The Food, Mood & Gut Symptom Tracker

Tracking food, mood, and gut symptoms can be a really valuable tool for building awareness and understanding your body’s patterns over time.

Tracking can help with:

• Recognising eating patterns and unhelpful habits

• Finding root causes of digestive issues not linked to nutrition

• Uncovering how your emotional state influences food choices

• Identifying specific foods or circumstances that trigger gut symptoms or poor eating habits

• Recognising links between emotions, eating, and gut symptoms

• Identifying gaps in nutrition and balancing nutrient intake

• Building portion size awareness

• Developing greater awareness of hunger and fullness cues

• Spotting possible food intolerances or allergies

• Tracking progress over time

This information is particularly useful when collaborating with a Dietitian to guide decisions around food and lifestyle improvements.

When Not to Track

While tracking can offer helpful insights, there are also times when it can do more harm than good. If it starts to feel obsessive, stressful, or guilt-inducing, it may be time to pause.

It may not be the right time to track if:

• You find yourself feeling anxious, guilty, or ashamed after logging food

• You become overly focused on calories, numbers, or “perfect days”

• Tracking feels like a chore or form of control, rather than a learning tool

• It’s getting in the way of eating intuitively or enjoying food with others

• You already know your key triggers and are now ready to focus on making change

• You’re recovering from dieting, food rules, or disordered eating patterns

• You’re in a stressful period of life where tracking feels like just another pressure

Remember, the purpose of tracking is awareness, not perfection. It’s meant to help you understand your patterns — not judge them. Sometimes stepping back from tracking can actually help you reconnect with your body’s natural rhythms and rebuild trust around food.