As you will know from my social media posts I have been following Veganuary this month. I was vegetarian for 5 years in my 20s, so cutting out meat isn’t alien to me but back in my vegetarian days I suffered from low energy and anaemia. So this time around I wanted to make sure that I was eating enough, keeping hydrated and supplementing to ensure that I was getting my recommended daily allowance of iron, vitamin B12 and vitamin d.

Another worry for me was would I be able to get enough protein whilst following a plant based diet. Many meat free alternatives are carb heavy and lacking in protein, so I’ve been keeping track of my protein with wholefoods and only resorted to homemade protein shakes a few times.

I have been using a food journal from Boxclever Press to keep track of my Veganuary journey. However the journal can also be used as a general food journal.

The first page has an accountability section where you note down your reasons for wanting to lose weight (if that’s your goal of course), a timeline goal e.g summer wedding or Christmas party. Then a more long-term goals section for example, lower cholesterol or take up a new sport.

Further down is where you can track your milestones.

The journal offers healthy tips and food group information as well as a reminder to drink 6-8 cups of water a day.

The remainder of the journal is then diet record pages for tracking your everyday meals, exercise and water. There is also a space for writing in your allowance for your day, so if you are calorie counting or counting syns this would come in handy but this can be left blank if you aren’t calorie counting.

One of the main as advantages of using a food journal is being able to track intolerances or foods which may be giving you adverse effects and to generally make sure that you are eating enough and getting all those important nutrients in.

*The food journal was kindly gifted by Boxclever Press*