Blog Post 8: Conclusion

Part One:
          Nutrition has changed greatly over the past 100 years. Everyone used to eat meals made at home from their own gardens and farms or even locally but now everything is processed and you cook it or you eat out. Fast food has become such a phenomenon and normality that people think it will be a little better if they go for grilled chicken instead of fried at the drive through. Because getting the fast option of food is so much easier the people are gravitating towards that instead of making food at home.
          If more people were to actually stop and look at what they are doing to their health they should want to change it. Especially with tools like the Mediterranean Diet and MyPlate where they can actually see how much nutrients they are getting and whether they are having too much or too little. It visually tells you what you did and didn't miss from your diet that day. The more positive thing about a healthier diet is that you will have less health risks and that means you can live longer and enjoy life more. So why not try to be healthier! We have the chance to change.


Part Two:
          This blog did help me start a better diet. Because of the assignments I've been seeing what would be appropriate to show good nutrition and it made me actually change the way I think when I see the food options in front of me. I choose the healthier option which includes less fried foods, more fruits and vegetables, and also more whole grains. If I keep making small changes as I go along I can have an extremely healthy diet. At the rate I'm going, it's going to happen pretty soon. If it weren't for the blogs I wouldn't have noticed how unhealthy I was being! It's a good thing too. This blog has changed almost all of my eating habits.

Blog Post 7: Trying My New Diet

Breakfast

I started my day with granola and skim milk with a side of fruit salad and black tea. I didn't think this meal would be that fulfilling but it actually was very satisfying. I enjoyed it very much and I'm starting to get used to the idea of skim milk instead of whole milk. It's so much better than an omelet with cheese and sugar loaded cereal. It was one of the best options possible in the cafe.


Lunch

Lunch was actually quite delicious! But, it happened a little to late. I had breakfast at around 10 and I didn't get to eat lunch until about 3:30. The chicken was tasty and the salad was amazing! I love chickpeas in my salad. This can become a regular when I eat dinner or lunch at the cafe. The yogurt also took the place of a dessert that would usually be Oreo pie or ice cream. Which I didn't get a picture of because I was so hungry!! But to top it off I had orange juice so it was all worth it.


Dinner

I went straight to the deli station and made a turkey sandwich on wheat bread with cheddar and lettuce. I tried it without mayonnaise this time and it was a little dry but still tasty. I also added in a salad with carrots and cucumber. I had it with a cup of lemonade mixed with water followed by a cup of water. After taking my time eating because I was talking with friends, I ended up feeling really full and didn't have any of the other temptations like pizza.



Hypothesis: Accepted

I think my diet plan worked really well with my hypothesis. Except for the vitamin D (which did get better). By the end of the day I felt much more healthier and energized. I didn't feel sluggish or weak at all. The change in diet really did affect how I felt during the day. And it felt really good.

Blog Post 6: Design and Analysis of My New Diet

My 1 Day Diet Plan

My Planned Meals

Breakfast
Granola with Raisins - 1 cup
Skim Milk - 1/2 cup
Fruit Salad - 1 cup
Black Tea - 12 ounces

Lunch
BBQ Bourbon Chicken - 2 ounces
Salad with Carrots, Celery, Chickpeas and Balsamic Vinaigrette - 2 cups
Yogurt with Fruit and Granola - 1/2 cup
Water - 2 cups
Calcium and Vitamin D Fortified Orange Juice - 1 cup

Dinner
Wheat Bread - 2 slices
Lettuce- 2 pieces
Sliced Turkey - 2 ounces
Cheddar Cheese - 2 slices
Cranberry Juice - 1 cup
Water - 1 cup

Snacks
Apple
Water

Analysis of My New Diet

The bar graph shows that I've gotten better in most areas but I still need to increase my Vitamin D. I've gotten so much more nutrients with the healthy choices I made that day.

But according to MyPlate, I am not getting enough grains, vegetables, or milk and yogurt. So, I do need to monitor that I am getting ALL of the food groups and not just some.

Blog Post 5: My Alternative Diet

My New Diet

Based from my diet analysis, I feel the easiest way to change my diet is off of ChooseMyPlate.gov. I will follow their serving sizes of each food group and also limit myself on the amount of saturated fats and sugary drinks. The ChooseMyPlate.gov diet will help me add more variety and healthy choices to my diet. I will make half my plate fruits and vegetables (which it was about a quarter before).  Also, less grains and the amount of protein I have is good. I can choose leaner meats for my proteins though and limit the amount of red meats and eat weekly. I can also increase my dairy with more yogurt and milk. Eating with my friends and family will make it better as well.

How I Plan on Making My Changes

My analysis shows most that I need to reduce my saturated fats and sugar intake. So I will do that by staying away from fried foods and sugary drinks as much as possible. I will also increase my intake of whole grains instead of refined grains. I can also increase the amount of fruits and vegetables. I can increase my vitamin D and calcium by drinking the fortified orange juice and milk.

Hypothesis

By adding more vegetables and fruits, while also limiting my saturated fats and sugary drinks I can see myself getting ten times healthier. I will reduce the risk of heart problems and diabetes that run in my family by these changes.

Diet Analysis Part 2

Four Things I Want to Change About My Diet

1.

Sugar Loaded Drinks: This is the most unhealthy part of my diet. I can't lie. I love juice. But, I just need to learn how to drink it in moderation. First of all, it's too much sugar to begin with. And second it doesn't do much to keep my hydrated. It's a lot of added sugar and the only thing it can do for me in the long run is give me diabetes. It would be wise for me to just cut down the intake of these sugary drinks.

