Have you ever been curious about how your lifestyle affects your everyday function like sleep and mood? Or how much that new wellness routine is really helping — or hindering — your system? We caught up with board certified nutritionist and author of The Well Journal, Mia Rigden, for some insight on the power of journaling and self-monitoring. As the founder of RASA, a private nutrition practice based in Los Angeles, Mia saw the biggest improvements in her clients when they took up journaling. In an effort to make self-monitoring easy and accessible to everyone, she created The Well Journal, a daily record of wellness that tracks diet, sleep, mindfulness, and more.
“We all have our own challenges and roadblocks that keep us from eating what we think we should be eating, exercising, meditating, sleeping well, etc... Journaling is a way for you to identify these challenges and find workarounds that fit into your life. It’s not about being perfect or following some strict diet, it’s about finding healthy routines and foods that work for you.”
Congratulations on the release of The Well Journal earlier this year, we are big fans! What was your “aha” moment with journaling and food diaries? How did this lead to you creating The Well Journal?
Since starting RASA, I’ve asked my clients to journal. Like Provenance Meals, I’m not big on calorie counting, so I avoided apps like My Fitness Pal and instead had a very elaborate google sheet with daily food and lifestyle information (like sleep, mood, etc.). I noticed huge improvements in my clients with journaling and wanted to create something that was aesthetically pleasing and made you proud of writing down what you ate.
“I want people to have a more synergistic relationship with the food they eat, and I feel like many of those apps make eating a transactional experience, which takes the joy out of it.”
No one knows you like you. It’s tempting to google too much or follow what a friend does, but deep down you know what’s best for your body and life. The more awareness you bring to your habits and how they make you feel, the more confidence you will have in your ability to do what’s best for you. This is a lot of what I do with my one-on-one clients; it takes work to get there, but it’s really empowering when you do!
The Well Journal is featured as bonus gift in a special edition of our most popular program - the Provenance Detox.
Learn More >>
We’re very excited to feature The Well Journal in a special RENEW edition of the Provenance Detox Program. For us, this is an incredible tool to help understand your behaviors and make lasting changes. In what ways do you think journaling throughout a detox could encourage stronger results and success at breaking bad habits?
To me, it’s qualitative data. If you can look back through your entries and see that you’re sleeping better, have more energy, better digestion, etc., that’s really valuable. We live with ourselves every day, so it’s easy to miss subtle changes (like watching your hair grow) — this is a record. Also, it’s great for reintroduction [of foods you eliminated during your detox], so you can monitor how certain foods make you feel.
Do you have any words of inspiration to share for those who have never journaled before and might be intimidated by it?
You can’t change what you’re not aware of. The simple act of acknowledging that what you’re doing isn’t supporting your body is a step in the right direction and should be celebrated. We all have our own challenges and roadblocks that keep us from eating what we think we should be eating, exercising, meditating, sleeping well, etc...journaling is a way for you to identify these challenges and find work arounds that fit into your life. It’s not about being perfect, or following some strict diet, it’s about finding healthy routines and foods that work for you.
“The more awareness you bring to your habits and how they make you feel, the more confidence you will have in your ability to do what’s best for you.”
As seen in The Well Journal, your nutrition philosophy doesn’t just focus on food — you take a multi-faceted approach to well-being by reflecting on diet, sleep, gratitude, mindfulness, activity, and more. Do you believe attention should be split up equally between these pillars, or do you emphasize some more than others?
I think they’re all related and each affect each other. Rather than focusing on them as individual contributors to your health, try to recognize the relationship between them. That’s the idea behind writing them all down in the same place. For example, do you eat more sugar when you are stressed? And how does that affect your sleep?
For someone just starting out on their wellness journey, what single piece of advice would you give?
Don’t do everything at once. Small changes make a big difference over time. Also, you have to like the food. If you don’t like it, it will never last. This is one of the reasons I love Provenance Meals. Their food is incredibly delicious which makes it so easy to eat healthy.
Last but not least, we always like to end our interviews on a food note. Tell us a bit about one nutrient-dense ingredient and dish you’re loving right now and why.
Recently I’ve been loving Shepherd's pie. I make it with a celeriac top, which makes the whole dish about 80% vegetables. Even my 1 year-old loves it. And miso is my favorite ingredient ever. It’s so versatile, flavorful and has amazing probiotic benefits.
