Over two months have passed since we started our Food Diary Project and the results are in: it’s pretty much life-changing. The concept is simple; you buy yourself a blank diary and write down what you ate and how you feel three times a day. It’ll take you two minutes. When you feel a certain mood on a certain day, look back at what you ate a day or two before. The results speak for themselves.

Personally, keeping a food diary has revolutionised my life…no exaggeration. As someone who loves food more than almost anything else, I feel embarrassed that it took so long to become truly conscious of what it does to my body (in addition to simply tasting good!). Those who’ve kept up with the reports will have followed developments as they went, but there’s a summary here in a round-up from the beginning of December in case you missed it. Things have continued since, as I’ve felt like cutting out wheat and grain, eating less dairy and buying organic as much as possible, which has all increased my energy and concentration. In order to support my training I experimented with 24-hour fasting just before Christmas, with extremely encouraging results. I’ve found that I’ve been saying no to another beer or glass of wine more than ever, but the best part is that I don’t feel deprived…I’m not missing out on anything. In fact, it’s the opposite: eating like this means that I now have more energy to achieve the things I want to in my life. I’m getting up early in the morning to pursue personal writing projects before work, in addition to more than eight hours of training and six hours of band practice per week…and even going to bed feeling less than exhausted! I wouldn’t even have entertained such a mad idea just three months back! The fact of the matter is that I’m busier than ever, healthier than ever and happier than ever.

Over To You

It’s the same with you guys. We’ve had a wide range of respondents, and their conclusions are each completely individual. “For me I find I do much better energy wise, focus wise and mood wise if I eat a minimally processed low GI diet” tells Rachel. “I don’t do well on refined foods and high sugar foods. I get irritable, cranky and don't concentrate. To be honest I was highly skeptical of raw chocolate, but it was absolutely delicious. Not only that, but with the raw chocolate, a small serve was enough and I didn't get the blood sugar energy spike and crash that normally follows other chocolate. So not only did it taste better, I felt better eating it. I also found with a small serve I didn't feel the need for afternoon coffee either.”

Reports Nicola, “I’ve been trying to switch to organic and raw as much as I can with limited time and budget and I’ve already seen the difference! I’m a university student and teacher, and I definitely think it’s positively influenced my concentration and energy levels, meaning I’ve seen an increase in my work at a time when I’m normally finding it hard to concentrate: the end of the year. Eating consciously has also increased my energy levels and helped my skin look amazing, even through previous months of stress for which I am thankful.”

Diet Sharing

Ashley, a biochemistry student at the College of Charleston in South Carolina, tells us that “during the first week of logging meals, I happened to get paid which is always good news because I get to go to my favorite grocery store-Earth Fare which specialises in natural/organic produce and products. My energy levels were high and my mood was great. The second week things got tougher because it was my boyfriend's turn to buy the weekly groceries and he is the complete opposite if me when it comes to nutrition. So, that week was a lot of eating out at restaurants. I also made the mistake of drinking a soda for the first time in over a year and it gave me a massive headache that didn't dissipate for about 24 hours. Ironically, despite feeling awful after drinking it, all I can think about now is having another one! The third week was my payday again so that meant a refreshing trip to Earth Fare and eating more pure foods. The fatigue and bloating went away but I still wanted soda but managed to keep away until about two days ago when the craving was incredibly intense. I got the same headache but this time it didn't last nearly as long and the cravings are more frequent and I can only blame myself for this. Now I must embark on the mission of cleansing all of the soda particles from my system to eradicate the cravings.

It was incredible to see how much room for improvement I have in my dietary choices. I had always considered myself to be a pretty healthy person, but the truth is, I'm a healthy person every other week. I am now planning more ways to be consistent with eating healthy and finding the time to cook at home and also trying to help educate my partner as to why I try to eat organic and make green smoothies every morning.”

Melly Peiterse made some particularly fruitful discoveries. “This past year I started to struggle with my diet. It seemed that food wasn't processing correctly and I became quite ill” she tells us. “Amongst many symptoms I was experiencing weight loss, lethargy, and an enlarged abdomen. My doctor sent me for numerous blood tests only to return that I had low white cell count. Nothing else, and told me to rest. I however felt that it would be healed from the inside out (I generally don't get sick and never take antibiotics or medicines). So my food diary began!

