Food Diary and Nutritional Self-AssessmentAlyssa ReberWest Coast UniversityFood Diary and Nutritional Self-AssessmentFor three days, I have recorded everything that I have eaten and drank in order to evaluate my eating habits and determine if there is any need to change what I eat and the way I consume food. Since I already know that I am overweight and at risk for several disease processes because of this I have already been on the South Beach Diet regimen for a couple of weeks. Because of this it was less shocking to see what I was eating and drinking throughout the day. BMI and Hamwi Weight CalculationsAccording to Dudek, to calculate an individual’s body mass index you need to divide weight in kg by height in meters squared; weight(kg)/height(m2) (Dudek, S., 2018).
I know that I am 188 pounds which if I divide by 2.2 will put me at 85.45 kg.
I know that I am 68 inches tall, which according to Rapid Tables.com equals 1.7272 meters (Rapidtables.
com, 2018). I need to then square 1.7272 which equals 2.98.
I would then need to divide 85.45 by 2.98 which puts my Body Mass Index at 28.68. According to Dudek on Table 7.5, this BMI suggests that I am overweight (Dudek, S., 2018).
According to fitnesshealth101.com, Hamwi’s formula for finding a woman’s ideal body weight is for the first 5 feet there should be 100 pounds and for every inch above 5 feet you add another 5 pounds (fitnesshealth101.com, 2018).
Since I am 5 feet 8 inches by ideal body weight would be, 100 + 5(8) = 140 pounds. Based on these calculations I am 48 pounds’ overweight. I would have to agree with both of these approaches determining I am overweight, and as such, I am an unhealthy person.
Nutritional Intake AnalysisNutrients Recommended Dietary Allowances Day 1 Day 2 Day 3Carbohydrates (g) 188 190 134 105Fat (g) 50 51 32 49Protein (g) 75 91 68 89Fiber (g) 25 21 29 36Sugar (g) 56 37 69 29Saturated (g) 17 10 12 11Polyunsaturated(g) 0 2 0 1Monounsaturated(g) 0 5 0 3Tans (g) 0 0 0 0Cholesterol(mg) 300 90 95 85Sodium (mg) 2300 2038 1283 1999Potassium (mg) 3500 1046 2035 2183Vitamin A (%) 100 69 452 445Vitamin C (%) 100 338 325 619Calcium (%) 100 87 53 110Iron (%) 100 50 67 79Carbohydrates: I was shocked at how much I went over the first day and even the second day. It’s clear to me now that I must really watch the amount of fruits I consume. And obviously eliminate any fruit juices and alcoholic beverages from my diet.
Fats: I was pleased to see that I stayed right about where I was supposed to on my fat consumption except for day 2. I need to pay better attention to the labels on the food packages and see whether or not I should add a tiny amount of olive oil to my salads if the fat consumption is going to be that low for a particular day.Protein: I definitely eat way more protein than recommended but that’s most likely due to most diets being high protein in the beginning to help with the fat loss. I’m considering eliminating one of the protein shakes a day to lower my protein intake closer to the recommended intake.Fiber: My fiber intake is really good, day 3 I increased the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables I consumed which accounts for why my fiber intake was much higher. I think overall there isn’t anything to change for this category.Sugar: Again for the most part I did extremely good keeping my sugar intake low, except for day 2. Although the lemonade taste so good, it defiantly cannot be a part of my diet if I want to lose weight.
Saturated: I consistently consumed low amounts of saturated fats which I am happy about. Since this isn’t the best type of fatty acids to consume its best to keep the amount of this nutrient ingested to a minimum. Polyunsaturated: I consumed very minimal amount of this nutrient which is okay I guess. Although it does help to lower LDL’s and decrease the risk of heart attack I want to keep any type of fat consumption at a minimum (Dudek, 2018). I think once I get through the first phase of my weight loss journey I will be adding in more fish into my diet.Monounsaturated: Again, this nutrient was one of the lowest I consumed over the three days.
Not one of the “bad” fats but also one that you should be careful about the amounts being consumed. Like I said before, when I have a day where I know there isn’t a lot of fat being ingested I can add a tablespoon of olive oil to my salad. Trans: I haven’t eaten any trans fats while adhering to my diet. This is exciting because it means that I don’t have to worry about this particular macronutrient increasing my LDL’s and decreasing my HDL’s (Dudek, 2018). Cholesterol: I was also very happy to see that I consumed extremely low levels of cholesterol. According to Dudek, there is no way to determine “good” or “bad” cholesterol ingested it is in my best interest to keep the amount I eat at a minimum.
Sodium: I was extremely happy about my sodium level intake during these three days. Although it would be better to have a lower amount consumed I stayed beneath the AHA’s recommend maximum intake of 2400 mg per day (AHA, 2018). In the next phase of my weight loss journey I plan to rely more on home cooked foods and not the prepackaged diet foods so there is potential to lower the amount of sodium I consume.
Potassium: This result was disappointing. I came in way low for the recommended amount I should be ingestion which tells me that the diet food lacks this important nutrient. I can incorporate more vegetables in my diet plan that contain loads of potassium like beets, parsnips, and swiss chard (Jones, T., 2017).Vitamin A: The first day I didn’t get enough of this nutrient and the second and third day I consumed an extremely large amount of this nutrient. This is a little worrisome because it is a fat-soluble vitamin and is stored in adipose tissue for later use and the risk of toxicity is high (Dudek, 2018).
