Journal Prompts to Explore your Relationship with Food and your Body

Our relationships with our body and food are deeply rooted in our beliefs and values. They are shaped by our upbringing, cultural expectations and pressures, tress, health experiences and the roles and responsibilities we hold in our lives.

Journaling allows us to slow down and reflect on these influences and where we are at. It gives us an opportunity to notice with curiosity – not judgement -and create space to consider if and  what changes we would like to explore and in which areas of our lives we should target our efforts.

The power of journaling

Journaling is a well-established tool for self-exploration and mental wellbeing. Writing things down can help us clarify our thoughts, reduce the mental load, and increase awareness of patterns we often do in autopilot mode.

When it comes to food and our bodies, journaling can:

• Increase insight into triggers, beliefs and habits.

• Support emotional regulation and self-compassion.

• Help separate internal body cues from external cues.

• Reduce shame by naming our experience as opposed to judging it.

• Strengthen alignment between daily choices and our personal values.

How to approach these questions

How you approach these questions can be just as important as the answers themselves. They are not designed to be a test, checklist or opportunity for self-criticism. There is no right/ wrong or good/bad responses. Instead I want to you try to approach these questions with a sense of curiosity. If you do notice judgement popping up, that ok just simply name it, understand it and pop it to the side.

If you’re keen to start the journey and explore your relationship with food and your body but maybe don’t know where to start, here are some helpful journal prompts to get started. You don’t need to go through them all, pick the ones that resonate with you and leave what doesn’t. And if when journaling things pop up and you feel overwhelmed I’d encourage you to reach out to a friend or health professional who can support you.

1. Foundations: Your Early Food & Body Story

These are designed to help you understand where your beliefs were learned

• What are my earliest memories of food in my family home?

• How were hunger, fullness, or preferences responded to when I was a child?

• Were foods labelled as “good,” “bad,” “healthy,” or “unhealthy”? How did that shape my view of food?

• What behaviours were demonstrated to me about our bodies, weight and shape?

• What messages did I receive about body size, weight, or appearance growing up?

• How were emotions handled around food in my household?

• How did my upbringing around food, body and weight shape the beliefs I now hold?

• If I could rewrite my early food story with compassion, what would I change?

  
  

2. Diet Culture & Societal Pressure

These are designed to help you separate your values from external noise

• What messages about bodies and food do I take on from social media, health spaces, or work?

• How has diet culture influenced how I judge myself or others?

• What rules do I follow around eating that aren’t actually based on my body’s needs?

• How does weight-centric thinking show up in my thoughts or behaviours?

• What has chasing weight loss cost me (mentally, socially, physically)?

• What would “health” mean to me if weight wasn’t part of the definition?

• Whose approval am I seeking when I change how I eat or move?

  
  

3. Hunger, Fullness & Trusting My Body

These are designed to help you rebuild trust in your internal cues

• How do I know when I’m hungry - physically, mentally, emotionally?

• What signs tell me I’ve had enough food?

• When do I tend to override hunger or fullness, and why?

• How safe do I feel responding to my body’s cues?

• What foods help me feel nourished, satisfied, and stable?

• How does stress, sleep, or routine disruption affect my eating?

• What would trusting my body look like today (not perfectly, but gently)?

  
  

4. Emotional Eating & Coping

These are designed to help you expanding your tool box

• What emotions most often influence my eating?

• What does food give me in those moments (comfort, distraction, grounding)?

• Are there unmet needs showing up through my eating patterns?

• How do I talk to myself after emotional eating episodes?

• What non-food supports help regulate my nervous system?

• How can food be one support - without being the only one?

• What would compassion look like instead of control?

  
  

5. Exercise, Movement & Body Respect

These are designed to help you shift movement from a form of punishment to enjoyment

• Why do I move my body - what’s the underlying motivation?

• How do I feel before, during, and after different types of movement?

• When has exercise felt supportive rather than compulsory?

• How do I respond to rest - do I allow it or resist it?

• What messages did I learn about “earning” food or rest?

• How can movement support my energy, mood, and function right now?

• What would body-respecting movement look like in this season of my life?

• If I was living out my values, would I move in a different way?

6. Body Image & Self-Perception

These are designed to help you move beyond appearance as worth to appreciation and body respect

• How do I speak to my body internally?   Would I speak to a friend in the same way?

• What emotions arise when thinking about my body? Where am I confident versus when do I feel more self-conscious? 

• When do I feel most at home in my body?

• How does body checking, comparison, or avoidance show up for me?

• What are three things I appreciate about my body?

• What changes when I focus on function rather than appearance?

• What would body neutrality or respect look like for me?

• How would I treat my body if it wasn’t a problem to fix?

• Who is someone in my life who models a positive relationship with their body and what qualities do they model?

• What expectations do I have for my appearance, are these attainable? Or fair standards to hold myself to?

7. Values, Identity & Relationships

These are designed to help you connect food and body care to the life you want

• How does my relationship with food affect the kind of friend or partner I am?

• In what ways does food/weight preoccupation limit my presence with others?

• How do my eating patterns impact my energy, patience, or connection?

• What do I want to model about food and bodies to children or other people in my life?

• How does caring for my body support my work, creativity, or relationships?

• What values do I want my food choices to reflect (e.g. flexibility, nourishment, connection)?

• If food and body image took up less mental space, what would expand in my life?

  
  

8. Looking Forward: Rewriting the Narrative

These are designed to help you set gentle, values-based intentions for the future

• What kind of relationship with food do I want in 1–5 years?

• What does “enough” look like for me with my eating and movement - physically and emotionally?

• What small shifts feel supportive rather than overwhelming?

• How will I know I’m moving toward health, even without a scale?

• What boundaries do I need with media, conversations, or environments?

• What support helps me stay grounded in my values?

• What would I say to myself on days this feels hard?

• What self-care practices do I engage in that help to lift my self-confidence and grow self-esteem? 

Working on your relationship with food and your body is rarely simple.

If you would like additional support navigating the complexities and emotions that come up whilst on this journey I'd encourage you to seek the support of a professional such as a psychologist, counsellor or dietitian who has experience and additional training in disordered eating, intuitive eating and body image.

They can provide you with personalised guidance and compassion to help you along your journey - You don't have to walk it alone.