What is a food diary?
A food diary is a dated record of what you eat and drink. Include the amount consumed, time and preparation details you know. Optional notes can explain an estimate or something you want to remember. American Academy of Family Physicians guidance describes these practical recording details.
Start with the blank food diary template below, then use the filled example to see how the fields work. You do not need a calorie target to make a basic record.
Choose your blank food diary template
- Download the editable seven-day CSV. Open it in a spreadsheet editor. It has six blank rows per day, 42 in total; add rows when needed.
- Download the printable daily PDF. This is a reusable one-day worksheet with eight blank rows, intended for printing and handwriting. It is not a fillable PDF form.
- Use the blank table here as a format for paper or a notes document.
The row counts are space to write, not a recommended number of meals or snacks. These blank downloads do not send your completed record back to this webpage. The editor or cloud drive you choose may sync your file under its own settings.
| Day/date | Time | Food or drink (include preparation) | Amount and unit | Optional notes or uncertainty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | ||||
| Day 1 | ||||
| Day 1 | ||||
| Day 1 | ||||
| Day 1 | ||||
| Day 1 | ||||
| Day 1 | ||||
| Day 1 |
Replace Day 1 with the date.
What goes in the five fields?
Day/date and time: record when the food or drink was consumed. If you add something later from memory, label an approximate time as approximate.
Food or drink, including preparation: name the item, how it was prepared and known extras. “Coffee with milk” is clearer than “coffee” when milk was included. Alberta Health Services' journal instructions include cooking methods, additions and packaged or restaurant details.
Amount and unit: record what you consumed. Use grams, millilitres, cups, slices, pieces or another unit you actually know. The NIDDK distinguishes a portion from a label serving: the package's serving size may differ from your amount.
Optional notes or uncertainty: write “estimated”, “sauce amount unknown” or a context you choose to remember. Mood or hunger notes are optional; a short note does not establish why you ate.
Filled food diary example
This is an invented example day, with invented amounts to demonstrate the format. It is not a real person's record, recommended menu, nutrition assessment or FuelForm analysis.
| Day/date | Time | Food or drink (include preparation) | Amount and unit | Optional notes or uncertainty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Example day | 07:45 | Porridge made with milk; black coffee | Oats 40 g dry; milk 150 mL; coffee 250 mL | Oats and milk measured; coffee volume estimated |
| Example day | 12:35 | Restaurant chicken and vegetable wrap with sauce; water | One medium wrap, all eaten; water 300 mL | Wrap size estimated; sauce type and amount unknown |
| Example day | 16:10 | Apple; tea with sugar | Apple 1 medium; tea 250 mL; sugar 1 teaspoon | Apple described by count; tea volume estimated |
| Example day | 19:20 | Boiled pasta, heated tomato sauce and grated Parmesan; water | Pasta 180 g cooked; sauce 120 g; Parmesan 10 g; water 250 mL | Food weighed while serving; water volume estimated |
Notice that measured quantities and estimates can sit in the same record. Do not infer nutritional adequacy, hunger or a likely weight change from these rows.
Keep the record useful when details are missing
Record near the meal when practical. If you reconstruct an entry later, keep what you remember and mark the uncertain parts. “About half a restaurant wrap” is more informative than an invented gram weight.
A blank entry means information is missing; it does not prove that nothing was eaten. Read back the day for identifiable foods, consumed amounts, drinks and additions. Check whether an entry was accidentally duplicated. Turn unresolved details into questions, rather than silently filling them with zeros.
For help with an individual meal, use our food-logging guide, which covers portions, labels and correcting an estimated entry. If you use a photo as a reminder, add details it cannot show, such as ingredients or leftovers. The FuelForm photo walkthrough explains that workflow in the iPhone and iPad app.
Common questions
Do you need to count calories in a food diary?
No. A basic record can contain foods, drinks, amounts and times without calorie numbers. If you add nutrition estimates, keep the underlying food and portion visible so you can check them later.
How many days should you keep a food diary?
Choose a period that suits your purpose. If a healthcare professional requested the record, follow their instructions about days and fields. A seven-day download provides space; it does not establish a required duration.
What should you write when you do not know a portion?
Use the amount you can honestly describe, such as “about half” or “one medium bowl”, and mark it as estimated. Leave genuinely unknown details clear rather than inventing a precise weight from memory.
Does downloading the template store your food diary on this website?
The downloads are blank files, and this page does not accept completed entries. You fill them in on paper or in your chosen editor, whose storage and cloud-sync settings apply to your record.
