, listening to positive affirmations daily, practicing meditation and stillness, limiting distractions, etc. You can learn more about how to start a daily gratitude practice here! 

• Set your intention for a meal/activity. Eating with intention means eating in a way that supports your body, mind and soul being clear, energized and feeling your best. It’s to eat from a place of deep self love and real nourishment. Why are you choosing to eat? For example, “My intention is to nourish my body so that I’m energized throughout my busy work day, or my intention is to fuel my body before a workout so that I will have enough energy to complete it.” Learn more about setting goals and intentions here! 

• Slow down and chew food thoroughly while limiting distractions when you’re eating. Chewing thoroughly helps the salivary enzymes do their job so we can efficiently absorb nutrients and get the most out of the food we’re eating because chewing is where our actual digestion starts. Limiting distractions while eating helps us to slow down and tune into our food, increasing satisfaction. 

• Become aware of how your body feels before and after you eat certain foods. Start to notice how certain foods you eat makes you feel. Like I said before, fast foods and foods high in sugar or fat may make us feel bloated and sluggish. On the other hand, whole foods, such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains may make us feel more energized and good in our body. Additionally, take pauses and check-in with yourself while you’re eating to see how full you are. If we don’t honor our fullness cues, we will most likely feel uncomfortably full, and I don’t know about you, but I hate feeling that way so I make sure to stop before I reach that point. 

• Don’t focus on perfection, instead make the best choice for you in the moment and current situation. Step out of that all-or-nothing mindset and focus on one goal or choice at a time. 

We hope that this blog post helped you learn more about mindful eating and functional nutrition! Need extra support? If so, get on my 2023 Waitlist here! 

References: 

1. Integrative Nutrition. (2020, December 2). What is functional nutrition? Institute for Integrative Nutrition; Integrative Nutrition.
2. Functional foods. Eatright.org. Retrieved December 30, 2022.