Free template

Food and symptom diary template — free printable PDF

One week on seven pages: meals and drinks with the time, stool on the Bristol scale, symptoms with an intensity from 1 to 5, sleep and notes. The same columns a doctor asks for when IBS or a food intolerance is suspected.

Download the template as PDF (A4, 8 pages)

What is on the sheet

Time

The most important column. Complaints often trail the meal behind them by hours – without the time, that gap stays invisible.

Meal / drink

Everything, including the coffee, the snack and the glass of wine. What looks small is often what is missing when you go looking for the trigger later.

Stool (Bristol 1–7)

The Bristol stool scale is printed as a legend on the first page: from 1 (hard lumps) to 7 (liquid); 4 is ideal.

Symptoms (intensity 1–5)

Bloating, cramps, heartburn, nausea, fatigue, headache – with the time and a number for intensity, so days can be compared.

Sleep

Bedtime, wake time, rested or not. A gut reacts to short nights too – the diary should be able to see that.

Notes

Stress, travel, sport, medication, cycle – anything that made the day different from usual.

How to keep the diary

  1. Write each meal down as you eat it, not from memory in the evening – the time is the first thing that gets lost.
  2. Note symptoms as they happen, with the time and intensity. Mild ones too.
  3. Every bowel movement gets a time and a Bristol type. That is the column doctors read first.
  4. Keep the diary for at least one to two weeks. A pattern needs repetition.
  5. Bring the pages to your appointment – or transfer them to the app and let it do the analysis.

Or let the app keep the diary

NutriSpy keeps exactly this diary – by voice, photo or barcode instead of a pen, with sleep and activity from Apple Health or Health Connect, and with nutrients that include FODMAPs and histamine. After five logged days it explains which habits and foods go with your worse days, and exports everything as a PDF for your doctor.

Download on the App Store Get it on Google Play

Read on: Food diary app for IBS & food intolerance · Home

Frequently asked questions

How long should I keep the food diary?

At least one to two weeks. A single day says little – patterns only show when meals and complaints repeat. If your symptoms vary a lot, four weeks are worth it.

What belongs in a food and symptom diary?

Every meal and drink with the time, snacks included; every bowel movement with the time and its Bristol type; every symptom with the time and an intensity from 1 to 5; bedtime, wake time and a word on how rested you feel. The times matter most – they later show the distance between a meal and a complaint.

What do I do with the filled-in pages?

Bring them to your doctor – a gastroenterologist or GP asks for exactly this when IBS or an intolerance is suspected. Or transfer the entries to the app: NutriSpy evaluates meals, bowel movements, symptoms and sleep and shows you what goes together in your days.

The template and NutriSpy are not diagnostic tools and do not replace medical advice. For health concerns, consult qualified healthcare professionals.