Nutritional Report
- Introduction:
This report analyses my nutritional intake for three days. I have created a record of my food intake amounts for three consecutive days. The goal of this exercise was to record how balanced my diet is, whether I am within my recommended calorie and nutrition intake and what are the factors that affect my food choices. It is also an initiative at improving the quality of my diet. It is an attempt at finding healthier food alternatives. The motive behind this is not to participate in futile calorie counting, but to make sure I am giving my body all the nutrients necessary for its proper functioning. Food is the building block of our body. We truly are what we eat. After this diet charting, I am convinced of the truth in this statement. Over the course of this report, I explore various questions and try to learn about my food patterns and how to change the wrong ones.
- Factors Affecting What I Eat:
If there is one thing I have learnt from tracking my food intake, it is that there are several choices I am making at every meal. Multiple factors lead to these choices. According to my three days meal report, one of the foremost factors was the availability of meals. Most of the choices I made follow the “”American Diet” Due to these foods being easily available it was extremely convenient for me to make these choices. Foods like Frankfurter hot dog, Chicken Wings, Cookies are so easily available, that I was immediately inclined to pick these up. Another factor was the cost. These foods are available cheap and don’t cost a lot. Picking up a pack of apple juice or a bag of potato chips was a very economical choice to make.
Although there were a few times I was able to put together a salad, most of the times I put chose a compound meal without much thought to its individual nutritional value. I strongly feel that exposure to some healthier and more exotic food alternatives would be advantageous in the future. Another factor that significantly affected my diet was my limited cooking time. If I were able to take out more time from my busy schedule, I would be able to experiment with different dishes and add more taste to my food. Sticking to a long term healthy diet cannot be done if one is not fond of the food being eaten. For this purpose, number of meals and cuisine should be tried to find food that pleases the taste buds in addition of being healthy.
- My Diet vs. Super Tracker’s Targets/Allowances:
- Division of food groups and intake levels was a very important aspect of my diet tracking. Super tracker gave me very specific targets for each food element. Individual allowances for grains, protein, fruits, vegetables, vitamins, minerals, etc. were provided to me. We all are taught in our education how important a balanced diet. But in practice, as we go about life, this becomes theoretical information. As we get busier with our lives, we pay no attention to our body and what we are feeding it. The fact is that our body is a very complex machine, and it needs power packages for it to function properly. By using Super tracker and by tracking my diet, I realised how each of these food groups affect my body.
As I looked through my Food Group and nutrients report, I was surprised to see how seriously my diet lacks a lot of essential nutrients. My diet is deficient in Calcium, Potassium, Copper, Iron and Zinc. Having low levels of so many minerals was depressing information since my body has no way of producing these essential minerals. I must supply these minerals through the food I eat. Minerals are essential for muscles and tissue growth and to maintain pH balance. Now, that I am aware of these specific deficiencies in my diet, there is a need to upgrade. I also learnt that my diet lacks a lot of Vitamins. In fact apart from Riboflavin and B12, I am deficient in all the vitamin groups.
I understand that it is a daunting task to fulfil the target of all the vitamins and minerals. There is a need to get these specific ones through an approved multi-vitamin, multi-mineral tablet. Judging by the levels of food adulteration and non-organic produce, a good supplement is essential to reach target levels. Additionally, the report also showed inadequate amounts of linoleic acid, fibre, but I overstepped my limit for saturated fat. Saturated fat levels are imperative information. Saturated fat is fat from animal products. Apart from raising cholesterol levels and thus increasing cardiovascular failure threats, it increases the tendency for Type 2 Diabetes. There is an immediate need to select leaner sources of meat and not just what is easily available. I had been making taste-centric choices with fried fish and hotdogs. The shift needs to be made to skinless chicken breasts and grilled fish.
- My Consumption of Calories:
Overall, my calorie consumption fell below my target calories. It fell almost 38% below my target. On the surface, this seemed like a good thing since it would quicken my weight loss goals. However, on further inspection, I realised that the calories cut were from essential food groups. For example, I was only able to consume 50% of whole grains recommended. Additionally, I was below my target in vegetable consumption. My diet had absolutely no dark green vegetables, beans and peas and starchy vegetables. I also fell short of completing the targets for red and orange vegetables which was in direct relation to why I lacked so many vitamins and minerals. Vegetables are prime sources for these essential nutrients, and my diet lacked these so severely. This lack of vegetables is probably what was leading to my dwindling energy levels. I also feel short of consuming sufficient amount of fruit. It would be an understatement to say that fruits and vegetables are important. I am determined to increase the amount and frequency vegetables and fruit consumed.
The building block for muscles and bones, protein is also under target values. My attempts at weight training and hours spent in the gym run the risk of failure until I increase lean meat consumption. Lastly, I was consuming high amount of empty calories. These were primarily coming from sugar and low-quality food. Basically, consuming high-sugar foods meant that I was adding to my calorie count without adding any nutrition. Hence, it is imperative to track sugar levels on a regular basis.
- My Fibre Consumption:
Fibre is often ignored in our diets. However, it serves a lot of purposes. It makes roughage which leads to a healthy digestive and excretion system. Additionally, it is dense and makes us feel full for longer. Grains are a great source for fibre. However, it is important to choose whole grains to reach our fibre goals. There were oats and salads present in my diet, but this needs to increase. My diet contained fruit juices that are a healthy choice but having the whole fruit would provide fibre. So a conscious decision needs to be made to select whole foods whenever possible
- Conclusion:
First and foremost, this has been an eye-opening exercise for me. I have understood why food journaling is recommending by almost every dietician. Recording this data and analysing it makes us realise how many subconscious choices we are making out of habit. But the food is what makes us. I have a new found respect for what my body does for me and why it is important to treat it right. Calorie counting is a futile exercise if our nutrient needs aren’t met. Consuming low grade or empty calories only left me hungry and unsatisfied. According to me, it would help to consume smaller meals more frequently than sticking to three set meals. Frequent meals would keep me energised throughout the day and keep my blood sugar levels in check. Educating myself about the nature of foods I am consuming has led to realizing why junk food is so harmful. I feel that now onwards I would be able to make much more conscious and informed decisions regarding my diet.
Works Cited
“Choose my plate” Web.
30 Sep. 14< http://choosemyplate.gov/>
“3 days meal report” 4 Sep-6 Sep 2014. JPEG.
30 Sep. 14
“Nutrients Report 1 and 2” JPEG.
30 Sep. 14
“Food Group and Calories Report” JPEG.
30 Sep. 14
“Nutrition Analysis project answer table” JPEG
30 Sep. 14
