If you’ve ever been on a diet, you are most likely familiar with the food journal, a means of recording every morsel you eat in order to scrutinize your food intake and eating patterns. The idea is that those who monitor their food consumption can identify sources of empty calories; basically, the diary creates awareness of the food you eat.

Which sounds good—so good that in my early days as a professional nutritionist, I asked my clients to keep a food journal. And then I stopped.

Why? My clients were putting way too much emphasis on food and what it cost—in calories, that is. Instead of healthy snacks they started chewing zero-calorie gum. A well-balanced meal turned into one plain chicken breast, no rice, no oil.

Another reason is that it’s unnecessary. If you’re overweight we already know that you’re eating more than your body requires to function at an optimum level. What we won’t find in the standard food journal is why.

More significant than the food you eat are the thoughts and feelings that drive the eating. In other words, what needs to be explored is the reason you overeat.

I do encourage journaling for my clients, but not about food per se. Instead I ask them to journal about their fundamental mind-set around food as well as any feelings that surface. As my clients reflect on what motivates their consumption of food, wisdom replaces information, and as a result their beliefs and emotions having to do with food begin to shift.

But don’t take it from me. Allow me to introduce you to two of my clients, Helen and Sindy, as they blog their way to a healthy, balanced, and pleasurable approach to food, eating, and life as a whole.