How do you check what a client eats between sessions?
In short: Agree with your client whether and how to monitor their food intake between sessions. Options include app-based food logs, photographs, paper diaries or structured dietary recalls. Review records for patterns across several days rather than drawing conclusions from individual meals, and use brief check-ins when helpful. Choose an approach that supports the client's goals without creating unnecessary burden or anxiety.
1 min 10 s videoCaptions onUpdated 11 October 2026
The ways to collect intake
Each method trades detail against effort. Choose a method that suits your client's needs, preferences and ability to maintain it over time.
| Method | What you learn | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| App food log | Estimated energy, macros and micronutrients, logged at the time | Accuracy depends on the food database, portion estimates and how completely meals are recorded, and logging takes a few minutes a meal |
| Photo log | What the meal looked like, approximate portions and timing | Hidden ingredients such as sauces and oils are hard to see, and accurate portion estimation is difficult |
| Paper or printable diary | Foods, times, hunger and mood notes in the client's words | If filled in retrospectively, it is prone to recall errors and lost detail. Completing it as the client eats avoids this |
| 24-hour recall in session | A detailed picture of one day | A single recall may not reflect habitual intake. Repeated recalls on different days improve the picture of usual intake |
| Food frequency questionnaire | Usual patterns over weeks or months | Designs vary, and some include portion-size estimates. Suitability depends on whether it has been validated for your population and purpose. It can also be slow to fill in |
If you want a paper version to hand out, our food diary template is free to print.
How much logging to ask for
For an initial assessment, a three-day food diary covering two weekdays and one weekend day can provide a useful snapshot of eating habits. However, the number of days needed depends on the nutrients or behaviours being assessed, day-to-day variation and the purpose of the assessment. A short diary should not automatically be treated as representative of habitual intake.
For ongoing monitoring, agree the frequency with the client and adjust it according to their goals, preferences, circumstances and response to tracking. Options include logging on selected days, using photographs only, or focusing on a particular meal.
Allow for reporting errors. Self-reported dietary records can underestimate or misrepresent intake, particularly when foods, drinks, ingredients or portions are missed. If reported intake and observed progress don't align, review the record collaboratively alongside weight trends, activity, energy requirements and other relevant factors. Avoid assuming the client is being dishonest or that the diary alone explains the discrepancy.
What to look for in the record
- Gaps and timing. Look at whether meal timing relates to the individual's hunger, energy or eating patterns. Long gaps between meals do not inevitably lead to overeating.
- Protein spread. Protein distribution may be relevant for goals such as muscle maintenance or hypertrophy. Not every client needs protein at every meal.
- Drinks. Juice, soft drinks, flat whites and alcohol can add up quickly. Check whether they have been recorded, as they are sometimes missed but not always.
- Weekday versus weekend. Compare patterns across different days without assuming the client is less adherent at weekends.
- Missing logs. Missing records may reflect practical barriers, forgetting, technical difficulties or discomfort with monitoring. Ask about them without blame.
- How the client felt. Hunger, mood and energy notes help put the intake in context.
Focus on one or two priorities to discuss with the client, rather than overwhelming them with multiple changes at once.
When counting is the wrong tool
Food tracking isn't appropriate for everyone. For clients with current or previous disordered eating, or those who experience distress around food monitoring, consider whether tracking is necessary at all. Non-numerical approaches may sometimes be more suitable, but even photographs and food diaries can increase anxiety or reinforce unhelpful behaviours.
Discuss monitoring methods collaboratively, explain how information will be used and work within your professional scope. Where an eating disorder is suspected, refer to an appropriately qualified healthcare professional or specialist service. Monitoring and dietary interventions should be guided by the individual's clinical needs.
Turning the record into a conversation
Review the record before the session where possible, and use the consultation to explore patterns or questions together. Note a strength first, then the pattern you want to discuss. A brief, supportive message between appointments can help maintain engagement and provide an opportunity to discuss difficulties before the next consultation ("Saw you had breakfast every day this week, how did the afternoons feel?").
There are more ideas for the weeks between appointments in how to support clients between consultations.
How to do it in Foodzilla
Clients log food in the Foodzilla app by searching, with Scan Barcode, or with Scan Meal from a photo. Everything they log appears on their dashboard for you.
- 1Open your Dashboard. Needs attention lists clients who haven't logged anything in 14 days and the ones who went quiet this week, and Client activity shows the latest logs from the last 7 days.
- 2Go to Clients and open a client's Dashboard. Switch between Day, Week and Month to see their energy, macros and nutrients over that period.
- 3In the Day view, Meals Summary shows each meal with the time it was logged, its ingredients and the photo when there is one. Press View Nutrition Details for the full breakdown.
- 4Press Export report and choose the nutrition report as a PDF or CSV to review before the session or attach to your notes.
- 5To reply about what you see, choose Send Message... from the client's menu. Messaging is on the Professional plan and above, and on the White Label and Team plans Message all on the dashboard sends every quiet client a check-in.
- 6Customise what clients see. If you and your client agree that displaying calorie and nutrient figures isn't necessary or helpful, open their App Experience, hide Calories and Nutrients Data and press Save Changes. These figures will no longer appear in their app or portal, but you'll still be able to access the nutritional information from their dashboard.
Good to know
- Agree the review dayTell the client when you'll review their records, for example every Monday. A predictable review schedule sets expectations and gives them an opportunity to raise questions between sessions.
- Practise logging togetherRecord an example meal or day with the client during their first session. This helps them understand what information to include and gives you an opportunity to address any difficulties.