Do you keep a food journal?

Either are great as long as you do it. Though the real question is what is your goal and do you need to keep a journal?

Phone is quick and easy now and typically we have one everywhere we go.

I don't always feel the need to keep a food journal, but I believe it can be a helpful tool if you are working to achieve a specific goal in your diet. I have used paper notebooks because it can be psychologically more meaningful to use my own handwriting. Also I have more urgent needs than a smart phone at the moment.

Always! There is no reason not to other than just being lazy with all the technology now. I use myfitnesspal and just scan barcodes..doesn't get any easier than that lol. If I make something I save it under my recipes and voila hit a button and its logged.

Its an app on my Iphone.

I don't keep one because of an issue I had with disordered eating. The very thought of having to keep track of my food makes me panic and obsessive. Not a good thing. But for those who can emotionally handle it, it is a great tool to really see what and how much you are eating.

Food journal - Yes

I use my brain - it works very well for this purpose!

I do not. The reason is the very same why I recommend it to clients who want to lose weight. It works particularly well for that purpose. Since my weight is at the lower end of the spectrum I would end up self-selecting lower calorie foods which I do not need.

I do not, and no Shawn, I am not lazy. LoL. I used to though; religiously in fact. From about 2005-2008 I could tell you every single thing that I ate during that time period as it is all still written down. Once I realized that my dietary intake wasn't fluctuating to any great degree I stopped writing it down and haven't been the worse for it since. I think that keeping the journal was instrumental in developing (and sticking to) a personal nutrition plan for myself. I know what works for 'ME,' what 'I' can tolerate, and how it all plays into various training tactics of 'MINE.' I recommend (no matter what method af tracking) that everyone keep a food journal at least once in their life, to develope an understanding of their own dietary necessities. Its part of your own "Self-ology", and what is more important than that. P.S. MyFitnessPal is a wonderful app and you can gain access to your clients profiles too.

I sometimes keep a food journal, mostly if I see a change in the way my clothes are fitting, lose energy, or any other noticeable physical sign that my diet may be out of whack. When I journal, I'm pretty strict about logging everything, because I want to find out where the deficiency is. Usually a couple weeks is all it takes to get back on track. It's also a good way to evaluate some of the newer tools out there! A coworker of mine recommended MyFitnessPal (I use it on my Android phone) and it's remarkably easy to use and very comprehensive in what foods are in the database. Within 2 days I recommended it to a client and she loves it!

I think it's a very helpful tool to motivate and educate clients, and it's a way for them to take ownership of the process of physical change.

I don't personally keep a food journal because my personal goals are not food related, but many of my clients do. It's a fact that a person who tracks their diet in writing is more conscious of the foods they eat and, therefore, more apt to avoid or at least recognize poor choices.

One of my favorite sites / apps for a food tracker = myfitnesspal.com