3-Day Diet Analysis

3-Day Diet Analysis
Billy Davis
SCI/241
May 12, 2013
Augusta Downey

3-Day Diet Analysis
My current diet is a complete disaster. Because of my work schedule, I don’t get up until around 11:00am, so when I do wake I have a cup or two of orange juice which is what I consider to be my breakfast. On the way to work, I grab a hamburger and soft drink. Also, I sometimes skip the soft drink and get a Monster energy drink if I am still tired from the night before. I have to put Devion on the bus in the morning which leaves me very sleepy most days, so I use this as an excuse to grab the energy drinks to make it through each day. My day at work is really boring, so, my co-worker and I sit and eat to actually entertain ourselves throughout the day. One of my major obstacles will be to ignore her when she offers me some foods or snacks because she really likes to eat several different snacks throughout the day. She really gets offended if someone turns down her offer for a snack, but, I would really like to lose some of this weight.
The results for my new diet when compared to the recommendations from the SuperTracker are very bad indeed. I am not eating enough grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy or protein foods. An average for the amount of grains I consumed was 6 and a half ounces which is 2 servings each of these days. I consumed one and a half cup of fruits and vegetables which is about 2 servings on Saturday. I did not eat any other fruit during this three day period. I also consumed a quarter cup of dairy. From the proteins foods group, I consumed 2 and a half ounces and from the oils groups which is not a serving at all, but when this measured is about 2 teaspoons.
I am going to modify my diet by getting up each morning to have breakfast. This will allow me to eat some bacon which would put more protein into my diet. The bacon would fall under the Protein Foods Group. Also, I can add a biscuit without butter to add more grains to my diet. Also, I can try to have some fruit during breakfast and actually as a snack throughout the day so that I meet the minimum for fruit intake. I suppose I could also try eating some green beans or potatoes so that I can consume enough vegetables. Also, I can cut out the energy drinks and soda.
The six classes of nutrients are grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy, protein foods, and oils. The tracker shows that I am under for whole grains but over for refined grains. I am under each of the color types of vegetables including starchy and other. I will really make an attempt to eat more vegetables. For fruit juice and whole juice there was no specific target specified. Also, for dairy there was no specific target specified. The tracker shows that I am under for dairy products, so, even though I feel that I am somewhat lactose intolerant I will try to consume more calcium supplements. The Oils was the only group in which I consumed the average eaten. I noticed on a couple of days that my sodium intake was around 1867. The limit for sodium is 2300, so, I am very concerned about the amount of sodium I am eating every day. Some diseases in African Americans are hypertensive, diabetic and chronic kidney disease. I now know that I should reduce my sodium to 1500 mg a day. In addition, people who are age 51 and older need to reduce sodium to 1500 mg a day, and, since I am 46 I guess I should start working toward lowering my sodium intake to 1500 mg a day because I do not want to deal with any illnesses unless it is absolutely unavoidable. Races other than African American need to reduce their sodium intake to less than 2300 mg a day.
After reviewing the information provided in the tracker I can now understand the importance of controlling my diet and nutrient intake. I purchased a cup so that I can now measure my servings of all food groups to ensure that I am no longer overeating. I really do not think that I am eating the required amount of calories each, but, because of the types of foods that I am eating I am putting my life at risk for illnesses that can be avoided by eating the right foods. I also noticed that physical activity can help with my future weight goals so I plan to not only began a workout regimen, but, I will also track my new diet to ensure that I am on track and eating the right foods.

References
SuperTracker (1.0) [Computer Software]. Retrieved from
https://www.supertracker.usda.gov/foodtracker.aspx

References: SuperTracker (1.0) [Computer Software]. Retrieved from https://www.supertracker.usda.gov/foodtracker.aspx