personal dietary project step one: keeping food and ... 2008/mcmullen... · biol 221, spring 2008...

Biol 221, Spring 2008

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Personal Dietary Project Step One: Keeping Food and Activity Records In this project, you will record, analyze, and interpret your food intake and activity output with the help of the Diet Analysis+ version 8.0.1 that came with your textbook. All of your Food and Activity Records (as well as the rest of the pages in the assignment) need to be in a pocketed folder when you turn it in! (And if I were you, I’d keep a photocopy of your assignment, just in case.) The entire project is due on Thursday, March 27th. INSTRUCTIONS: PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU BEGIN! You’ll record everything that you ingest and all your activities for three days. Then, you will analyze and interpret what you have recorded here. You’ll gain valuable insight about your eating and exercise habits. Are you excited?!? A sample day is included to help illustrate the instructions. If you’re still not sure, ask me! How to Record Food and Beverages: 1. Pick two weekdays and one weekend day, midnight to midnight. They do not need to be consecutive. Indicate the dates you chose in the appropriate blanks. These must be reasonable days, i.e., no fasting, etc. For every food and activity you record, list a time of day in the “Time” column. 2. Record a description and amount for everything you eat or drink (including water) for 3 days on the forms provided. Try to keep your diet as typical as possible. Supplements should be recorded in the space at the bottom of each form. 3. Describe items in as much detail as possible. Things you should include: type of item (white vs whole-wheat vs rye bread); raw vs cooked (if it can be eaten either way); how it was cooked (e.g., baked, fried, boiled). See the sample. • Record your entries as soon as possible after eating. Don’t rely on your memory! • List everything. Don’t forget “add ons” such as: gravy, jelly, butter, margarine, salt, sauces, salad dressing, nuts, cheese, sugar, milk, or cream. 4. Write down how much you ate/drank in the "Amount" column. Use household measures (tsp, Tbsp, cups, fluid ounces), unless other quantities (oz, piece, half, slice, grams) are appropriate. Your text has some estimate tips and conversion factors for weights & measures if needed. (When you get to the computer program, it actually has visual aids to help you estimate too.) 5. Combination dishes (casseroles, sandwiches, etc.) should be separated into their major components. (See example of spaghetti with tomato sauce and beef on the attached sample.) How to record activities: Use the same three days (midnight to midnight) as for your food records. In the column titled “Activity”, write down whatever you were doing, and for how long under “Duration”. You don’t have to be super-detailed for most activities of daily living, for example, personal hygiene activities can just be clustered like: “Showering, etc.: 1 hr, 15 minutes”. For activities where you are moving around a lot (walking, exercise routines, etc.) you should be more detailed, indicating the intensity of the work. You need to account for all 24 hours (1440 minutes) in each day. See attached sample. DON’T FORGET: Neatness counts! If it can’t be read, it can’t be graded, so therefore, it will be marked wrong. If you are prone to sloppiness, you may want to record everything on scrap paper or a photocopy of the form, then transfer it legibly onto the original forms.


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Food and Activity Record Name__________________________________ Day/Date Recorded____________________

List any nutrition supplements taken on this date:

