Grade by Grade
D. Healthy Living · Healthy Living

My Eating Habits: Track It, Then Set a Goal

D2.1 A1.3 A1.6About 40 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can keep track of what, when and how I eat over a few days.
  • I can compare my eating habits to the advice in Canada's Food Guide.
  • I can set a clear, small goal for a healthier eating habit and make a plan to reach it.

Words to know

eating habit
Something you usually do when you eat, like what you eat, when you eat and who you eat with.
self-monitoring
Keeping track of your own habits so you can notice patterns.
food log
A chart where you write down what you eat and drink, and when.
pattern
Something that happens again and again.
goal
Something you want to do or improve, with a plan to get there.
mindful eating
Paying attention while you eat: noticing your hunger, fullness and how food tastes.
perseverance
Keeping going even when something is hard.

Be a scientist of your own habits

Scientists observe and record before they make a change. Today you'll do the same thing with your eating! First you'll track your eating habits for a few days. Then you'll look for patterns and set a goal to make one habit a little healthier.

Canada's Food Guide is about how you eat too

The Food Guide doesn't only show what to eat. It also gives advice about how to eat. Healthy eating habits include:

  • Be mindful of your eating habits: eat when you're hungry, stop when you're full, and notice when and why you eat.
  • Cook more often and help plan and make meals.
  • Enjoy your food and your culture's food traditions.
  • Eat meals with others when you can.
  • Use food labels to compare foods.
  • Limit highly processed foods and drinks with lots of added sugar, salt or fat.
  • Be aware of food marketing: ads are made to make you want things.
  • Make water your drink of choice.

Listen to your body

Hunger cues: tummy rumbling, feeling tired or grumpy, having trouble focusing.

Fullness cues: feeling satisfied, the food doesn't taste as exciting, you're just not hungry anymore.

Eating slowly and without screens helps you notice these cues.

Step 1: Track (self-monitoring)

For 3 days, keep a food log. Write down:

  • What you ate and drank
  • When (breakfast, snack, lunch...)
  • Where and with whom (at the table with family, in the car, in front of the TV)
  • How hungry you were before, and how you felt after

Be honest. A food log isn't a test. Nobody gets in trouble! It's information to help you.

DayBreakfastLunchAfter schoolSupperDrinks
Mondaycereal and milksandwich, crackerscookies (in front of TV)chicken, rice, peasmilk, juice box, water
Tuesdayskipped (late)pasta, applechips (in front of TV)fish tacos, saladjuice box, pop
Wednesdaytoast, bananaleftover fish tacoscookies (in front of TV)lentil soup, breadjuice box, milk
Ethan's 3-day food log.
0123juice boxmilkwaterpopnumber of days (out of 3)
Ethan's drinks over 3 days: he had a juice box every day but water on only one day. A pattern jumps out!

Step 2: Look for patterns

Now read your log like a detective. Ask:

  • Did I have vegetables and fruits at most meals?
  • What did I usually drink?
  • Did I eat breakfast every day?
  • Where were most of my snacks eaten?
  • What am I already doing well? (Always look for strengths first!)

Step 3: Set a goal

A good goal is:

  • Small and clear: just one habit, said exactly.
  • Measurable: you can tell if you did it.
  • Realistic: something you can really do.
  • Has a time: "for two weeks" or "on school days".

Not clear: "I'll eat better."

Clear: "I will have a vegetable or fruit at my after-school snack on school days for two weeks."

Step 4: Plan, check and keep going

Write how you'll do it, who can help, and how you'll check (a sticker chart works!). If you miss a day, that's normal. Use perseverance: just start again the next day.

I will have a vegetable or fruitone clear habitat my after-school snackexactly whenon school days for two weeks.has a timeMeasurable: each day you can check yes or no.
A clear goal names one habit, says exactly when, has a time limit, and can be checked each day.
Worked example

Let's find Ethan's patterns and set a goal

Use Ethan's food log above.

