Wellness Journal

THE CONNECTION BETWEEN WHAT YOU EAT AND HOW YOU FEEL

Introduction & Get Started

INTRODUCTION

What you eat and drink plays a bigger role in your overall health than you may think. Everything you put in your mouth will have either a negative or a positive effect on your body. This includes what you eat and drink, and any medicines, vitamins, or supplements you take.

Paying attention to how each of these things affect you will lead to better overall health, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally.

GET STARTED

When you have an issue (tired, joint pain, allergies, anxiety, rashes) try searching for and talking to your doctor about a natural solution. You can search for these yourself by going to Google (or another search engine of your choice) and typing in “What foods can cause [insert issue here]. When you find a list of foods from a reputable source, you can talk to your doctor and start to reduce the amount of these foods you eat. Then, record how you feel each week in your journal.

Alternatively, you can find foods that will help relieve these same issues. To do this, open your search engine and type “What foods can help with [insert issue here].” When you find foods that can help, talk to your doctor about trying some of these foods in your diet.

• Weekly Food Journal

Use the weekly food journal to jot down everything you eat and drink. This will help you pin-point things you ate or drank that may be affecting how you feel today or tomorrow.

• Weekly Reflection

Use the weekly reflection to analyze how you feel throughout the week. Doing this as you go each day will help you recall how you feel in the moment.

• The Fast

This is an optional journal page to track your fasting experience if you choose to do a fast before you begin your wellness journal.

• Your Story

Use this page to jot down your why. Why are you doing this? This will be important later when you need to be reminded of why you started this journey.

• Summary of Me

This page is for keeping track of the foods you find that are “yep’s” and “nope’s” for you. Keep track of these as you go when you find things that do and do not affect your body well.

It’s important not to start any kind of diet without talking with a doctor or a registered dietitian first. They can help you find the right dietary changes so you can improve your health safely.

My Story

I was raised in a one-income household with four siblings. My mother stretched the grocery dollar by making a lot of one-pot meals with gravy and supplemented meals with fillers such as rice, potatoes, pasta and bread. We did not waste food. “Clean your plate.” and “Have more, please.” were terms used frequently in our household. This led to extra weight for most of my life. That isn’t the reason for this journal, this goes beyond weight, but it will play a part.

In my early twenties I began to experience a lot of joint pain, primarily down my left side from my neck and shoulder area into my hips, knees, and ankles. Most days the throbbing was manageable, but it was always there. I developed a red, burning rash on my face. This rash felt like I had been splashed by hot oil. I had bloating and other digestive issues like excessive burping and flatulence. The arthritis in my hands and knees ached to a point of disrupting my sleep and I had a deep burning sensation in my hips and neck. I went to doctors and was thoroughly examined and tested for a myriad of possible causes, with no conclusive diagnoses. I was given options that involved various medications full of “maybes” and “this might help’s” but I didn’t feel confident that this was the solution.

It wasn’t until I was in my mid thirties I started doing my own search for the causes and cures. I started asking a lot more questions and exploring the relationship between food and my physical well-being. I read a lot of food and drink labels, researched rosacea, inflammation, headaches, diabetes, cancer, indigestion and joint pain. It started to became clear to me that food could be the cause for what was ailing me.

I decided to do a 48-hour fast. A “control, alt, delete” reset. Next, I started writing down everything I ate and paid very close attention to how I looked a felt afterwards. I limited the number of foods I would eat in a day to figure out what was (or wasn’t) causing the issues. It didn’t take long before I was able to make concrete connections between the food I was eating and my physical well-being. Surprisingly, one of the foods that was causing the burning in my face was bell peppers. That’s right, a vegetable!

I no longer have a red burning rash on my face. I no longer suffer from excessive heartburn, indigestion, arthritis, or deep aching in my hips. I am over 60 years old and recently completed a marathon.

If I can do it, you can too.

Your Story

Jot down anything that comes to mind about why you are using this journal and why it is important to you. i

The Fast

A Control, Alt, Delete hard reset for your body.

If you have never fasted before, start slow and do research before you start. There are several ways to fast and the method you choose needs to work for you and your specific needs. The goal is to clean out your system so that you can start fresh, analyzing what you eat, and how it affects you.

Length of Fast:

Foods you will consume:

Foods you will NOT consume:

Drinks you will consume:

Drinks you will NOT consume:

What will you do if you are tempted to break your fast?

Examples: Take a short walk, stretch, take a deep breath, drink water.

Did you know? Thirst can be confused for hunger pains. i

How do I feel after fasting?

Weekly Journal

Scribble down everything you eat or drink throughout this week.

BREAKFAST LUNCH DINNER SNACKS DRINKS

Weekly Reflection

Track how you feel each day this week in each of the five categories.

SLEEP ENERGY GUT MENTAL PHYSICAL

Weekly Journal

Scribble down everything you eat or drink throughout this week.

BREAKFAST LUNCH DINNER SNACKS DRINKS

Weekly Reflection

Track how you feel each day this week in each of the five categories.

SLEEP ENERGY GUT MENTAL PHYSICAL

Weekly Journal

Scribble down everything you eat or drink throughout this week.

BREAKFAST LUNCH DINNER SNACKS DRINKS

Weekly Reflection

Track how you feel each day this week in each of the five categories.

SLEEP ENERGY GUT MENTAL PHYSICAL

Weekly Journal

Scribble down everything you eat or drink throughout this week.

BREAKFAST LUNCH DINNER SNACKS DRINKS

Weekly Reflection

Track how you feel each day this week in each of the five categories.

SLEEP ENERGY GUT MENTAL PHYSICAL

Weekly Journal

Scribble down everything you eat or drink throughout this week.

BREAKFAST LUNCH DINNER SNACKS DRINKS

Weekly Reflection

Track how you feel each day this week in each of the five categories.

SLEEP ENERGY GUT MENTAL PHYSICAL

Weekly Journal

Scribble down everything you eat or drink throughout this week.

BREAKFAST LUNCH DINNER SNACKS DRINKS

Weekly Reflection

Track how you feel each day this week in each of the five categories.

SLEEP ENERGY GUT MENTAL PHYSICAL

Weekly Journal

Scribble down everything you eat or drink throughout this week.

BREAKFAST LUNCH DINNER SNACKS DRINKS

Weekly Reflection

Track how you feel each day this week in each of the five categories.

SLEEP ENERGY GUT MENTAL PHYSICAL

Weekly Journal

Scribble down everything you eat or drink throughout this week.

BREAKFAST LUNCH DINNER SNACKS DRINKS

Weekly Reflection

Track how you feel each day this week in each of the five categories.

SLEEP ENERGY GUT MENTAL PHYSICAL

Summary of You

YEP NOPE

These are the things you eat or drink that love you.

These are the things you eat or drink that don’t love you.