Nutrition

Introduction

Nutrition plays a very important role in our lives, it could help to extend or decrease our life span as well as define our degree of livelihood as we progress into old age. With our potential to live longer than ever before comes the urgent need to monitor and adjust the amounts, the types of food and supplements that we ingest into our bodies. Proper nutrition in our early years will not only lead to a learned commitment but will also lead to a lifetime habit toward a healthy extended life. Realizing the importance of nutrition in the human body I will be discussing insights learned from recording my food and beverage intake and its relation to the Atkins weight loss program. I will make reference column number 2 in my Personal Food Guide below "Recommended Nutrients by the USDA", the remaining columns reference my personal current food guide based on two days consumption.

Personal Diet and Weight Loss Management Analysis &USDA Food Guide Recommended Nutrients

Record all food and beverages consumed for a two-day period on the Food Journal. Be sure to record the amount of each item eaten. Using the Nutrient Analysis Matrix, fill in each cell of the Food Journal with the nutritional amounts provided by the foods and beverages consumed. Be sure to adjust the nutritional values to correspond to the amount of the food and beverages consumed. After completing your Personal Diet and Weight Loss Management Analysis, complete the written analysis.

FOOD SELECTION RECOMMENDED NUTRIENT AMOUNT BREAD, CEREAL, RICE, PASTA SERVINGS VEGETABLE SERVINGS FRIUT SERVINGS MILK, YOGURT, CHEESE SERVINGS MEAT, POULTRY, FISH, DRY BEANS, EGG, NUT SERVINGS FAT, OIIL, SWEET SERVINGS TOTAL CALORIES PROTEIN GMS FAT GMS CARB GMS FIBER GMS WATER OZ SODIUM MGS IRON % OF RDA CHOLESTEROL MGS CALCIUM %OF RDA

RDA 1.1mg/d 10gm/d 177gm/d 1.1mg/d 150mg/d 100gm/d 1845 100gm/d 100gm/d 177gm/d 35 g 64oz 100mg/d 18mg/d 100mg 600mg/d

Oat Porridge Ð... cup 12oz 31 2.4 1.4 12.5 2.0 0.16 0.4 0.5 0.0 38.5

Water 16cups 128

Orange Juice 2 cups 1cup 0.6 0.2 9.8 0.4 75.5 0.9 0.2 0.00 9.8

Apple 2 2 253g 0.4 0.8 38 4.8 108.1 0.0 0.2 0.0 10.2

Avocado 8oz 1 2.3 17.6 8.5 5.8 85.4 11.5 1.2 0.0 12.7

Brown Rice Ð... cup 1cup 17 5.0 1.8 44.8 3.5 142.5 9.8 0.8 0.0 19.5

Fish 6oz 8oz 220 41.1 1.5 0.0 0.0 136.7 140.4 0.9 99.0 25.2

Corn Ð... cup 1 cup 55 15.6 7.9 123.3 0.00 17.2 58.1 4.5 0.00 11.6

Cabbage 1 cup 1cup 0.6 0.3 2.7 1.7 56.2 153.0 0.1 0.0 18.6

Cranberry Juice 8oz 2cups 0.00 0.4 62.6 0.4 371.9 8.7 0.7 0.0 13.1

Olive Oil 27g 54g 54g 0.0 13.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Lemonade 2cups 1cup 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 29.4 0.9 0.0 0.0 6.2

Spinach 2 cups 1cup 2.5 0.4 3.4 2.6 102.4 2.1 0.9 0.0 79.8

Milk 3 cups 1 cup 1 cup 2.1 2.1 3.1 0.0 10.4 48.5 0.1 12.9 108.3

Swiss Steak - Vegetarian 6oz 1serving 120 15.5 9.2 5.5 4.1 34.6 641.2 0.9 0.9 64.8

Realizing that it is extremely important to consume a variety of nutrient-dense food and beverage within and among the basic food groups while choosing food that limit the intake of saturated and trans fat, cholesterol, added sugar and salt, in my daily diet I endeavor to consume as much as possible in line with the government recommendation. As shown on my food guide over two days consumption of food types, I have little variance with the recommended intake. My variances are in milk and vegetables. Nonetheless, I tend to stray sometimes as in order to obtain quality food it is very costly. As a result I am unable to consistently maintain this eating habit which results in some deficiencies such as insufficient servings of vegetables daily, sometimes too many carbohydrates as one tends to substitute food, excessive protein an no carbs.

In order to maintain optimum desire health I realize that there are some changes in my food choices necessary to achieve this. One such change is to grow my own vegetable garden at home to ensure my vegetables are pure. Secondly to be able to shop at the Farmers market more often to obtain fresh fruits and vegetables. Thirdly to purchase organic food out of season for farmers market versus the fertilized food. Fourthly to purchase more fruits and vegetables to have the ability to eat the correct amount of daily recommended servings.

I consider my diet to be very healthy as I am very selective with my food groups. I believe I have a good intake of protein, carbs and fat to live a healthy lifestyle. In addition to my diet I ensure that physical activity is a part of my daily routine as it helps me to burn calories and combat excessive weight gain. Prior to making the above changes my diet was inconsistent as I was eating to survive rather than with a goal for nourishment and optimum health.

I consider my future years to be filled with health and wellness as I am motivated to maintain a balance diet providing the right nutrients for my body. In addition, I do not over eat to become obese or have deficiencies that will cause various illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension etc. Maintaining daily physical activity will enhance my fat use, increase my energy expenditure and prevent relapse.

The selected weight loss plan for me would be Atkins diet. When considering a diet I look at several factors such as the philosophy behind the diet. Atkins philosophy states fewer carbohydrates, more protein. Restricting carbs turns on the body's fat-burning equipment, putting it into what the late Robert Atkins referred to as benign dietary ketosis (BDK). Simply put, this metabolic pathway, according to Atkins, is the one that breaks down stored body fat. When diets are high in carbs, the body burns them as fuel. But when carbs are restricted, the body must burn fat. Another key: lots of protein and fat. Atkins says these foods are satiating, and dieters are unlikely to binge on chicken, shrimp, or bacon.

In comparing the number of calories supplied by Atkins to the US RDA for protein, fiber, vitamins A,D,E,C, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin , calcium and iron I found they were all very similar in calories.