My Diet Analysis

Introduction

It is necessary to stress that nutrition is very important. I am sure that it influences all spheres of human life. If a person does not receive all vitamins his/her organism needs, the immune system will be very weak and this will cause a great number of illnesses. The rhythm of the contemporary life is very fast; people work much and do not have enough time to have a good rest. Constant tiredness and sluggishness are the results of hard work and improper nutrition. I think that, if one cannot change his/her job, it is necessary at least to pay more attention to food. Keeping a diet is the best way to do this. However, there are so many various diets that it is not easy to choose one of them. To do this, it is important to pay attention to the peculiarities of a person’s health and purpose of the diet. One may want to lose a couple of kilograms and another person may be eager just to have balanced food every day. Therefore, diet choice depends upon the situation.

Analysis of my diet

I believe that the way one eats will influence a person`s health and appearance. If a person wants to slacken the aging processes, he/she should start eating the right way since youth. Good nutrition seems to be the best way to improve health because when a body system gets everything it needs for normal functioning, this influences metabolic function and helps it to work more effective. A balanced diet is a good way to change one’s health for the better. However, it is necessary to examine all major components of this diet to keep it in a proper way. According to the latest researches, a balanced diet has the following basic components: fruits and vegetables, and wholegrain (Goodrow 205). These components provide the body with all necessary vitamins and help to lose weight.

It is necessary to stress that our environment is not very good for healthy life. Everything around us is polluted and that is why one should eat balanced food in order to protect himself from the negative influence of the environment. Only good nutrition and physical activity may help a person to change his/her health for the better.

To analyze my diet I decided to record everything I eat every day

I did this during one week. At first, I did this on a separate sheet of paper, but then I downloaded a special program to analyze the results of my nutrition. I used MyDietAnalysis 3.0. Moreover, I read information about healthy food. For example, I found a lot of interesting facts about nutrition in Annette Smith’s “Healthy Food.” This author stresses the importance of drinking much water. It is one of the most important things the human body needs every day. It is even recommended to start each morning with a glass of water and only then have breakfast.

Results

Day 1

1. 2.0 cup Rice, white, short grain, ckd (USDA SR-20) 484
2. 8.0 fl oz Coffee, brewed w/tap water (USDA SR-20) 2
3. 1.0 each Apples, fresh, sml, 2 3/4″, USDA (USDA SR-20) 77
4. 100.0 g Mashed Potatoes, prep f/recipe w/whole milk (USDA SR-20) 83
5. 95.0 g Bagel, plain (Oroweat) 280
6. 369.0 g Soda, cola (Coca Cola/Coke) 154
7. Day total: 1080

Day 2

1. 20.0 fl oz Coffee, brewed w/tap water (USDA SR-20) 6
2. 369.0 g Soda, cola (Coca Cola/Coke) 154
3. 2.0 piece Chicken, breast, oven rstd, fat free, sliced (USDA SR-20) 33
4. 1.0 cup Mashed Potatoes, fast food (USDA SR-20) 201
5. 1.0 tbsp Salad Dressing, Italian (USDA SR-20) 43
6. 100.0 g Carrots, fresh, slices (USDA SR-20) 41
7. 1.0 tbsp Salad Dressing, Italian (USDA SR-20) 43
8. 1.0 cup Mashed Potatoes, fast food (USDA SR-20) 201
9. 250.6 g Juice, apple, 100%, cnd/btl (Minute Maid) 112
10. Day total: 834

Day 3

1. 2.0 each Eggs, scrambled (USDA SR-20) 204
2. 369.0 g Soda, cola (Coca Cola/Coke) 154
3. 100.0 g French Fries, med (Wendy’s Foods International) 319
4. 1.0 each Banana, fresh, med, 7″ to 7 7/8″ long (USDA SR-20) 105
5. 226.0 g Dish, vegetables, Chinese, w/chicken rice & sauce, low fat 250
6. 369.0 g Soda, cola (Coca Cola/Coke) 154
7. Day total: 1086