Food/Fluid Description Amount Time of Day Activity Duration


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Personal Dietary Project Step Two: Computer Entry and Analysis You will need to use a computer that has access to the internet, a printer, and the system requirements listed on the back of the software box. You will also need your “Food and Activity Records” from Step One. All of the printouts from this step, as well as all of the other papers from Steps One and Three, need to be included in your pocketed folder when you turn it in on Thursday, March 27th. 1) Follow the instructions from the back of the software box to launch the software. It takes a little while to load. Do not panic! Just follow its instructions. 2) I highly recommend running the Quick Start tutorial programs for setting up a profile, tracking diet, and printing assignments before you do anything else! So please do that! I don’t care if you take the quizzes for them or not, so do not send them to me. 3) Okay, so now you should know what to do, right? If you have any other questions, the Help (question mark) button is very good! 4) First, Create your Profile (Profile: Start Here), as the tutorial explained. When it asks you about “Student Information”, please enter your first and last name, and McMullen, Biol 221. 5) Enter your food and beverage items as you were shown on the tutorial for your first day. Make sure you select the correct date! (One thing that the tutorial didn’t say was that if you are having trouble deciding which food is closest to the one you ate, you can click the little (i) beside the item. If you still have the food label, you can compare it to the information that pops up, and decide if it is close.) 6) Now enter your activities—the window for “Track Activities” works just about the same as the one for foods. Please account for all 1440 minutes of the day! 7) When you enter your remaining days into the computer, choose consecutive days on the little calendar, even if you didn’t do consecutive days in real life. (It won’t print out right if you don’t do them as three days in a row.) If you had to enter them as different days into the computer, please jot this down on your Food/Activity record next to the real date something like “Entered into computer as 3/1/08”. 8) You do not have to “click” anything to save the data—it just does it. You also do not need to do all the data entry at one time, because the computer will remember your profile and its food/activity entries—HOWEVER, if you might not be using the same computer next time (or you’re like me and you don’t trust the little stinkers), you can export your information to a disk or USB flash drive. (See “Export a Profile to Disk” with the Help/? Button.) 9) After you have entered in all your foods/beverages and activities for all three days, follow the tutorial instructions for Printing Assignments. I need you to print the 3-Day Average Report. Make sure the start day selected (red day) is the first of your 3 consecutive days. Now you are ready for Step Three: Interpret your results!


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Personal Dietary Project Step Three: Interpretation Now you will examine the computer’s analysis of your diet and activities and interpret this information in terms of recommended intakes. Then you will identify the positive changes you can make! Ground Rules: Read each question through before you answer it! Remember to write neatly (if I can’t read it, I won’t grade it). Answers should be concise, but complete. If a question doesn’t apply to you, put a “N/A” in the appropriate area (so I know you didn’t just skip it!). I deduct the most points for incomplete projects and unanswered questions! EVERYTHING from all 3 steps of the project (printouts, your food/activity records, your interpretation answers, etc.) is due in a pocketed folder, at the beginning of class on Thursday, March 27th. Points will be deducted for late assignments. Become familiar with your printouts: Your 3 day average printouts will include: Profile DRI Goals—this section tells you what your personal DRIs are, based on your gender, height, weight, age, and stated activity level in your profile—so, this is what you should be eating according to the USDA. Energy Nutrient Intake and DRI Goal Ranges Compared—This is just comparing the average intake from your three days against the AMDRs. Fat as Percentage of Total Calories—Tells you what types of fat you have in your diet. Intake and DRI Goals Compared—This takes your average intake from your three days and compares it directly with those DRI goals. MyPyramid Analysis—Analyses your intake in terms of the food groups. Complete Intake Spreadsheets (a set for each of your three days)—this tells you exactly what nutrients were in each item you ate. Energy Balance—A comparison of your kcalories consumed vs kcalories burned based on the foods and activities you entered. Do you have everything? Check that all your printouts have your name printed on them—write it if for some reason they didn’t print out correctly. We are going to see if your dietary intake fits with all the “ideals”: Adequacy, Balance, Kcalorie control, Density of nutrients, Moderation and Variety—but not necessarily in that order! (Do you remember these concepts? If you need to refresh your memory, they are discussed on pgs. 37-39 of your text.)


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Balance As you know, the food guide pyramid is a pretty good model for diet planning because it illustrates the proportions of a balanced diet. Find your “MyPyramid Analysis” printout. In the table below, fill in your % Goal, then answer the question for each group—too much (≥125% of goal), too little (≤75% of goal), or about right (76-124% of goal).

Group % Goal Too much, too little, or about right?

Grains

Vegetables

Fruits

Milk

Meat & Beans

Discretionary Kcal

According to the Pyramid, would you say that your diet is balanced? Why or why not? Part of the Pyramid’s purpose is to guide people towards healthy proportions of the macronutrients. Look at the “Energy Nutrient Intake and DRI Goal Ranges Compared” printout. Fill in the table below to show if your macronutrients are within their recommended ranges. If they are outside of the range, suggest a reason for why this pattern of eating could be unhealthy (refer to your textbook as needed).

