Excerpt from my Eating Journal…
8:20 a.m. — I’m hungry (a 3.5/10, 10 being stuffed) and looking forward to breakfast. I take a bite of shredded wheat, which is crunchy and makes a sound as I chew. It’s slightly sweet from the Splenda and moist from the milk, and it catches in my molars.
I like the wheat flavor, which is bland yet slightly nutty. I take the last bite and use my tongue to clear my teeth of the little woody fragments. A sip of water helps. Although I’ve eaten only half a dessert bowl of cereal, I’m comfortable – a 5 on the fullness scale. Will have a cup of tea.
Noon — Not yet hungry.
1 p.m.—Hungry (3), eager to put a delicious meal into my tummy. I go to a restaurant where I buy a Fried Chicken dinner. I’m eating a small salad with honey mustard dressing, and it’s crispy, cold, not too sweet. Yum. It’s just right for taking the edge off my hunger. I eat a few bites of roasted broccoli and cauliflower, both underdone but flavorful, mashed potatoes and gravy, and fried chicken, which is a little dry. Eat two pieces of the chicken anyway — starting to feel satisfied. There are two bites of veggies left, and I’m having this internal dilemma of whether to finish them or not. Decide not to and try to ignore my guilt at the wastefulness. I’m eating a bite of sour dough dinner roll with marionberry jam, tangy and chewy, and conclude the sour dough doesn’t go with jam. Moderately full, not uncomfortable, maybe 6.5 or 7.
3 p.m.—Fell asleep with book for a few minutes, so got up and moved to another activity.
4:50 p.m.—Feeling the urge to eat something. I’m probably a 4 on the fullness scale. Find a cup of prepared grapefruit. Tasty, slightly bitter, cold, and offers resistance to the teeth. I finish off every bit of the flavorful juice.
5:00 p.m.—Eating and savoring a Tootsie Roll, which is hard—let’s say “aged”—and making me salivate big time. Love the cocoa flavor and sweetness. Less hungry now, about a 5? Maybe higher.
9:20 p.m.—Eating a warm cinnamon roll, a bit dry but not too bad dipped in milk. Ate a few bites of warmed up chicken, leftover from lunch. Should hold me until morning.
What do I learn from this? That I sometimes eat things I’m not crazy about, that I sure have a sweet tooth, and that starchy food makes me sleepy.
Have you ever kept an Eating Journal? If so, how was it helpful?
Norma Nill 
Although I’m into food and food preparation, I have never seriously considered writing down my day’s worth of eating. And you have such great descriptions, too! Maybe you have to be a food enthusiast and a writer!
Have you noticed patterns in your eating? (Like when or what you eat on a regular basis) I’ve noticed a pattern with my kids. One of them regularly eats a large breakfast while the other only picks at hers. But in the evening they are swapped. From this journal excerpt, it looks like you have your big meal in the middle of the day. Hmmm…. Interesting… 🙂
Thanks for commenting, Laurie! You’re right, I do like to eat my bigger meal early in the day. Actually, I’m trying to switch my focus from the food itself to my level of fulness at any given moment–a challenge!