dietary

Tracking my daily food intake is not new to me since I have followed Weight-Watcher’s in the past and keeping a food diary is a cornerstone of the program. However, the difference is Weight-Watcher’s food tracking was paper-based and I used www.fitday.com to analyze my food intake this time. I definitely loved the idea of using a computer-based program because within a few seconds of entering my data it provides me with clear a snapshot of my nutrition, not only statistically but also graphically.
My total calorie intake for the average day is low when compared to RDA values (Recommended Dietary Allowance) and that is the plan I have been following since my brief Personal Evaluation in week two. I was overweight, 145 pounds, at the time and I started following a 1500-calorie diet knowing that my RDA is around 2000 calories. This 500 calorie/day deficit allows me to lose one pound/ week without affecting my BMR (Basal Metabolic rate) significantly or depriving me of food. Today I am pleased to write that I weigh 133 pounds, which means I lost 12 pounds in 12 weeks!
In the case of daily carbohydrate consumption, it is the exact opposite of caloric consumption. The recommended RDA for carbohydrates for me is 135 grams/day while I am eating an astonishing average of 240 grams/day of carbs, while some days topping to 266g/day, which is 200% of the RDA! I had a false belief that as far as I was following AMDR (Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range), I would be eating a balanced diet. However, that was not the case. I am consuming 63% carbohydrates according to AMDR, but I am almost at 200% compared to RDA. Finally, I recalled the difference between RDA and AMDR from reading chapter 3 in the textbook. I am on the upper end for the carbohydrates intake of AMDR, which is a percentage of total energy intake and the top numbers of the range associated with chronic diseases. On the other hand, RDA is the standard for intake of nutrients and meets the needs of 98% of the individuals. I did not use % DV (Daily Value) to compare my nutrition intake because it is based on a 2000 calorie diet not the 1500 calorie diet. The good thing is the most part of carbohydrate intake is from complex carbohydrates like grain, legumes and vegetables while the small part comes from fruits and added sugar. Thanks to the sugar intake assignment, I seldom drink soda now because every time I see soda I see a pile of sugar and stop myself from grabbing it.
In my diet, protein accounts for average 14% of AMDR, which is in the lower end of AMDR range of 10%- 35% for normal healthy person. RDA for protein is 0.8 g/kg/day, which is around 48 g/day for my weight. During this week, my protein consumption was in range of the 45g/day to 64g/day averaging to 53.8 g/per day. Low fat dairy products, legumes, nuts, beans and lentils provide me with the protein. Being a vegetarian, milk and dairy product are my sole source of complete protein; however, I try to include complementary proteins like beans and rice in my diet. Honestly, I am quite happy with my protein analysis because my protein intake was quite low during the brief personal analysis, which is one of the pit falls for being a vegetarian. However, since then I learned to include protein when I plan the menus, and I succeeded.
Although there is no RDA for the fat, my consumption of fat represents at 24% of AMDR, which is within the acceptable range of total fat of AMDR, 20% to 35% of total calories. My average total fat intake is perfectly fine at average 41g/ day, which should be somewhere 33g/day to 58 g/day according to calculated AMDR. Saturated fat intake should be less than 10% of total calories, that is less than 16 g/day and my intake was 11.3 gram/day, so I was within the accepted range. Most of my saturated fat comes from milk products even though I consume fat-free or 1% dairy products. Out of 41 grams, the rest of 30 grams of fat is polysaturated whereas monosaturated “good” fat comes from nuts, beans, canola oil and olive oil. I added walnuts and flaxseed (grounded) to my diet to obtain Omega-3. My cholesterol intake was low, at a mere 50 mg whereas the recommend limit is 300 mg/per day.
The next nutrient intake to be analyzed is my fiber intake. The recommended AI, Adequate Intake, for fiber, is 38g/day for a man and 25g/day for a woman, of which the latter applies to me. My fiber intake was at the 100% of AI level at 25g/day for women of my age. However, it is not a big surprise, being a vegetarian, that the food that provided me with fiber was the fresh fruits, vegetables, beans and legumes. Insoluble fiber comes from wheat, rice and vegetables, while the sources of soluble fiber are oatmeal, apple, banana, peach, prune, dates, beans and nuts.
For the most part, I am receiving adequate amounts of vitamins and minerals. The only vitamins and minerals I am constantly lacking in throughout the week are vitamin E at 40% of the RDA, vitamin C at 58% of the RDA, vitamin D at 24% of the RDA and the mineral Iron at 78% of RDA. On the other hand, the mineral sodium is first on the list to cut back as I consumed an average 200% of RDA sodium daily. I generally do not add salt to my food, but I observed that processed foods and fat free versions of foods like low fat cheese are main culprits of having excess salt. I need to be more cautious about reading the labels when grocery shopping and should opt for low-sodium or sodium-free food.
I chose to track my diet from Tuesday, November 1 to Monday, November 7 because I was off work that weekend. I work 12 hours on a weekend night shift, which makes it hard for me to decide which meal I am consuming, breakfast, lunch or dinner. During the weekdays, my day starts with late breakfast around 10 am because of my disturbed circadian clock. I have lunch by 1:00 pm and dinner around 6:00 pm with my family. I consume a snack or two in between meals, drink 8-10 glasses of water and refrain from drinking juice, soft drinks or alcohol.