I now am dairy, gluten and definitely nut free, which was difficult at first (I love nuts) but soothed with a divine piece of raw, dairy and nut free organic chocolate! I found that certain foods simply irritate my digestion and I've replaced them. Needless to say my diet is now filled with fresh foods, one ingredient type dishes etc and my mum has taken to it too! It is indescribable how our health and lives have changed! My diary is a work in progress. Still keeping tabs on my foods and liquids I am now once again fit, super active and able to partake in endurance sports, surfing and study! Moving to organics, listening to my digestive system and making changes has changed the end of this year into one filled with energy!”

Unexpected Discoveries

Amidst a whole range of positive discoveries related to us in detail, David Edwards from Melbourne tells us that “the first change in my mind and body that was directly from the food I ate was on day four.  I was really hungry and I saw a great looking lasagna on the kitchen table, it was made with lots of cheese! I took a plate and got stuck into it, it tasted great but I wasn’t satisfied so I went straight for some leftover chocolate birthday cake. I started to feel heaviness in my stomach, I had an urge to eat nutella (out of the jar) which I did, and my energy level dropped but mentally alert at the same time. The second change that I felt was after eating sa-ca-ta type crackers and a little bit of dip, it had a fair bit of preservatives and salt added to it but I felt that I always eat well so it won’t hurt to have a little bit. I found that I couldn’t just have a few and put them away, I actually ate the whole packet of crackers and tub of dip!

And I did it again for the two days following; I went through three packets of dip and crackers over the next three days. I felt addiction when I ate them, I wanted more and it felt like I wasn’t conscious of what was happening, it was like I was just doing it on autopilot. My mind was a lot more active, it was noisy, I was a little snappy at people and I again felt very alert but unable to concentrate well.”

Holly from New Zealand had an entirely different though no less enlightening experience; “What has become most apparent to me, in the recording of what I eat, is that I am an idealist - I struggled so, so much to write down the things that I ate that do not sit within my list of 'what is healthy'. I literally could not bring myself to write down 'ice cream'. I began to realise that I was somehow convincing myself that if I didn't record it, I could pretend that it never happened. Never mind the fact that dairy makes me feel sluggish, sticky and thick, the most pressing observations that can be made of my relationship with food is that it is an unhealthy one. I actually restarted my food diary three times over the course of the month. Each time I ate something that I didn't want on record, I would begin again. While I am not proud of how this all played out, I am so happy that I am now conscious of the fact that I need to address the emotions that I associate with food, so thank you for prompting me to do this.”

You can read all of our correspondents’ full responses in detail below.

So there you go…many different responses, many different experiences. Now that it’s tried and tested, it’s time for those who’ve not yet committed to it to start their own food diary. It’s a new year. You’ve seen the evidence. Now go buy a diary and get onto it!

Hey Loving Earth team!

    My name is Ashley and I currently live in Charleston, South Carolina in the US. I'm a biochemistry student at the College of Charleston and I started reading the Kora Organics blog in August. My interest in leading a healthy lifestyle started last year during a biology class I took. My professor was a big environmentalist and was always emphasizing the importance of recycling and minimizing man-made products to decrease our carbon footprint. In short, I came to appreciate plants and nature in general, as both have profound impacts on the beautiful world that we are so lucky to live on; as humans, we have the ability to help our planet so much, but so many make harmful environmental decisions unconsciously. I stress the importance of environmentalism because I personally believe that if we cannot nourish and protect our planet, then we cannot nourish ourselves with nutritious foods.

