This food diary template is a free printable for anyone who feels unwell after eating and wants to know why. Each day you write down what you ate and drank, then tick when bloating, cramps, a headache or any other symptom started.
Symptoms can show up hours after a meal, and by then the cause is easy to forget. A week of simple notes works as a food and symptom tracker that turns guesses into patterns you can see and share.
Download the Food Diary Template
- Fill it in on your phone or computer, or print it
- US Letter and A4
- Includes a filled example
How it helps
See the timing
A short timeline under each meal shows whether symptoms started at 30 minutes or six hours later.
Spot the repeats
The weekly page shows which foods are followed by symptoms most of the times you eat them.
Keep the context
Sleep, stress, water and your cycle sit next to your meals, so food is not blamed for everything.
How to use it
- Eat Write the time and what you had, drinks and snacks too, and choose the portion size.
- Notice Tick when a symptom started on the after meal timeline, describe it and rate how strong it was.
- Context Fill in your hours of sleep, stress, glasses of water, period day and bowel movements.
- Review At the end of the week, list your suspect foods and count how often symptoms followed each one.
What is inside
- Food and Symptom DiaryThe cover, with why it helps and the four daily steps.
- TodayA filled example day, then seven blank days with a quick daily check and four meal cards each.
- My suspectsA weekly table for each food or drink, times eaten, times followed by symptoms and your hunch, plus a For my next appointment card.
See a filled example
The example page follows Tuesday, May 12. A large pasta salad at 12:45 pm was followed by bloating at one hour and cramps by two hours, rated three of four dots, while the afternoon apple and almonds caused nothing. The note at the bottom says it was the second time that week pasta came with cramps, which is the kind of repeat the My suspects page helps you count.
Open the full PDFTips that make it work
- Eat as you usually do while you track for at least a week. Changing your diet now makes patterns harder to see.
- Write the main ingredients, not just the name of the dish. Pasta salad with tomatoes tells you more than lunch.
- Fill in each meal card soon after you eat, then come back later to tick when symptoms started.
- Count the times a suspect food caused no trouble too. One bad day is not enough to tell.
Bringing it to your doctor
Bring the My suspects page and a few daily pages to your doctor or dietitian, and write your questions on the For my next appointment card. Talk with them before you cut out foods or whole food groups. Contact your doctor sooner if your symptoms are severe, getting worse or worrying you.
Questions
What is a food log?
A food log is a simple record of what you eat and drink and when. This one also records how you felt afterward, so it works as a food symptom diary too. You can reuse it as a food log template every week.
How do you use a food diary to track symptoms?
Write each meal as you eat it, then tick when any symptom started on the timeline beside it. Add the day's sleep, stress and water. After a week, count how often each suspect food was followed by symptoms.
Is there a daily food diary example?
Yes. Page two is a filled example day with four meals, the times symptoms started and a note about a repeat. Use it as a guide for your own pages.
Is there a free printable food and symptom diary?
Yes. This food diary printable is free to download as an A4 or US Letter PDF. You can print it or type into the fields on a computer.
Can I use it as an IBS food and symptom diary template?
Yes. The daily page has room for any symptom, plus bowel movements and the timing after each meal, so it suits anyone tracking gut symptoms. Share it with your doctor or dietitian before you change your diet.
How do I track my food intake?
Write down everything you eat and drink, snacks included, as close to the time as you can. A food journal template like this one keeps the time, portion and what followed together on one card per meal.
