F GOALS Food Checklist
Use a mnemonic to seek diverse, fiber-rich foods each day
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~ongoing to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 99%
F GOALS is Bulsiewicz's general mnemonic for organizing the foods he tries to seek out during the day. F covers fruit and fermented foods. G covers greens and unrefined whole grains. O means omega-3-rich seeds—chia, flax, and hemp—and walnuts. A is for aromatics such as onions, garlic, and shallots. L is legumes: beans, peas, and lentils. S collects mushrooms, seaweed, and sprouts. The framework is deliberately abundance-oriented. It is a recall checklist for adding diverse, fiber-rich foods, not a short-term restrictive diet or a claim that every item suits every person. Use it to scan meals for missing categories and gradually broaden the mix according to tolerance and individual needs.
Origin
Bulsiewicz presents F GOALS as his general framework for remembering the food categories he tries to seek out during a day; he also discusses it in his book.
Core principles
- 01Organize food choices around addition rather than restriction
- 02Different categories supply different fibers and nutrients
- 03Whole and unrefined foods are the target
- 04A mnemonic makes daily variety easier to remember
How to run it
- 1
Scan the six letters
Review F, G, O, A, L, and S when planning or looking back at the day's meals. Treat the letters as prompts rather than rigid quotas.
Pro tip Keep the mnemonic visible where you plan food.
Watch out Do not turn an addition framework into a restrictive diet.
- 2
Fill easy categories first
Add categories that already fit your normal meals, such as fruit, greens, whole grains, or aromatics. This keeps the checklist practical.
Pro tip One ingredient can improve a familiar meal without replacing it.
- 3
Rotate the neglected groups
Use the checklist to notice foods you rarely eat, then rotate legumes, seeds, mushrooms, seaweed, sprouts, or fermented foods into future meals.
Pro tip Variety across a week matters more than forcing every category into one plate.
Watch out Increase unfamiliar fiber-rich foods gradually if your current intake is low.
- 4
Repeat without perfectionism
Use the letters as an ongoing orientation toward abundance and diversity. Adapt choices to tolerance and medical needs.
Pro tip Ask what you can add, not only what you can remove.
In the wild
Breakfast includes berries, oats, chia, and walnuts; lunch adds whole grains, greens, lentils, and onion; dinner includes mushrooms and garlic, with fermented vegetables on the side. The person uses the mnemonic to notice variety rather than to impose a calorie rule.
→ Several plant categories appear through additions to ordinary meals.
Common mistakes
Using refined grains
Bulsiewicz explicitly means unrefined whole grains, not refined grains, under G.
Turning the checklist into restriction
He frames F GOALS around abundance and says the common gut-health mistake is restricting quickly without adding foods back.
Is it for you?
Best for
People who want a practical prompt for building more diverse meals.
Not ideal for
People who require a medically prescribed eating plan or cannot tolerate categories on the list.
From the transcript
“this is my general framework for how I remember to organize my day”
“Each letter represents different categories of food.”
From the episode
The Poo Scientist: "If Your Poo Looks Like This Go To A Doctor!", "Your Gut Health Causes Belly Fat, Anxiety!" & "Alcohol Is Destroying Your Gut Microbiome!"