    I try to eat as healthy as possible, but being a college student is financially difficult for me in particular, so it isn't always feasible to eat only organic. After reviewing the meals I ate during the month of November, I found that there is definitely room for improvement when it comes to my dietary choices. During the first week of logging meals, I happened to get paid which is always good news because I get to go to my favorite grocery store-Earth Fare which specializes in natural/organic produce and products. That week was all about coconut curry soup, eggplant Parmesan, And broccoli cheese soup ( I love soup!) and my energy leaves were high and my mood was great. The second week things got tougher because it was my boyfriends turn to buy the weekly groceries and he is the complete opposite if me when it comes to nutrition. So, that week was a lot of eating out at restaurants and of course overeating because they give you a plate larger enough to feed 3 people. Restaurant food is filled with salt to enhance flavor so on top of being full I was bloated, uncomfortable and tired. It was like I had to nap after every meal (which is a bummer when you have to work for 8 hours after eating one of these meals). I also made the mistake of drinking a soda for the first time in over a year and it gave me a massive headache that didn't dissipate for about 24 hours. Ironically, despite feeling awful after drinking it, all I can think about now is having another one! But, I try to avoid soda like the plague because of all of the artificial and unnatural ingredients it contains, especially since many sodas contain aspartame which has been shown to cause cancer in lab rats. The third week was my payday again so that meant a refreshing trip to Earth Fare and eating more pure foods. The fatigue and bloating went away but I still wanted soda but managed to keep away until about 2 days ago when the craving was incredibly intense. I got the same headache but this time it didn't last nearly as long and the cravings are more frequent and I can only blame myself for this. Now I must embark on the mission of cleansing all of the soda particles from my system to eradicate the cravings. Last week I refused to go out to eat as frequently and opted for smaller lighter meals at home. It was incredible to see how much room for improvement I have in my dietary choices. I had always considered myself to be a pretty healthy person, but the truth is, I'm a healthy person every other week.

     I am now planning more ways to be consistent with eating healthy and finding the time to cook at home and also trying to help educate my partner as to why I try to eat organic and make green smoothies every morning (which he thinks is SO bizarre!). Perhaps you guys could write a post about seeing eye to eye when it comes to a couples diet? I could definitely use suggestions as to how to make him understand why I believe organic and vegetarian is better. I don't want to convert him but he thinks my diet is nonsense and a little understanding would be nice on his part.

    Well, hopefully I'm not too late in sending this e-mail because I've been literally dreaming about the Maqui powder and orange/gubinge dark chocolate. Even if I'm too late, thank you ladies and gents for challenging the blog readers to actually pay attention to what they are eating and, like myself, the patters they engage in. Please don't stop posting on the Kora Organics website!

 Again thank you, Loving Earth, for everything you do! I hope you all have a blessed week. 

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Hi Loving Earth!

I would love to share with everybody at Loving Earth the story about my journey that I recently experienced. Let me first start off by saying that within this past year I have been trying to live a healthy and balanced lifestyle. I can be the first to admit that it is not easy, but the health benefits can be truly rewarding. I am an avid reader of the Kora Organics Blog (led by Miranda Kerr and contributors), and recently came across an article written by Loving Earth. The whole article really caught my attention as it was all about listening to your body...something that I quite honestly never have done. I struggle every now and then with fatigue and digestive issues. While I do try to eat healthy, it never occurred to me that I had to see food in a "conscious" kind of way. I figured that eating "healthy" foods was all I need. Once I begun recording how I felt after every meal, I was extremely amazed by the results. Starting in the middle of October, I have been recording my body's feelings after every meal. By documenting my meals and feelings, within a week I already realized that eating bananas made me feel extremely weak and delivered foggy thinking. Why was this? I often wondered. From then on I had slowly started to remove bananas from my diet.  To learn that bananas were contributing to my weakness, was a big surprise in itself for me, as I always have a strong moment of fatigue everyday. I was finally starting to get answers. Since I could no longer have a banana in my oatmeal, I switched to raisins. Within that week, I realized that raisins contributed to my fatigue and foggy thinking as well. I started eating just plain oatmeal and I felt great! To make a long story short, after 3 ½ weeks, I realized that high potassium foods were not coping with my body. High potassium foods were the culprit. By eating bananas, raisins, melons (anything really high in potassium)...I felt awful. From then on I started educating myself about high potassium foods and the connection it was having with my body. Before I knew it, I realized that I had Adrenal Gland Fatigue! Not only can people with Adrenal Gland Fatigue not tolerate potassium rich foods, but they experience digestive issues as well as acne. I had every single symptom! I basically gave myself my own answers all by just listening to my body! So I would like to send a BIG thank you to Loving Earth for inspiring me in the first place to take on this project. I have changed my nutritional habits, and I feel like a new person! Thank You!

