food log reflection essay

Resources: Discussions and Assignments

Assignment: food reflection.

STEP 1 : To practice reflection, this activity asks you to write about something very important—food. First, spend five minutes making a list of every food or drink you remember from childhood.

It might look like this:

• Plain cheese quesadillas, made by my mom in the minuscule kitchenette of our one-bedroom apartment
• “Chicken”-flavored ramen noodles, at home alone after school
• Cayenne pepper cherry Jell-O at my grandparents’ house
• Wheat toast slathered in peanut butter before school
• Lime and orange freeze-pops
• My stepdad’s meatloaf—ironically, the only meatloaf I’ve ever liked
• Cookie Crisp cereal (“It’s cookies—for breakfast!”)
• Macintosh apples and creamy Skippy peanut butter
• Tostitos Hint of Lime chips and salsa
• Love Apple Stew that only my grandma can make right
• Caramel brownies, by my grandma who can’t bake anymore

STEP 2 : Then, identify one of those foods that holds a special place in your memory. Spend another ten minutes free-writing about the memories you have surrounding that food. What makes it so special? What relationships are represented by that food? What life circumstances? What does it represent about you? This response doesn’t need to be formatted in any particular way—just write about what memories and feelings come to mind. It should be at least 200 words.

Sample Response

Here’s one sample response below. Note that he starts by writing about the first item on the food list, but then goes on to write about his mom and his relationship with his dad. There is no right way to write your about your food item—you too should feel free to let your reflective writing guide you.

My mom became a gourmet chef in my eyes with only the most basic ingredients. We lived bare bones in a one-bedroom apartment in the outskirts of Denver; for whatever selfless reason, she gave the four-year-old the bedroom and she took a futon in the living room. She would cook for me after caring for other mothers’ four-year-olds all day long: usually plain cheese quesadillas (never any sort of add-ons, meats, or veggies—besides my abundant use of store-brand ketchup) or scrambled eggs (again, with puddles of ketchup). We would eat them together on the futon in the living room, sometimes watching the evening news, and on rare occasions, watching re-runs of my favorite shows.

When I was 6, my dad eventually used ketchup as a rationale for my second stepmom: “Shane, look! Judy likes ketchup on her eggs too!” But it was my mom I remembered cooking for me every night—not Judy, and certainly not my father. So I even surprised myself when I said, “I don’t like that anymore. I like barbecue sauce on my eggs.” That’s what Judy served me nearly every weekend until I was ten years old. I never touched the barbecue sauce.

STEP 3 : Write a paragraph reflecting on this activity (at least 75 words). Was it easy to write about one of the foods on your list? Were you surprised in any way by your own response? What did you enjoy or dislike about this activity? Why? What lessons can you learn about yourself as a writer from participating in this activity?

• Modification, adaptation, and original content. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
• What My Childhood Tastes Like. Authored by : Chris Manning, Sally Pierce, and Melissa Lucken. Located at : https://pb.openlcc.net/expressionandinquiry/chapter/23-3-reflective-activities/ . License : CC BY: Attribution

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The Importance of Food Logging

Most people have a love/hate relationship with food logging. Some view it as cumbersome, time consuming, and simply difficult to remember to do. Others find it quite helpful, allowing them to stay on track and achieve their goals.

As a registered dietitian, I am aware of the research supporting the benefits of food logging. In a 2008 study, researchers found that one of the “significant predictors” of weight loss “included… more food records kept per week.” [1] Another study from 2018 concluded that “The frequency of self-monitoring is significantly related to weight loss.” [2]

I am also aware, however, that many patients find being consistent with food logging a challenge for a variety of reasons. Despite the challenges, I encourage tracking food intake for everyone, even if just for a week. Following are some of the benefits patients can get from food logging.

Accountability

Tracking food intake makes people stop and think, ‘Do I want to write that down?’ before they consume a food item. When a food journal is shared with a dietitian or other trusted support person, it can encourage people to stay on track: knowing that someone else will be looking at their food intake is a form of accountability. Even if the food journal is kept private, the act of writing food down can be enough to help a motivated patient stay on track.

Awareness & Insight

When mindless eating is an obstacle, food tracking can be a helpful solution. Tracking food requires an individual to become aware of when, what and how much they are eating. It can be an eye-opening experience to discover that eating 1 cup of trail mix will add over 600 calories to the day.

Tracking can also help provide insight for emotional and boredom eaters. In addition to tracking food type and amount, I encourage patients to track hunger level and emotions when eating. Is eating out of hunger alone? Or are hunger levels low, and emotions high, especially when consuming more indulgent foods? Increasing awareness of when and where these situations occur is the first step in finding solutions.

Food Knowledge

Many people are often unaware of the nutritional content of the foods they consume. When someone is not an avid reader of nutrition facts labels, they may be unaware that Vitamin D milk is significantly higher in calories than skim, or that almond milk does not contribute the healthy fats, fiber and protein that whole almonds do, or the high fat and calorie content of their favorite fast food meals. When food tracking is initiated, more time is spent on reading nutrition facts labels and looking up nutrition information, which will in turn increase knowledge (both good and bad) of all foods consumed.

Flexibility

The purpose of food logging is not to encourage a strict diet with no ‘cheating.’ Food logging can help a person look at their overall diet and find ways to incorporate ‘fun’ foods on occasion. When the majority of food choices are nutritious, there can be room for small amounts of less nutritious foods, even after bariatric surgery.

Food logging can offer an opportunity for planning. Some of my patients have found it helpful to enter food the night before. Using this method, the day is already outlined, which takes a lot of the challenging ‘food decisions’ out of the day.

Food logging is one of the best ways surgery patients can find success, both before and after surgery. Food logging establishes accountability. Food logging increasing awareness, insight and knowledge. Food logging encourages planning while allowing for flexibility. All of these benefits are why food logging is one of the most important tools in a patient’s weight loss journey.

By: Jennifer Tveitnes, RD, LD

[1] Hollis, Jack et. al. Weight Loss During the Intensive Intervention Phase of the Weight-Loss Maintenance Trial. American Journal of Preventative Medicine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2515566/ August 2008. Accessed 18 August 2021.

[2] Harvey, Jean et. al. Log Often, Lose More: Electronic Dietary Self-Monitoring for Weight Loss. Obesity. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/oby.22382 25 February 2019 . Accessed 18 August 2021.

Home — Essay Samples — Nursing & Health — Importance of Food — The Importance Of Keeping A Food Diary

The Importance of Keeping a Food Diary

• Categories: Importance of Food Nutrition

About this sample

Words: 914 |

Published: Sep 19, 2019

Words: 914 | Pages: 2 | 5 min read

Works Cited:

• Bush, E. (2019). Exotic Animals as 'Pets'. Animal Legal and Historical Center, Michigan State University College of Law. https://www.animallaw.info/article/exotic-animals-pets
• Cundiff, J. (2013). Exotic Animals As Pets. Congressional Digest, 92(3), 7–13.
• Exotic Pet Trade. (2022). World Animal Protection. https://www.worldanimalprotection.org/issues/exotic-pet-trade
• Lewis, J. (2021). Exotic Pets: A Comprehensive Overview. VCA Animal Hospitals.
• Lively, K. (2017). Why Exotic Animals Make Bad Pets. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2017/09/wildlife-watch-exotic-pets-make-bad-pets/
• The Exotic Pet Trade. (2022). Humane Society International.
• The Problems with Exotic Pets. (2022). ASPCA.

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