I’m going to need to really pay attention to the amount of Vitamin A that’s in every food item I consume and most likely need to change out certain food items to decrease my risk of toxicity.Vitamin C: Throughout the whole three days I consumed over triple the amount I needed for the day. With this vitamin, I am not concerned too much about the risk of toxicity since it is a water- soluble vitamin I will most likely excrete what my body doesn’t need (Dudek, 2018). Because I do currently smoke it is better that I consume more Vitamin C because smoking causes an increase in metabolic turnover of this particular vitamin (Dudek, 2018). Calcium: It seems that I am pretty inconsistent in my consumption of calcium which I feel is concerning. To resolve this, I will need to eat larger amounts of dark, leafy greens such as kale or collard greens which contain large amounts of calcium and increase my consumption of fresh vegetables (Jennings, K., 2018).Iron: I did not meet my daily requirements for Iron intake any of the three days.
In order to boost my intake of this important nutrient I would again eat more dark, leafy greens, mushrooms, and flavor my foods with thyme since it also contains a lot of iron (Petre, A., 2017).Medication EffectsI do not currently take any medications. But if I am to continue with the eating patterns I had before starting my diet, such as eating fast food multiple times a week, I would expect to develop hypertension. If this was to occur there are several different types of medications that I may be prescribed. One that could affect my excretion rate of water-soluble vitamins would be Lisinopril, which is an ACE inhibitor causing the release of sodium and water by the kidneys (ATI, 2016). Emotional AnalysisI’m not usually an emotional eater.
More times than not if I am upset or stressed out I won’t eat at all. I did realize that if I plan on exercising or increasing my activity level I do have more motivation to eat something because I know I will need the nutrients for energy. There was nothing extraordinary about these three days so it is pretty indicative of what my routine would be in a long term time frame.
Physical and Medical Conditions that Influence DietI have known for quite some time that I am overweight and that is the reason I have chosen to jump start my weight loss goals with a specific diet. Last year I was diagnosed with Stage 3 cervical dysplasia and developing better eating habits can help prevent recurrence of this disease process. According to Dr. Andrew Weil, cervical dysplasia has been linked to a low intake of B Vitamins and consuming large amounts of fresh vegetables and fruits help prevent the occurrence of cervical dysplasia (Weil, A., 2018). With this information, it would be a wise decision for me to start taking B Vitamin supplements as well as increasing my intake of foods that contain Vitamin B.Cultural InfluencesI do not practice any religion and I do not have any significant cultural guidelines to follow.
The one thing that does come to mind is more of a socio-economical influence. Growing up my family was on a very tight budget which meant there was no room to be wasteful. When it came to eating and food there was a very strict rule that whatever you put on your plate you must finish because we couldn’t afford to throw away food. I find that I still abide by this rule as an adult. Even if I feel full while eating, if there is food left on my plate I feel obligated to eat it all so that I do not waste anything. I believe this to be an unhealthy eating habit because I have trained my body to over eat and I definitely do not need the extra calories since I do not live an extremely active lifestyle.
Diet Plan SMART GoalsAs someone who is already on a specific diet, my goal is to increase the amount of dark, leafy vegetables in order to increase my calcium and iron intake. I currently eat a spinach salad once a day to every other day, by increasing that to eating a salad containing spinach and kale to twice a day my goal should not be hard to achieve. Since I am on a diet already it is expected that I follow specific guidelines which include eating 5 or more servings of fresh vegetables daily. With proper planning and prepping I should be able to complete this goal within 3 weeks. One obstacle I may face while trying to achieve this goal is not prepping my food in advance.
I tend to procrastinate, so this could hinder having the appropriate foods available.As someone who lives a sedentary life style, my goal is to run for 60 minutes a day. Currently I walk at a leisurely pace every once in a while, I want to consistently increase my activity level to walking every day and eventually running every day. Since I am home 5 days a week I can schedule in a time every day to walk. Since my exercise tolerance is low it will take time to build my endurance, and I can achieve my goal with in 6 months. One obstacle I may face while trying to achieve this goal is planning my time accordingly to allow for time to exercise. As someone who is overweight, my goal is to lower my Body Mass Index to under 25 to become a healthier person.
My BMI is currently 28.6, by consistently keeping my calorie intake below 1400 a day. By maintaining my current diet and increasing the amount of fresh vegetables I eat per day this goal should be attainable.
Since it is healthier to lose weight at a rate of 1-2 pounds per week I should be able to achieve my goal within 6 months (CDC.gov, 2018). One obstacle I may face when trying to achieve this goal is becoming bored with the food options allowed in this diet and the upcoming holiday feasts.
I definitely need to keep motivated in order to continue eating healthier. ReferencesAndrew Weil M.D.
(2018). Cervical Dysplasia. Retrieved from https://www.drweil.
com/health-wellness/health-centers/women/cervical-dysplasia/AHA (2018). How Much Sodium Should I Eat Per Day? Retrieved from: https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/sodium/how-much-sodium-should-I-eat-per-dayATI Pharmacology (2016). RN Pharmacology for Nursing (7th ed). Assessment Technology Institute LLC.CDC.
gov, (2018). Losing Weight. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.
gov/healthyweight/losing_weight/index.htmlDudek, S. (2018). Nutrition Essentials for Nursing Practice (8th ed.) Philadelphia, PA; Wolters Kluwerfitnesshealth101.com, (2018).
The Hamwi Approach to Determine your Optimum Weight. Retrieved from http://www.fitnesshealth101.com/fitness/weight-loss/optimum-weight/hamwi-approachJennings, K. (2018).
Top 15 Calcium Rich Foods (Many are Non-Dairy). Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/15-calcium-rich-foodsJones, T. (2017).
14 Healthy Foods that are High in Potassium. Retrieved from: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/high-potassium-foodsPetre, A. (2017). 21 Vegetarian Foods that are Loaded with Iron.
Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/iron-rich-plant-foodsRapidTables.com, (2018). Inches to Meters conversion.
Retrieved from https://www.rapidtables.com/convert/length/inch-to-meter.html