2.

The Amount of Vitamin D: It's really hard for me to get vitamin D. One, because I'm darker so it's hard to get vitamins D from the sun and two, because I never really had known how to get it from foods. I could eat more fatty fish and fortified milk and cereal which could also increase my fiber intake as well as my calcium. It got so bad that my doctor put me on a vitamin D supplement for about 3 months. This is definitely something I need to watch.

3.

Water and Milk Intake: These two are so important and it's missing almost completely. And believe me I learned my lesson. I went to the doctor and they had to draw blood out of my hand because I didn't have enough water in my system. Also, not having calcium is going to lead to me getting osteoporosis and then I'm going to get knee and ankle pains. I don't want that to happen. So, to stop it and get healthier I need to increase my water intake by about 500% and my milk and calcium by 200%. But, so far I've been drinking more milk and trying to add water as much as I can by substituting my juice at lunch for the fruit infused water in the cafeteria. Especially with water because that's the most important thing a person needs to survive.

4.

Fruit Intake: In my diet analysis, there was actually nothing at all in the fruit section. It was very disappointing. I love fruit, just not the Mville fruit salad. So, I try to stick to the apples and oranges. I just need the intake of fruits to actually start happening daily. It would make such a difference on the amount of vitamins I get and would make my life so much healthier.




Three Things I Like About My Diet

1.

 

Portion: As in my 2 day diet, I was doing pretty well with the portions. Sometimes though, it was very difficult to keep it like that. If I were to be more consistent with it, it would be so much easier to not overeat. Especially in the cafeteria. With so much options it's hard not to resist temptation. Also, sometimes things don't taste as good as they look and then you go in search for something else, which could also lead to overeating because of all the different options. But since the 2 day diet and my analysis for it, I've noticed how much I consume and how to really control my portions because of the total amount of daily calories the diet analysis tool gave me.

2.

Healthier Choices: After seeing the amount of vitamins I receive in the intake section of the diet analysis tool, I notice how much more I actually need. I had thought I was getting enough but I wasn't. After realizing this, I decided to just eat so much more vegetables and whole grains throughout the day. I am almost always picking from the array of things from the salad bar in the cafeteria and also watching my breakfast choices much more trying to add more color and healthy things then just plain bagels and things with so much enriched white flour. My diet and food choices are getting better and better.

3.

Being Consistent: This can't be related to my diet analysis in any way because the two days differed so greatly. But, by seeing that I decided I need some consistency in my diet. Since, I've been trying to make sure I consume the correct amount of food from each food group from MyPlate. It has been working and it's getting easier to automatically choose foods and the right amount of it. Of course every now and then I splurge and eat unhealthy but I'm starting to bounce back from those cravings more easily. I'm starting a pretty healthy routine.

Diet Analysis

My Diet Analysis

This is my average from both days on my 2 day blog. Overall I did well with calorie intake but I was very low in Vitamin D, Potassium, Fiber, and Water. I've had issues with Vitamin D so I expected that to be low as well as water because I didn't drink enough throughout the day. Now, that I can actually see how much I'm consuming and what nutrients I am getting I can more modify and see what I'm eating and how it will more affect me.

This is the full comparison from the 2 days I recorded my diet. According to the bar graph, the only thing that was more in the second day than the first was that I had more grains. I consumed no fruit at all which is totally awful. I also got only 1% Vitamin D on the second day and I really need to pay attention to that. But, since this I have started eating way more fruit salad and have fully switched to wheat bread. I have also begun drinking more water and noticing more portion control. This diet analysis tool really helped me realize what I eat and how it effects me. I can not see how much nutrients and fats and vitamins I am consuming. I am so much more aware of what I'm eating. A great start to a healthy journey.

My 2-Day Diet.....

Day One

An egg white omelet with cheese and bacon
 with a bowl of cocoa krispies with skim milk.

 The recording of my diet started off with an omelet and cereal. It would've been healthier but I was so tempted by the cocoa krispies. This was my busy day. Between classes, work, and clubs I was always doing something from 10:45 AM until 10:30 PM! Talk about crazy. But I honestly think that this meal made the start to my day more refreshing and energized instead of causing me to be tired throughout my day. 

 

Roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and a tossed
salad with caesar dressing and a cup of fruit punch.

 Lunch was just absolutely delicious.

I believe it was relatively healthy.

Between my small break this was a 

nice meal to give me some energy.

The food in the cafe wasn't bad at all

for lunch today.

       

 Stir-fry noodles with beef and string beans
 with a cup of orange-passion fruit juice.

My dinner was at the cafe again because I'm doing my

best to avoid food from the pub. These noodles were 

amazing. It was one of the best meals I've

encountered so far. I also love string beans so it

was a plus. I didn't finish the beef because it was 

dry but everything else was good. But, I did

start to notice that I had a lack of fruit and water.

Day Two

A ham sandwich with cheddar cheese and
 lettuce with a cup of brisk iced tea.



Dinner wasn't that tasty but I appreciated

the vegetables because I also love corn.

By the end of these two days I started

to realize that I really do lack important

nutrients and foods. I need to seriously

increase my intake of water and fruits.

It would definitely help establish a more

balanced diet.

Well today didn't start out well. I ended up skipping breakfast. My class started at 9:20 AM and didn't have time to eat until lunch. But when I got to lunch I wasn't too hungry. I ate a sandwich and had a cup of juice. I kept it really simple but still noticed I had no fruit.

Rice with mixed vegetables and chicken
 with a cup of brisk iced tea.