 Sincerely,

April Alexa

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Thanks for your email. I had the mint crunch and the activated almond and purple corn. I actually tried it as part of an experiment I've been doing to reduce processed food and particularly refined sugar in what I eat. Then I looked on your website today and you're actually doing a concious eating blog and asking for feedback. I didn't know about it until today but my two cents with on the chocolate experience and conscious eating idea  is simply this.

For me I find I do much better energy wise, focus wise and mood wise if I eat a minimally processed low GI diet. I dont do well on refined foods and high sugar foods. I get irritable, cranky and don't concentrate.

I buy fair trade and organic items when I can, but chocolate (and coffee, but lets stay with the chocolate for now) is my number one favourite indulgence on the planet.

I've been edging towards dark chocolate of the well known brands and organic fair trade dark and milk chocolate lately. To be honest I was highy sceptical of the raw chocolate, but as I said previously it was absolutely delicious. Not only that but with the raw chocolate, a small serve was enough and I didn't get the blood sugar energy spike and crash that normally follows other chocolate. So not only did it taste better, I felt better eating it. I also found with a small serve I didn't feel the need for afternoon coffee either.

I liked it so much I went back and bought the Goji and camu camu and the Lacuma and Maca. I actually don't know what those ingredients even are, but am now about to find out.

Thank you for your reply, now I am interested in trying some of your other products as well.

I think you're right. I don't see myself eating conventional chocolate after this, :)

regards

Rachel

I started eating your amazing chocolate last year, after finding it on one of my health-food shop trawls, but didn’t really think of it much, rather I was just pleased to find a chocolate which was not as ‘bad’ for me as the others.  After starting to read Miranda Kerr’s Kora Organics blog (love it) this year, and the articles you guys publish there, I became much more aware of what I was eating, and putting into my skin, and have been trying to switch to organic and raw as much as I can with limited time and budget and I’ve already seen the difference! I’m a university student and teacher, and I definitely think it’s positively influenced my concentration and energy levels, meaning I’ve seen an increase in my work at a time when I’m normally finding it hard to concentrate, the end of the year. Eating consciously has also increased my energy levels and helped my skin look amazing, even through previous months of stress for which I am thankful.

Changing my eating habits has had a knock-on effect on the rest of my lifestyle, and I'm looking at more eco-friendly, sustainable and organic products throughout my life, not just food.

The only difficulty is giving up coffee....I’ve cut back but I don’t think I can properly shake my habit, perhaps a New Year’s resolution?

Thanks guys!

Nico

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Before I give you my summary of what I learnt and understood about my self and body through this process, I first wanted to thank Scott and the rest of the Loving Earth team for giving me this opportunity. You don’t just sell incredible products, you take people on a journey with them and you support people to relate to their food in different, more expansive ways. Thank you. 

Writing a food journal helped me see what I was doing really well with how I feed and nourish my body and also where I can do better. First of all I realised that having a green smoothie in the morning is so great for my body and for my mental stamina. Just the thought that I am ingesting so much goodness makes me feel better. I did however notice through observation of my body’s reactions that I don’t digest raw kale very well. I love Kale and it is so nutritious so I started lightly steaming it, rinsing it with cold water and then putting it in my smoothies ... my body really prefers this. When I eat Loving Earth’s raw kale chips I feel great afterwards but perhaps that’s because they are dehydrated. I also discovered that eating my smoothie is a bowl with a spoon stops me from eating it too quickly and allows me to digest is properly. I now love making my smoothies extra thick because it feels like eating pudding for breakfast.

I love my nutspreads on my homemade sprouted bread but I did observe that having the same nutspread a few days in a row didn’t feel very good. I started alternating between avocado, nutspread and tahini and this has been working really well for me. I also realised all over again how much I appreciate the aesthetics of a meal. It seems like I digest my meals so much better when I have gratitude for what I am eating,... and gratitude comes from observing how beautiful a meal looks, not just how good it tastes.