Day 4

1. 16.0 fl oz Juice Drink, carrot & tropical blend, btl (V8 Splash) 141
2. 2.0 each Eggs, scrambled (USDA SR-20) 204
3. 369.0 g Soda, cola (Coca Cola/Coke) 154
4. 1.0 cup Sauce, pasta, marinara (Prego) 180
5. 56.0 g Bread, whole wheat, slice (USDA SR-20) 138
6. 226.0 g Dish, vegetables, Chinese, w/chicken rice & sauce, low fat 250
7. 2.0 each Eggs, scrambled (USDA SR-20) 204
8. Day total: 1271

Day 5

1. 3.0 cup Pasta, macaroni, enrich, ckd (USDA SR-20) 664
2. 369.0 g Soda, cola (Coca Cola/Coke) 154
3. 1.0 oz Cheese, cheddar, medium (Kraft General Foods, Inc.) 111
4. 3.0 oz Sausage, Polish, pork & beef, smkd (USDA SR-20) 256
5. 10.0 piece Pizza, bagel, cheese sausage pepperoni, fzn (Bagel Bites) 500
6. 1.0 cup Ice Cream, vanilla, rich (USDA SR-20) 533
7. Day total: 2218

Day 6

1. 369.0 g Soda, cola (Coca Cola/Coke) 154
2. 10.0 piece Pizza, bagel, cheese sausage pepperoni, fzn (Bagel Bites) 500
3. 1.0 cup Sauce, pasta, marinara (Prego) 180
4. 56.0 g Bread, whole wheat, slice (USDA SR-20) 138
5. 1.0 oz Cheese, cheddar, medium (Kraft General Foods, Inc.) 111
6. 2.0 each Bar, granola, chocolate chip, chewy (Quaker) 150
7. 2.0 cup Soup, ramen noodles, ckd (USDA SR-20) 307
8. Day total: 1720

Day 7

1. 56.0 g Bread, whole wheat, slice (USDA SR-20) 138
2. 369.0 g Soda, cola (Coca Cola/Coke) 154
3. 16.0 fl oz Juice Drink, carrot & tropical blend, btl (V8 Splash) 141
4. 226.0 g Dish, vegetables, Chinese, w/chicken rice & sauce, low fat 250
5. 1.0 cup Sauce, pasta, marinara (Prego) 180
6. 2.0 each Eggs, scrambled (USDA SR-20) 204
7. Day total: 1067

Questions

What diet changes would improve my nutrition? After analyzing my diet I understood that it is necessary to make several changes that will help to improve my diet. I was inspired to include these changes to my diet by the sources I had read. For example, I shall drink more water during my diet. I drank juice and cola, but they cannot substitute water. Water is also very important and we need it every day in big amounts. Moreover, I shall stop eating fast food, as it is very harmful. When I reread the list of food I ate, I saw that there were very little meat and fish. The organism needs these products too; that is why I am going to include them in my daily ration.

What recommendations do you have for yourself in terms of physical activity? While keeping a diet I understood that nutrition is not enough to feel healthy. It is also very important to do physical exercises. Thus, Alderson states that a balanced diet should be combined with physical exercises. Otherwise, there will be no results. That is why I decided to go jogging while keeping a diet. This should be done at least four times per week.

Provide a general summary/ synthesis of your diet. Look for some synthesis of facts from our data output. While keeping a diet I did not eat very much, but I ate fast foods and drank cola. These two products should not be included into daily ration because they are very harmful for my health and also consist of many calories. I decided to eat seafood and boiled meat instead of these harmful products. Moreover, I understood one of the most important mistakes in my diet. There was no place for water in it. However, all the specialists recommend drinking as much water as possible while keeping a diet.

Conclusions

In fact, the diet analysis helped me try keeping a diet and learn how to do this properly. I did not have any plan for my diet and now I understand that it was a big mistake. It is very important to make ration for each day and keep to it. It is necessary to stress that absence of strict plan led to eating improper food. I saw that my diet lacks seafood and meat, and I am going to correct this mistake in the future. It is necessary to stress that reading literature on diets and healthy food helped me find out a lot of new information in the field and it is the basis for the future changes in my nutrition. I learnt that a lot of people suffer from overeating and a good diet is the best way to handle this problem. Moreover, the effect of any diet will be seen only if one combines it with physical exercises. So, I am going to start jogging in order to facilitate the process.