  1. Strengths first: Ethan ate suppers with protein and vegetables (peas, salad, lentil soup) every day. Great!
  2. Pattern 1: he had a juice box every day, and pop once. Water appears only once.
  3. Pattern 2: every after-school snack was cookies or chips, in front of the TV.
  4. Pattern 3: he skipped breakfast once.
  5. Pick one habit to start. Ethan chooses his after-school snack.
  6. Goal: "On school days for two weeks, I will eat a fruit or vegetable for my after-school snack, at the kitchen table."
  7. Plan: ask his dad to keep apples and baby carrots where he can see them; put a check on the calendar each day.

Ethan's goal is small, clear, measurable, realistic and has a time. Later he can set a new goal, like choosing water instead of juice.

Hands-on activity

My 3-day food log and goal card

You need: paper, a pencil, a ruler, and a grown-up to help.

  1. Draw a food log like Ethan's, with columns for Breakfast, Lunch, After school, Supper and Drinks. Add a column for Where/with whom.
  2. Fill it in for 3 days. Write it down soon after you eat so you don't forget.
  3. Circle one thing you did well. Highlight one pattern you'd like to change.
  4. Write your goal on a card: "For ___ (time), I will ___." Check it's small, clear, measurable and realistic.
  5. Write one step to help you and one person who can help.
  6. Put the card on the fridge and check off each day you reach your goal. After two weeks, talk with your grown-up: How did it go? What's next?
Just for fun

Riddle: What has to be broken before you can use it?

An egg! (A great breakfast idea, too.)

Your turn

1

What does self-monitoring mean?

2

Name three things to write in a food log.

3

Name two healthy eating habits from Canada's Food Guide besides "eat vegetables and fruits".

4

Is "I'll be healthier" a clear goal? Why or why not?

5

Name one hunger cue and one fullness cue.

6

Why should you look for strengths in your food log first?

More practice: warm-up

1

True or false: a food log is a test you can fail.

2

What drink does the Food Guide say should be your drink of choice?

3

How many habits should you try to change at once?

4

Name one place eating with others can happen.

5

What does "perseverance" mean?

More practice: on your own

1

Make this goal clear: "I'll drink less pop."

2

Priya's log shows she eats breakfast in the car most days and often only has a granola bar. What's a pattern, and what's a possible goal?

3

Why can eating in front of a screen make it hard to eat mindfully?

4

You set a goal but forgot it for two days. What should you do?

5

How can you tell if you reached a goal like "a vegetable at lunch on school days"?

Challenge

1

Look at Ethan's log. Write a second goal about his drinks. Make it small, clear, measurable and realistic.

2

A TV ad shows a sugary cereal with a cartoon hero. Which Food Guide habit helps you think about it, and what questions could you ask?

3

Explain why tracking habits before setting a goal makes the goal better.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

What is the first step before setting an eating goal?

2.

Which goal is the clearest?

3.

Which is a fullness cue?

4.

Which is a healthy eating habit from Canada's Food Guide?

5.

You missed your goal on Tuesday. What's the best thing to do?

6.

Why look for strengths in your food log?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: This lesson covers the Grade 4 expectation to identify personal eating habits through self-monitoring over time, and set a goal for developing healthier eating habits, on the basis of the recommendations and guidelines in Canada's Food Guides (D2.1).

How to help at home:

  • Help your child keep the food log for 3 days, but let them write it. Stay neutral; this is information, not judgment.
  • Let your child choose the goal. A goal they own is more likely to stick. Help make it small and realistic.
  • Make the goal possible: if the goal is fruit after school, have fruit visible and ready.
  • Model the Food Guide habits: family meals, cooking together, screens off at the table.

Important: keep the focus on habits, never on weight, size or dieting. Avoid calling foods "good" or "bad". If your child seems very worried about food or their body, talk with your doctor.

Families have different budgets, schedules and food traditions. Goals should fit your family's real life.

This lesson also builds positive motivation and perseverance (A1.3) and critical and creative thinking (A1.6).