I made a decision in the second week of the food journal that I needed cut down my intake of tinned fish because I was eating a lot of it and my body wasn’t responding very well. Since being off it I don’t miss it at all.

I went out with some friends one night and had a cocktail with dinner. I immediately had a reaction to the sugar and woke up with a soar throat the next day. I was quite surprised by this but I was also grateful that my body was really letting know what I shouldn’t be eating. I live a very healthy lifestyle so and when I step out of it I often get intense reactions to the unhealthy food that I have consumed. The sugar cocktail experience also helped me reflect on the fact that when I am in certain social situations it is more challenging to be with my truth... I didn’t actually want the cocktail, let alone to be drinking that night, but everyone was quite tipsy and I did what a lot of people do to ‘fit in’. People say I light up and become so passionate when I talk about food and healthy, sustainable living – I would much rather be that person than the one I was that night.

When you’re a big foodie it’s hard to pay money for an expensive cafe meal that doesn’t even taste or feel good. I had one particular horrible eating out experience that left me feeling bloated and nauseas for hours. The food journal helped me be determined to bring my lunch into work every day so that I didn’t have to eat something that I wouldn’t appreciate.

Throughout the months of journaling I only had one or two experiences where I ate something because ‘I know it’s good for me’ and not because my body actually wanted it. One of these experiences was drinking a daikon and carrot juice that was very spicy and intense. I love spicy food but this juice combination didn’t go down well. From this experience I understood that my body knows better…

The food journal also helped me realize that I need to see my naturopath because I have a feeling that some choices I am making with food are doing something weird with my hormones. Observing my body and feelings throughout this month has supported me to confidently say that the superfoods I am consuming are doing wonders for my body and spirit. I feel like patting myself on my back because I know I am feeding my body with what it needs and when I get it wrong it just feels like I am fine tuning!

Ever since I can remember I have wanted to do something really good for the world… This knowing has led me to many wonderful places within me and also out in the world, and I am still only 22… At the moment I feel that in order for me to create real sustainable change I need to keep building a strong foundation of inner and outer strength… Right now I think this can be created by enjoying powerful foods in combination with exercise and taking time be still and listen to nature..

Dear Loving Earth,

Thank you so much for the suggestion to keep a food diary over the last month. I found this exercise both challenging and enlightening. What has become most apparent to me, in the recording of what I eat, is that I am an idealist - I struggled so, so much to write down the things that I ate that do not sit within my list of 'what is healthy'. I literally could not bring myself to write down 'ice cream'. I began to realise that I was somehow convincing myself that if I didn't record it, I could pretend that it never happened. And so, at the end of each day when I went to record how I was feeling, the overwhelming emotion that I felt was a sense of guilt - that I could not even be honest with myself. Never mind the fact that dairy makes me feel sluggish, sticky and thick (strange feelings, but it's true!), the most pressing observations that can be made of my relationship with food is that it is an unhealthy one. I actually restarted my food diary three times over the course of the month. Each time I ate something that I didn't want on record, I would begin again. While I am not proud of how this all played out, I am so happy that I am now conscious of the fact that I need to address the emotions that I associate with food, so thank you for prompting me to do this. The food diary is something that I plan to continue with, along with seeking support from experts in the field of addictive eating.

In health,

Holly

Hi Loving Earth,

 Just a note also about my recent food findings. I really do believe that each person has very specific and individual needs, it's actually wonderful to see differing reactions to foods between even a Mother and daughter (as in my case).

This past year I started to struggle with my diet. It seemed that food wasn't processing correctly and I became quite ill. My mum and I began researching and keeping notes on what I ate and the reactions from the foods. I also did a little digging into family/genetic traits and found that my dad had experienced the same thing when in his teen years. He was diagnosed with Gilbert's syndrome; an enlargement of the liver. Amongst many symptoms I was experiencing weight loss, lethargy, and an enlarged abdomen (I went for an ultrasound and the nurse even noted that something was up). My doctor sent me for numerous blood tests only to return that I had low white cell count. Nothing else, and told me to rest.

