How to keep a food diary

Your first entry: what, how much and in what state

Suppose breakfast is yogurt, a banana and almonds. Log them separately: each has its own weight and nutrient values. For yogurt, match the fat content and check the label. For the banana, count the edible part without the peel.

Look beyond the name when selecting a food. Dry rice and cooked rice describe different measurements. Choose the entry that matches the food as you weighed it.

• The food and its specific variety, such as plain yogurt.
• The amount you ate, rather than the full package weight.
• Oil, sauces, sugar and drinks that were part of the meal.

Per 100 grams or per serving?

A package may list nutrients per 100 g or per stated serving. Check that basis before entering the numbers. The serving on a label is a reference amount, not a personal recommendation for how much to eat.

For an illustrative yogurt labelled 70 kcal per 100 g, a 150 g bowl contains 70 × 150 ÷ 100 = 105 kcal. If a label already gives calories for the whole package you ate, do not multiply that total by its weight again.

When dinner comes from a whole pot

Build a recipe from its ingredients, include additions, and weigh the finished dish without its container. Then log the weight on your plate. One family dinner stays one recipe, while your diary records only your share.

A 200 g portion of an 800 g mixed dish is one quarter of the batch. This assumes an even distribution of ingredients. Separate meat and sides, or soup with uneven chunks, may need a more careful estimate.

A one-minute check before saving

Look over the meal. Did you enter a whole package instead of half? Did you treat millilitres as grams without converting? Did you log both a finished dish and all its ingredients a second time?

If you do not know the exact weight, use a reasonable estimate and keep its uncertainty in mind. A diary can help you notice patterns; it cannot turn an estimate into a laboratory measurement.

• Check food state and weight units.
• Remove duplicates and include forgotten sauces.
• Save the meal itself: creating a recipe does not log food you have eaten.

Make tomorrow a little easier

In Sanvimo, return to familiar foods and saved recipes instead of rebuilding every breakfast. Start with one ordinary meal and add to your history at a pace that works for you.

Food tracking does not determine your personal calorie needs or replace medical advice. Discuss an individual eating plan with a qualified professional if you need one.