Dear Food Diary...

“Journal writing gives us insights into who we are, who we were and who we can become.” — Sandra Marinella

I grew up in a house that was not home to many expensive tools. No, my Dad often made the job fit the tool. Repairs typically involved a tool that wasn’t remotely suitable for the job, but a little brute force could make nearly anything work.

And in the cases where he did have the right tool for the job, the brute force had a lasting effect on the finished product.

Let me digress briefly.

In the heyday of my adolescence, I was charged with doing the dinner dishes one evening while my Mom ran a quick errand. Through the course of my dishwashing chores, I clogged up the sink. I tiptoed past my dad napping on the couch after retrieving a plunger.

My feeble attempt to plunge the sink must have awakened him. As he gently brushed me aside and took control of the plunger, he mumbled a few words that would memorialize this story forever:

“Jeff, you need to put a little ass into plunging.”

Seconds later, his “Popeye” biceps and forearms drove the plunger into the water with such force, the sink dislodged from the countertop and crashed into the bottom of the cabinet, dishes, soapy water and all.

The best part- he wasn’t angry about the damage done. No, he was overcome with sheer panic from the thought of my Mom returning to a destroyed sink. Barking out instructions like a drill sergeant, we had the repair done in minutes.

It was some of our finest work.

2x4 lumber pieces would prop this sink up for roughly a decade and a half.

Returning to the subject of gut health, we have many tools for this job. There might not be a better, simpler tool than a food diary to help you achieve your goals.

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A food diary is nothing more than a journal used to record every morsel of food that enters your body. For me, gut health begins and ends with changing what you put in your body.

After I began to add fermented foods and fiber to my diet, I began to keep a record of the quantities eaten each day to ensure I was meeting my goals. As I’ve mentioned before, my change began with these two, simple additions to what I was currently eating.

But the effectiveness also came from seeing on paper, what exactly was going in my body. The food diary was the difference.

Regardless of your specific goals, having a record of what you eat can help exponentially.

My reason was immediate.

I needed to repair and restore my formerly diseased gut by adding fermented foods and fiber to my diet. Your reasons will be different but hopefully achieve the same result of resetting your gut bacteria balance.

Whether it’s to lose weight, control blood sugar, lower cholesterol, or add protein for muscle building, tracking what you eat is terribly effective.

This is not something that needs to be done indefinitely. Going through this exercise a time or two will expand your knowledge base to the point where you can easily identify food quality and quantities to achieve your goals.

Keep it simple. On my journey, success has been directly attributed to keeping things simple. I chased two numbers- servings of fermented foods and grams of fiber. I didn’t muddy the waters with a plethora of changes that could easily doom my efforts.

I also used the “note” app on my phone to journal. Your preferred option might be a note pad and a pen. Figure out what works for your specific preferences and start.

There are some wonderful apps that can assist in journaling, counting macros, calories, etc.

There is also technology available that can provide the same information with a simple photo. Artificial Intelligence is creeping into every facet of our lives, but this intrusion can be quite helpful.

You managed to begin the process of journaling in a food diary, now what?

Use the information!

Why bother going through the trouble of jotting down everything you eat if you don’t use the information. It’s like doomscrolling on social media all day and never taking action to implement what you’ve learned.

Use this information to set goals, analyze your data, and make changes when things aren’t working.

In the weight loss and dieting arena, a study has confirmed that some form of food journaling produced nearly double the weight loss compared to those who didn’t.

I have stayed true to my original goals of focusing primarily on fermented foods and fiber. But this early focus has morphed into daily habits that allowed me to expand to other areas like better blood sugar management, adding protein intake, and eating more heart-healthy foods to build on my gains.

A food diary will work.

And it doesn't need to be all-consuming and laborious. Be intentional, be brief, and be done.  

Them DO something with the information.

Both brains return to the spotlight, the one in your head and the other in your gut. We may get into the weeds a bit, so I’ll bring the bug spray.

Thanks for reading,

Jeff