The first day I kept having to remind myself to jot down my foods in the food diary, but then it came naturally. I consumed 1726 calories on Tuesday, which is around 200 more calories than my budget of 1500 calories. My breakfast includes tea, milk and cereal; for lunch, I had salad, soup, and a burrito for dinner. The worst part about my diet for the day was my 291-gram carbs, which is high for the RDA and the AMDR. My fat was up to 19% and protein was up to 14% with dietary fiber around 36g. However, the next day there was a small improvement in my carb intake to 237 gram with 1525 total calories consumed. My fat consumption was 27 % of the AMDR and my protein intake was low at 12% of the AMDR. My salt intake was up to 145% of the RDA, but I had potato chips with a veggie wrap for lunch and tortilla chips with rice/beans for dinner, so it was not very surprising. However, my breakfast was healthy with tea and milk and cereal as usual. The dietary analysis turned out the same for the third day, Thursday, was almost the same as the previous two days with a high carb intake at 246 grams, which is 190% of the RDA and 65% of the AMDR. My total calorie intake was 1493, which was within the recommendation of a 1500-calorie diet. The breakfast was a regular whole wheat bagel with raisins, tea and milk, while lunch was a grilled cheese sandwich with low-fat strawberry yogurt. Once again, my sodium intake was high at 170% of the RDA, which can be blamed on my dinner of Chinese fried rice and lo-Mein, a no- brainer!
On the fourth day of my diet analysis, I suddenly realized I was following a trend: high carbs, high sodium, and within range of fats and protein with a 1500-calorie diet. I made oatmeal for breakfast with tea and milk, lunch was vegetable baked beans, and for dinner, I had pizza. Friday is pizza night, but the pizzas are home made with low-fat cheese and vegetable toppings. However, no matter what I ate, Chinese, Italian, or Mexican my diet analysis ended up pretty much the same. I consumed 188% carb of the RDA and a mind-blowing 232% of the sodium of RDA. Fat intake was 23% of the AMDR and protein intake was 17% of the AMDR with a total 1545 calories/day.
Saturday, the fifth day, I decided to tweak my diet with hopes of curbing my carbohydrate and sodium intake, so I cooked an Indian dish for dinner: sprouted mug beans with wild rice. I went out shopping after my breakfast of tea and milk and cereal. I snack on dried prunes (to help with constipation) and a dried fruit and nut mix. I grabbed tortilla chips and cheese from taco bell for lunch. A healthy dinner helped me to do better with my sodium and protein, which is 64% of the RDA and 123% of the RDA respectively; However, I again consumed 186% of the RDA for carbohydrates with a total 1458 calories/day!
Sunday, the sixth day of my diet tracking, started with the usual breakfast of a bowl of cereal with milk and a cup of Indian tea. I was busy with the house chores, so I grabbed some dates and crackers with cheese at lunchtime. My dinner was vegetable curry with rice and kidney bean salad. I did well with my protein and fiber consumption, which was 105% and, 145% of the RDA, however it was frustrating to see a high carb and sodium intake was again for the RDA, which was 200% and 165% of the RDA respectively.
Finally, the last day of the food diary, I had a pumpkin muffin with tea and milk for breakfast. I grabbed some peanuts, one banana and a low-fat blueberry yogurt at lunch. I prepared a rice-vegetable medley for dinner. I consumed a total 1443 calories, which comprised of 214-grams of carbohydrates (166% of RDA), 44.8-grams of protein (97% of RDA) and 48.4-grams of total fat (29% of AMDR). Yet, nothing can beat my sodium intake, which was 202% of the RDA, a true silent killer!
After having a better understanding of my diet and food consumption, I can definitely improve my diet in three ways: carbohydrate and protein consumption, vitamin intake for vitamin D, E, and C as well as mineral intake for iron and sodium. For a balanced intake of macronutrients, I need to decrease the carbohydrate consumption and increase the protein intake because my carbohydrates are in upper range (45% to 65%) to 63% of the AMDR while my protein intake is 14% of the AMDR in the lower end of the range (10% to 35%). As I am lacto- ovo -vegetarian, I am planning to include eggs in my breakfast that will increase my total protein intake as well complete proteins, which I totally lack in my diet. For my vitamin C intake, I will include more variety of fruits including citrus fruits. For vitamin D, I need to add some food fortified with vitamin D, such as milk, and cereal. In addition, the analysis software does not take sun exposure in to account, so that is another source to obtain vitamin D. Normally, I like nuts and seeds and get enough vitamin E from that, but the only problem is the high calories associated with them. Right now, I am trying to stay in negative energy balance to reduce my weight so I consume nuts sparingly. Once I am up to my optimum weight, I can include more nuts, seeds, and oil in my diet. In addition, vitamin D and vitamin E are fat-soluble vitamin, so I am sure I have enough fat in storage for a while and I am not in imminent danger of any deficiency. From the class I learned that the intestinal track absorbs more of the heme iron than nonheme iron and my diet only contains nonheme iron, so I am at a disadvantage to start with. However, I can correct this deficiency by consuming vitamin C rich foods with vegetables that have a good amount of iron to increase the nonheme iron absorption such as spinach with tomato. In addition iron fortified food or cereal is also a source of iron that I can include in my diet to prevent iron-deficiency anemia.
What surprises me the most about my diet is my carbohydrate intake. I used to keep a log of my food in the past by calorie intake and by a point system (Weight Watcher’s), but I would never have realized that my carbohydrate intake was astonishingly up to 200% for the RDA without dietary analysis software. No wonder I kept gaining weight without well-balanced macronutrients! This nutritional analysis has provided me with a wonderful opportunity to look at my diet in a completely new light. It is my full intent to take in what I am learning in this class and apply it to my life for the better of my family and myself.