Should you start a food journal?

Many moms and practitioners swear that food journaling is the best (and maybe even only) way to truly pinpoint baby’s food sensitivities and find some relief.

Also? Many moms and practitioners think it’s best to stay away from food journaling.

The reasons to keep a food journal are pretty obvious: by keeping track of what you are eating and when, it can be much easier to connect the dots between food and your baby’s symptoms.

If food journaling feels good for you and is working for you, then I certainly don’t want to discourage you from doing that. You are the expert on yourself, your baby, and your life.

If you’re thinking about food journaling, then hear me out and keep this info in mind whether you decide to move forward with it or not. 

If you are already food journaling and you’re realizing it’s just creating more stress. Stop. Stress can play just as big of a factor in your baby’s symptoms (yes, even YOUR stress) as food!

First of all, food journaling while breastfeeding can get confusing since baby can react to something you ate anywhere from a few hours after to a few days after. When I work with a client who is keeping a food/symptom journal, it can be helpful, but it’s important for us to use it as simply a data point and instead focus more on the big picture.

Another reason food journaling is not my favorite is it can create a really difficult relationship with food. I talk often about how food is not the enemy, but food journaling can often make it that way. 

Often, the moms I work with think that if they could just find the one or handful of foods that are making baby uncomfortable and eliminate them, all their problems will be solved. Well, that is not always the case. There are at least a dozen other factors that could be contributing to your baby’s symptoms. When eliminating a certain food doesn’t clear up symptoms right away, often there is a deeper root cause and eliminating more and more foods isn’t going to help (it will likely hurt).

I’ve worked with many moms who have eliminated way too many foods from their diet only to find baby still uncomfortable now in addition to their own mental and physical health suffering.

Food is powerful, but food is not the enemy. If you are finding that food journaling is keeping you up at night, constantly wondering what it was you ate, then it’s time to take a step back and consider the big picture. It’s time to look at your baby’s symptoms holistically, not just focusing on food.