insights
Diet, Nutrition, and Lifestyle Journal Helps Patients Track Daily Choices
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Functional medicine is a patient-centered healthcare model that addresses the unique interactions among genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors influencing both health and disease. To this end, IFM practitioners utilize a Diet, Nutrition, and Lifestyle Journal found in the IFM Toolkit to identify areas where patients might modify their behavior to achieve positive outcomes. By examining lifestyle choices related to diet and exercise, functional medicine practitioners are able to assess the body’s complex physiological processes and suggest ways to decrease chronic disease risk.
For many patients with chronic illness, lifestyle modifications are an important element on the path to wellness and may even alter clinical outcomes. Each day, the patient is asked to track their food and drink intake, as well as their quantity and quality of sleep and relaxation, exercise and movement, stress, and relationships. The bottom section of the journal asks patients to assess their mental, emotional, and spiritual states for each day. In order to track these factors over different periods of time, the Diet, Nutrition, & Lifestyle Journal is available in three versions: one-day, three-day, and seven-day.
Practitioners can use the information provided in the journal to create personalized recommendations specific to diet and lifestyle to help the patient change their habits for better health. Lifestyle goals and targets can be tailored to patients’ preferences and progress while building confidence in small steps. Patients who are mindful of their decision-making when it comes to lifestyle change, and who are more conscious of the benefits of changing an unhealthy behavior, may find it easier to adhere to clinician-prescribed behavior modification.
IFM members gain access to the Diet, Nutrition, & Lifestyle Journal in the IFM Toolkit, which is an exclusive benefit of IFM membership and contains over 450 valuable clinical resources, including patient handouts, treatment plans, assessment forms, and more.
As a member, how do I access the IFM Toolkit?
- Log in to the IFM Website and select “My Toolkit.”
- Note: If you do not see the mentioned links, check your membership status from the “My Certification & Membership” tab.
