By keeping a written account of what you eat on a regular basis, you can begin to discover your habits, become more aware of what, when, and why you eat, and make the connection between the foods you eat and your moods.

How to Start Your Diabetes Food Journal

• Keep a record. Document what you've eaten, how long it took you to eat, and how hungry you were at the time.
• Be yourself. Write in the style that feels most comfortable to you - in your own words.
• Be creative. Journals are not just for writing. You also can include drawings, quotes, and other items that reflect your mood.
• Note emotional ups and downs. At the end of each day, write down your high and low emotional points for the day and expand upon how each affected your eating. Connect your emotional states to your degree of hunger using a rating scale of 1 to 5, where 1 = Not Hungry and 5 = Extremely Hungry.

After you've kept your journal for several days:

• Review your journal entries and note any issues or patterns. For example, are you always eating a candy bar at 3 PM on days you've skipped a meal or eaten very little? Here's your opportunity to examine your behavior and begin to make more conscious choices.
• Take note of the conditions affecting these repeated patterns. What are you doing while you're eating? Who are you with? How are you feeling?
• Think about these patterns and your emotions. Consider how you are handling issues, situations, and events. When these situations occur in the future, think about making healthier choices.

Remember: You can keep a journal in any form that makes it easy for you to use it regularly. Find a suitable hardbound journal to write in, or keep an electronic version on your computer or online.

Other Benefits of Keeping a Journal

• Managing your weight loss and diet plan
• Controlling your emotional and physical well-being
• Examining your life and learning from your experiences
• Developing an internal feedback system
• Expressing your emotions
• Increasing self-awareness