When I was first starting my health recovery journey, I didn't realize the amount of diligence and work that would be needed to get the answers I needed.
One thing I did, that really helped, was food journaling. This sound pretty easy, but trust me its not as easy as it sounds. Sure, the first couple days were not bad and I did notice some patterns. But, it wasn't until I got into it for a while did I really notice some strong colorations between my feed and how I was feeling.
It was like my body finally realized that I was paying attention so it started yelling at me. 😊
Here are some of the things I noted:
- Foods - What I ate and how much. I also noted the time.
- Drinks - Any liquids like greens drinks, teas, water...
- Mental State: I tried to keep track of changes in thigs like.
- Mood
- Stress
- Mental Energy
- Focus
- and anything else notable.
- Physical Energy - Was it high, low or just non existent.
- Pains or Strange Feelings - This included upset stomach, gas and other notable things.
- Physical Appearance - Did I look tired? How was my skin? Did I look hydrated?...
All this data was really helpful. It took time and effort but guess what I noticed. Patterns!!
I had previously done blood tests for allergies and sensitivities to help me narrow down what may be bugging me. But, these tests still didn't catch some of the most important things I cut out of my diet.
Once I had identified these patterns I started cutting out things from my diet. I did this for a few weeks. It was also recommended that I read a book that identified 7 foods that can be particularly inflammatory for some (NOT ALL) people.
These foods are:
- Peanuts
- Soy
- Eggs
- Dairy
- Gluten
- Sugar
- Corn.
So, I cut these out too.
I brought all of these foods back in slowly because reactions can take up to 3-4 days. I checked most off the list as good to go and cleared others out of my diet completely.
This type of journaling takes time and effort. I ended up finding a note taking app on my phone and that was really helpful. But, there was just something better about transferring that info to a paper journal that helped me to take better notes.
If you are working through a health situation. Don't discount the importance of keeping track of your intake. This was a very powerful tool in identifying things that were slowing my healing process and causing issues.
Are you keeping a food journal or have you done one in the past?
I would love to hear your feedback on what this helped with or how you did it.
