In eating disorder (ED) recovery, food logging is a tool that is often used to help increase self awareness, track recovery, and create accountability. It is often used as part of a cognitive behavioral therapy approach to eating disorder recovery.
What is food logging?
Food logging, or keeping a food diary, is something that your eating disorder therapist or dietitian may ask you to do. It involves writing down the foods that you eat, either in a journal, a chart, or an app.
If your dietitian has given you a meal plan or daily caloric goal, food logging is a way for you and them to keep track of what you’ve eaten so far and help you stay on track to achieve your goals. A food log may work in tandem with a meal plan: The meal plan helps you look ahead to make healthy choices for the week, and the food log gives you an opportunity to reflect on your actual food intake, honestly and (hopefully) without judgment. The log can include the food you ate, the time of day, and observations about your feelings, thoughts, and relevent events that may have influenced how you are feeling.
How does food logging help?
If your clinician determines that food logging will be helpful for you, it can be very effective in eating disorder recovery, for three main reasons:
1. Increased self awareness.
One of the key benefits of food logging is beginning to see patterns in the way you eat. Times of day, moods, triggering events, hunger and fullness. Studies suggest that this pattern awareness is crucial to being able to develop new, more healing ways of eating.
2. Tracking recovery.
Food logs can help your clinician understand where you are currently and help them plan your recovery going forward. If, for example, your clinician sees a pattern of binging that seems to happen at a certain time of day, or after a certain activity, that can be something the two of you can explore in a therapeutic way, to potentially come up with new coping strategies and self soothing techniques.
3. Accountability and structure.
Sometimes disordered eating can look chaotic and erratic: restricting, binging, purging, hoarding food, chewing/spitting, and eating when no one is around. Other times, an eating disorder can look extremely rigid and inflexible: eating the same thing every day can provide a sense of control. Either way, food logging can bring your eating patterns into a more healthy and regular rhythm.
Possible concerns
1. Food logging has the potential to become compulsive.
It is important to do food logging with the support of an expert clinician, whether that’s a therapist, dietitian, or both. Working with someone experienced in eating disorder recovery allows them to tailor your recovery tools to you specifically. Eating disorder recovery is not one-size-fits all, and not every tool will be helpful—or healthy—for every person.
2. Recording eating behaviors in a food log can stir up a lot of shame.
Many with an eating disorder have been hiding their issues with food and body image for a long time. If feelings of guilt or secrecy surface, it’s understandable, and a therapist can help you explore where these feelings might be coming from.
3. It can trigger disordered eating.
Healing from an eating disorders can be tricky. Trying a new tool like food logging can trigger disordered eating, but that does not necessarily mean you should throw it out right away. Keep the lines of communication with your clinician open about this.
Conclusion
You may have heard the phrase “healing is not linear,” and it’s true. Sometimes when you take a new step in recovery, it can feel like you then “backslide” for a bit. Be empowered by the knowledge that new tools and techniques take time to adjust to. If you and your clinician are working with food logging, give yourself a chance to find your rhythm with it, and be open to the idea that
Healing from an eating disorder means being able to see how you engage with eating through a new lens. Food logging might be helpful for you, or it might not. It’s just one of many tools and approaches an experienced clinician can offer to help you gain awareness and heal.
Evolve dietitian Nicole Klawitter finds that using food logs with her clients is one of her most helpful recovery tools, because they help the client become more aware of the subtle emotions connected with eating. This can help bring to the surface the harmful food beliefs that often keep people stuck in their disordered eating.
Curious about working with a dietitian to heal from your eating disorder? Get in touch today for a free intake call!
