Nutrition Intake Log Analysis

I had no idea that what I included in my diet was so important and provided a significant impact to my wellbeing. After doing the first part of this Analysis project, I was surprised to see the many areas that I can improve on. I created 3 specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound goals to help me improve on receiving the right amount and variety of nutrients in my diet. My goals are to drink 8 glasses of water a day, have fruits and vegetables every meal adding to a total of about 4-6 cups, and to have a different breakfast every day. For 30 days, I attempted to implement daily each of my 3 goals.

Based on a 24 Hour Recall of my diet, results using NutriCalc Plus report that my food intake lacked a healthy balance of all food groups. My Grain intake reached only 60% of the My Plate daily recommendations. My Vegetable intake was a mere 50% of the recommended servings. Additionally, I consumed 84% of the daily recommendations for the Dairy Group. Nonetheless, I did exceed the recommendations for the Fruit Group and Protein Group with intakes of 155% and 107%, respectively.

When comparing my calorie, fiber, and cholesterol average intakes to the target intake, I found that both my calorie and fiber intakes were under, and my cholesterol was okay. I was kind of surprised by this because I felt that I had eaten way more calorie and cholesterol rich foods than I actually did. After I looked at the Food Groups and Calories Report, I found that I was under in every category except for protein, in which I was over. The target amount for my grains was 6 ounces, and I only ate 5. For vegetables it was 2.5 cups, and I ate 1. For fruits it was 2 cups, and I ate 0. Dairy was 3 cups, and I ingested ¼ cup. Proteins was 5.5 ounces, and I went way over with 8 ounces. Oils was 6 teaspoons, and I ingested 5 teaspoons.

For the most part, I’m getting good amounts of vitamins and minerals. I was extremely

The purpose of this assignment is to track and display the food choices we make and the way we eat affects our lifestyle and health. This paper addresses my personal food intake for the past three days. Next I will compare my food choices with my WileyPlus profile and determine whether I am maintaining healthy eating habits. There are foods that a person can eat in order to make sure that the daily required intake is being made. Sometimes it is really hard for a person like me to make sure I eat all the foods that I am supposed to so that I can consume all the nutrients that my body needs in a day. I know I will need to modify my eating

My current caloric intakes, varies from day to day. On some days, I exceeded the DRI’s recommendations; however, my caloric intake most often fell below the recommended amounts. Both of these are important in maintaining a healthy body weight. Consuming too many calories can cause weight gain. In addition, consuming inadequate calories can have the same effect. Since calories are used as the main source of energy within the body, consuming too few calories can slow down the body’s metabolism, making it difficult to maintain a proper body weight.

I have learned a lot from this two-day diet analysis assignment. In my two day assessment, I recorded my food intake, quantities, drinks, snacks, condiments, where and who I was with during the meal, the time of day, and the amount of time I spent eating. I was able to analyze my diet to examine what I was eating and what types of nutrients I was getting. I then compared all aspects with my recommended levels of nutrients for my dietary recommended intake. I learned that my eating habits are not the best and could lead to serious health problems in the future that may be detrimental.

As I began this project I saw no purpose of keeping track of all these different things. I proceeded through the project and started to keep track of my intake, macronutrient range, fat breakdown and stage of change reports and I found it quite helpful to keep track of all those things. This project made me ensure that I was on the right path to becoming a healthy human being. I did not realize how unhealthy my eating habits were until this project made me examine that, which was a good thing. I still find it hard to maintain a strict healthy diet while being at college. Sometimes I am forced to deviate from my healthy diet, but this project helps me get back on track.

My micronutrient fall in ranges from 0% to 86% and it is important that I get them into the recommended range because they provide the right amount of energy, promote growth and development, and regulate body functions. An adverse effect associated with macronutrients is that a nutritional deficiency disorder will result if not consumed in the recommended amounts and affect body function either more or less severely. Deficiency in protein cases are rare but when they do occur it result in what is called kwashiorkor which can be identified by changes in skin coloring, loss of muscle mass, diarrhea, fatigue, and inability to gain weight and grow, a large protruding stomach, swelling, rashes, apathy and irritability. Without enough carbohydrates, proteins will break down for fuel instead of muscle tissue and the body can go into ketosis that put stress on the kidneys. When a diet is low in fats, a deficiency in fat soluble vitamins can develop even when adequate

The second mineral that interested me was calcium. Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body (Page. 385). In fact, proper calcium intake is very important. Calcium plays an important role in maintaining proper bone health, dental health, the prevention of colon cancer, and the reduction of obesity. The recommended (UL) for someone my age, and sex is 2500 mg a day (Page. 386). On day 1 of my 3 day analysis I consumed 374.54 mg of calcium. On day 2 I consumed 310.96 mg, and on day 3 I consumed 793.46 mg of calcium. Consequently, I did not meet the recommended (Ul) for calcium

The three macronutrients are carbohydrates, protein, and fat (McKinley Health Center, 2008). It is important to that macronutrient intake be within the recommended intake range. Having a diet that consists of too much or too little of a macronutrient could be harmful to the body. If you eat too many macronutrients, you could gain fat and if you eat too little macronutrients you could lose healthy fat, which would cause the body to break down. If you consistently eat too little protein, carbohydrates, or lipids, the body would be malnourished, which could have devastating effects on your health.

Sources of Calories: Current recommendations for macronutrients are 45-65% of calories from carbohydrates, 20-35% calories from fat and 10-35% calories from protein. Compare your intakes with the recommendations. Use your 3 day average for the calculations below.

In looking over my Food Journal Summary and my Intake Compared to DRI dealing with micronutrients; I noticed my intake of Vitamin A was 88 micrograms and my DRI was 700 micrograms. I got 49% from the grilled cheese and 1% from the banana chips. To improve my Vitamin E intake I should eat more beef and cooked vegetables such as carrots. My Vitamin D intake was below the recommended range at 0 mg; I should eat more fish such as salmon or possibly find a Vitamin D supplement. My consumption of Vitamin E or Alpha-Tocopherol was an intake of 1 mg and my DRI was 15 mg. 28%, 3%, 19%, and 15% came from the chicken tenders, banana chips, grilled cheese, and French fries. To get a

Making sure nutritional needs become a part of any lifestyle requires understanding exactly what the body needs to obtain and maintain optimal health. The recording food intake for three days provides many areas of nutrition that I am more aware of that before; this includes protein, carbohydrate, lipid, and fiber intake needs. Meeting the nutritional needs of the human body helps to ensure a healthy lifestyle that is free of disease and illness.

The intake of nuts and legumes are good because they have fatty acids and proteins and proteins are a type of nutrient. Proteins help the body to grow and to repair tissues. They new food pyramid says that you should take in 0-2 servings of fish, poultry ,and eggs because all of these contain all the essential amino acids. Since amino acid is the monomer of proteins, this relates to protein. The body uses about 20kmds of amino acids to construct the protein it needs. Amino acids are essential for growth. Fish, poultry and eggs also contain Vitamin B so they are also essential for growth and the functioning of the eyes. The new food pyramid says that you should eat about 1-2 servings of daily products or calcium supplements. Since dairy products contain calcium and a little bit of phosphorus they are essential for the deposition in bones, the formation of ATP and nucleic acids and for the functioning of the heart muscles and nerves. You should limit your intake of red meat, butter, white rice, white bread, potatoes, pasta, and sweets to a ver low amount because if you take too much you can get diseases and disorders. But it is good to take some of these food because they also contain a little bit of Vitamin B which are essential for growth and the functioning of the nervous system. These food also can serve as fats which serve as a cushion for the food or a reserve energy supply.