I however felt that it would be healed from the inside out (I generally don't get sick and never take antibiotics or medicines). So my food diary began! I know am dairy, gluten and definitely nut free, which was difficult at first (I love nuts) but soothed with a divine piece of raw, dairy and nut free organic chocolate! I found that certain foods simply irritate my digestion and I've replaced them. Needless to say my diet is now filled with fresh foods, one ingredient type dishes etc and my mum has taken to it too! It is indescribable how our health and lives have changed!

 Still keeping tabs on my foods and liquids i am now once again fit, super active and able to partake in endurance sports, surfing and study! Moving to organics, listening to my digestive system and making changes has changed the end of this year into one filled with energy!

Thanks to loving earth for the numerous products of dairy free and cocao rich goodness! A great help to someone who once thought being dairy/nut/gluten free meant a life without chocolate!

To be specific; i also have a liver/kidney function issue (possibly Gilbert's) and need higher sources of quality lean proteins. Eating too much meat though didn't help (actually made it more severe!) so I now combine plant sources with fresh vegetables. I find particular strength in quinoa. To replace nuts as a snack I take to mushrooms, goji berries and raw nut/dairy/gluten free chocolate. A simple adjustment in portions but increasing the number of meals I had throughout the day was of significant help. I have increased my intake of particular fruits said to protect and aid the lining of the stomach, it's acids and the lower intestines such as papaya, rock melon, and a lot of antioxidant rich berries. I think the particular issue I have Is with digestion of hard fats I.e. animal fats. It would literally not digest AT ALL. So I'm predominantly eating fish as my meat and quinoa for added protein and carbs. I still need to find more snacks though... My diary is a work in progress. I have found coconut water to be beneficial after long dehydrating surf sessions.

Cheers

Mel

Eating Consciously

I felt as though I had good diet when I started the diary entries, so this month wasn’t going to be about changing my whole diet but more to become aware of how my mind and body responded to different kinds of food.

Over the first few days my diet was fairly good and I felt good emotionally and was physically energised. An example of my diet over the first few days was for breakfast I had organic muesli with Paris creek yoghurt, cacao powder and organic Acai on top, snacking on fruit salad, tofu and vegies for lunch, chicken and couscous with potato for dinner and toast with avocado and vegemite after a couple hours after dinner.

The first change in my mind and body that was directly from the food I ate was on day four.  I was really hungry and I saw a great looking lasagne on the kitchen table, it was made with lots of cheese! I took a plate and got stuck into it, it tasted great but I wasn’t satisfied so I went straight for some leftover chocolate birthday cake. I started to feel heaviness in my stomach, I had an urge to eat nutella (out of the jar) which I did, and my energy level dropped but mentally alert at the same time.

Over the next few days my diet was back to normal although I  craved nutella over a four day period until I consciously stopped myself for a couple of days. I made a smoothie I have sometimes after training, It’s made from a cup of milk, half cup to a cup of blueberries, 1  tbsp. of cacao,  4 dates,  1 tbsp. quark(cottage cheese) and two eggs 3 out of four days. After being on my usual diet, I feel light with good energy, about 8/10.

The second change that I felt was after eating sa-ca-ta type crackers and a little bit of dip, it had a fair bit of preservatives and salt added to it but I felt that I always eat well so it won’t hurt to have a little bit. I found that I couldn’t just have a few and put them away, I actually ate the whole packet of crackers and tub of dip! And I did it again for the two days following; I went through 3 packets of dip and crackers over the next three days. Lol. I felt addiction when I ate them, I wanted more and it felt like I wasn’t conscious of what was happening, it was like I was just doing it on autopilot. My mind was a lot more active, it was noisy, I was a little snappy at people and I again felt very alert but unable to concentrate well, i also I experienced a want or desire for more food. 

Key discoveries I made over this month was that when I ate chocolate or something sugary like the birthday cake or highly processed food, I found that I tend to feel heaviness in my stomach, my concentration changed and I craved more afterward and in the following days. Interestingly what I found with fresh or generally natural healthy food or even chocolate such as the loving earth peppermint chocolate, I actually don’t crave more and my emotion or concentration doesn’t change, I still feel the same as I did before I ate.

This has been a really great exercise as it had made me become more conscious of how I feel after eating particular foods, mentally, physically and spiritually.

David Edwards