Studies in behavioral nutrition suggest that nearly 75% of overeating is driven by emotional cues rather than physiological need. We often find ourselves standing in front of an open refrigerator not because our stomach is empty, but because our stress levels are high or our focus is lagging. Without a way to quantify the impulse, we remain trapped in a cycle of reactive eating that undermines our long-term health goals.

The Ritual of Pause

The "Susan's Food Log" template is designed for the individual who treats nutrition as a mindfulness practice. It moves your diary from a simple calorie tally to a forensic behavioral audit. By standardizing the capture of the Degree of hunger before every entry, the system forces a momentary pause. It asks the critical question: is this fuel or is this a distraction? By documenting Where and How I Ate, you begin to see the environmental patterns—the "desk lunch" or the "car snack"—that contribute to mindless consumption.

The Blueprint: Contextual Intake

The structure of this library is built to capture the full atmospheric profile of your nutrition.

  • Behavioral Baseline: Using the 5-star Degree of hunger rating allows you to track the correlation between biological need and food volume.
  • Physiological Integration: Dedicated fields for Blood Sugar and Weight anchor your behavioral observations to hard clinical data, showing the immediate impact of your choices on your metabolic health.
  • Narrative Reflection: The Comments field provides the space for qualitative data—noting that you felt "rushed" or "celebratory"—which is often more valuable than the list of ingredients in What I Ate.

Beyond the Plate

The ultimate value of this log is the link between exertion and intake. By logging Exercise in the same record as your meals, you create a direct feedback loop. You might discover that a morning workout dramatically stabilizes your Degree of hunger throughout the afternoon, or that certain foods lead to a lethargic gym session.

Power Feature: Behavioral Heatmapping

By utilizing Memento’s ability to group entries by Time and Where and How I Ate, you can identify your highest-risk environments. You can see at a glance if your most frequent "unplanned" eating occurs in the kitchen after 8 PM or in the car during your commute. This data-backed self-awareness allows you to design better environments and habits, turning a simple food log into a strategic roadmap for behavioral transformation.