Reflection Paper On Diet

In life, many people participate in various daily events and activities that help them enjoy being who they are. People may enjoy getting together with friends, going to the mall, going to an amusement park or simply finding relaxation in nature. However, a big part of everyone’s life is of course eating and many people find pleasure in doing so. Eating is a very enjoyable and delectable must for everyone but should be done so, like everything in life, in a smart and intelligent way. Being smart and perceptive when eating is a large part of nutrition.

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.

According to my three day diet analysis it seems like my eating habits are poor. Not necessarily that I am consuming too many bad foods but I am not getting the all around nutrients that I need on a daily basis. Sometimes not eating enough. Or ot finding time to eat at all is a big issue in this. Due to my job and the lack of time I have at home it is hard for me to get the nutrients I need on a daily basis. With the target that is shown of six oz. of grains two and a half cups of vegetables, two cups of fruits, two cups of dairy and five and a half oz. of protein foods I fell short in most of the areas that were targeted for me. My biggest two areas of consumption was refined grains and protein.

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

Proper nutrition is important in maintaining a long and healthy life. Most Americans are rushed due to their busy work schedules, and do not take the time to plan their diets properly. Like me, most Americans are unaware of the importance of eating a healthy diet and consume too many foods without the proper nutrients. Throughout my life I have been fortunate. I have not had any major health problems, and have been able to consume most foods without having to worry about gaining weight. These last two years, however, I started to gain weight and have become concerned with my diet. Changing my poor eating habits has been difficult for me, however, having this assignment has taught me that it is not as difficult as I previously

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.

The purpose of this assignment is to increase self-awareness of the student by analyzing personal nutritional intake and activity routine throughout the course. In turn, the student will be able to help others modify their diet and activity, and improve overall wellness. An examination of a personal food and activity assessment will provide the student with essential data from which to change their health and wellness behaviors.

In my Diet Journal, I recorded all the food I ate over the weekend with the best accuracy I could attempt to do. But one of the factors that made my food diary inaccurate was that I couldn’t find every detail and percentage of fat, carbohydrates, and proteins in everything I ate. Also, all of the amounts and servings were approximations, not exact amounts. I was able to record everything I ate, but accuracy may have been affected by estimations and sources. The calorie intake I had over the three day period ranged from 1900-2500 calories. This was over my 1800 BMR, due to the food choices and fluctuation in diet.

It is a known fact that other countries eat healthier than here in the United States. For example, the Mediterranean diet contains many fruits and vegetables. It also replaces fattening oils with olive oil. In the article “Mediterranean Diet Shown to Ward Off Heart Attack and Stroke”, Gina Kolata states, “About 30 percent of heart attacks, strokes and deaths from heart disease can be prevented in people at high risk if they switch to a Mediterranean diet rich in olive oil, nuts, beans, fish, fruits and vegetables, and even drink wine with meals, a large and rigorous new study has found” (nytimes.com). Many people who have gone on the Mediterranean diet have decreased their risk.

In comparison with my DRIs, my intake of kcalories from carbohydrates, protein, and fat are all within or below the recommended ranges. When I compared my Macronutrient Distribution to my DRI, I realized that I was very close to recommended amount of fat intake. One thing that I could improve on is my protein consumption. My carbohydrate intake is also something I can improve on being that it was below the daily-recommended intake. Looking at my Energy Balance report and comparing the calories that I consumed versus my energy expenditure I can interpret that I did not burn any of the calories that I consumed. Over the summer my goal was to do at least an hour of cardio daily. Since the semester has started I have fallen off. Therefore, I am creating a plan in which I will incorporate cardio into

Please do not use cell phone to text during class as it distracts other students.

The three-day diet analysis was interesting. There were many positive attributes to it and definitely negative ones. Over the course of the three days, which were Friday, Saturday and Sunday: and figured this would give a good depiction of what I was consuming on a regular basis. In some places I was consuming more than I should be and in some I was consuming less than I should be. There were also those places were I was getting just the right amount. It is so interesting to me to be able to find out what I am consuming and how I am consuming it. Being an active male, it was most interesting of what I ate, what my average of the three days were, and the plan on how I would correct the way I eat to make it a more healthier lifestyle.

The Western Diet mainly consists of fried foods, refined grains, sugar, high carbohydrate and fats, and meats (3). It has been hypothesized that having a Western Diet increases one’s chances for developing depression. There has been a great deal of research into why the western diet increase’s one chance of having depression. A common sense reason maybe that the Western Diet consisted of large amounts carbohydrates, fats and sugars which promotes obesity and then causes depression (1). More scientific evidence suggest that having a improper diet like the Western Diet negatively affects peripheral and central dopamine, which are neurotransmitters (chemical which transmit signals across the synapse from the nerve cell to the target cell)

     Since we have been learning about nutrition in class, our task was to record a food log. Nutrition requires a well-balanced diet containing nutrient and vitamins like amino acids and fatty acids. Over the past seven days I have been recording and have been looking very carefully at my intake of nutrients, minerals, vitamins, and fats. In our task, the objective was to record the basic foods we ate during the period of seven, but it did not require recording every single detail or our intake of food. Doing this food log was a pain and it was disturbing because I never wrote about what I ate like breakfast, lunch, dinner, or additional meals. I found this food log useful because it helped me learn what I

In the past few weeks, I have attempted to exercise at least 5 times a week, challenge myself by eating more fruits and veggies, drinking more water, eating more superfoods, and getting at least 8 hours of sleep at night. I also worked on overall improving my own wellness with more meditation, winding down at night before sleeping, and dumping the processed, unhealthy foods. At the beginning, I thought this would be simple, but as days passed, I soon realized how unhealthy my usual lifestyle is and how much better I was feeling focusing more on my health. From running a mile around the neighborhood to sleeping more at night, I saw an improvement physically and mentally.