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The core CBT-E self-monitoring tool — record what you eat, when, where, and how you felt, including any binge/purge episodes and triggers.
Real-time self-monitoring is the cornerstone of CBT-E. Record everything you eat and drink as you go (not from memory later). Note the time, what you consumed, where you were, and any significant thoughts, feelings, or behaviours (mark binges with * and purges with V). This builds awareness of patterns linking mood, context, and eating.
Introduce in Stage 1 of CBT-E alongside establishing regular eating. Use throughout treatment to identify patterns between food intake, mood states, and contextual triggers for restriction, bingeing, or purging.
Present as a curiosity tool rather than a food policing exercise. Emphasise that the goal is understanding patterns, not achieving perfect eating. Ask the client to record in real-time rather than retrospectively.
For clients who find detailed food recording triggering, start with mood and context columns only, adding food detail gradually. For those with comorbid diabetes, coordinate with the dietitian on recording format.
If real-time monitoring significantly increases preoccupation with food or triggers competitive restriction, simplify the diary or pause monitoring temporarily. Discuss this openly with the client rather than abandoning monitoring altogether.
Review the diary collaboratively at the start of each session. Look for patterns linking emotional states to eating behaviour changes. The context column often reveals interpersonal triggers that maintain the eating disorder cycle.
Suitable for clients working with eating disorder, food diary, cbt-e, fairburn, self-monitoring, binge, purge. This tool can be used as a standalone worksheet or as part of a structured homework plan.
Create a free account to access 10 worksheets per month.
Track body checking and body avoidance behaviours, their triggers, and function.
Identify rigid dietary rules and design experiments to test what happens when you break them.
Explore how difficulty tolerating emotions drives eating disorder behaviours — and develop alternative ways to manage intense feelings.
Track weekly weight to observe natural fluctuation and reduce the power of daily weighing.