Above/In/Below Range

If above or below, why could this be unhealthy?

Carbohydrate

Proteins

Fats


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Variety and Nutrient Density: Not all foods in a food group are equally good for you! Getting a variety improves your chances of eating foods that are nutrient dense. Look at the “Complete Intake Spreadsheets” for each day. Circle your answers: Did you eat at least 3 servings of whole grains per day? Yes No

Did you eat at least 2 servings of either deep orange or dark green fruits or vegetables during the recording period? Yes No Did you eat any legumes? Yes No

Did you eat at least one serving of fish during the recording period? Yes No

Did you have at lease one good Vitamin C source every day? Yes No

Were most of your dairy products low-fat? Yes No

Were most of your meats lean? Yes No

Adequacy: A healthy diet should meet your needs of important things like the micronutrients, fiber, and fluid. Look at the “Intake and DRI Goals Compared” printout. List below any vitamins or minerals (except sodium) for which your average intake fell below 67%. For each one you list, write down two foods that are good sources of that nutrient. (To make this a useful exercise, list only foods that you actually might eat. Consult your text for ideas.) Remember to write N/A in any boxes/blanks that don’t apply to you!

Vitamin or Mineral Good Food Source #1 Good Food Source #2

(Continue to list these on another piece of paper if necessary)

Compare your dietary fiber intake to the DRI. Did you meet the goal? Yes No If not, list 3 foods that would be good sources of fiber that you could eat. Did you meet your DRI for water? Yes No If not, how much more per day do you need to drink? ______________


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kCalorie control: Look at your “Intake and DRI Goals Compared.” What percentage is your kcalorie intake compared to the DRI?

_______________% As you are aware, the DRI is just based on general population information. Your actual needs may be different! (That’s why you entered in all your activities—to get a more accurate look at your energy expenditure.) Look at the summary box on the “Energy Balance” printout. What is your: Ave. Intake __________ Ave. Expenditure _________ Ave. Net Gain/Loss ___________ According to this, are you eating about the same amount of kcal as you are burning? Over time, if this pattern continues, do you suspect that you would gain or lose weight? Look at your spreadsheets, and list the highest kcalorie item from each day. Then list a lower-kcal alternative for each. The alternative should be something somewhat similar to the original item. (For example, if you listed regular cola, then diet cola or water could be an alternative. Celery--although low in kcal--is not a beverage, so it would not be an alternative. You'd be surprised how many people don't seem to understand this!)

High kcalorie food I ate Lower kcalorie food I could have eaten Day #1

Day #2

Day #3

Moderation: Some foods are supposed to be “treat” foods, not everyday foods. Usually these are high in fats, sugars, and/or sodium. Look at your “Intake and DRI Goals compared”. How does your intake of sodium compare with the general recommendation of staying below 2400 mg per day? (FYI: The DRI of 1500 mg/d is unrealistic for most people) Look at your spreadsheets. What three foods contributed the most sodium per serving to your diet? Does the sodium content of any of them surprise you?


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Of course, another thing that we have use in moderation is fat—especially saturated and trans fat. Find your “Fat as Percentage of Total Calories” sheet. Did you meet the goal of less than 10% of your kcalories from saturated fat? Did you meet the goal of less than 1% of your kcalories from trans fat? For each day, list the food highest in saturated fat and the food highest in trans fat in the table:

Highest saturated fat food Highest trans fat food Day #1

Day #2

Day #3

Are any of the saturated or trans fat sources surprising? Why? How did your cholesterol intake compare with the goal of less than 300 mg per day? If you exceeded the recommendation, mention how you could lower your intake. Alcohol is another thing best enjoyed in moderation. If you had any alcoholic beverages, how many kcalories did they contribute to your intake? Was this within your discretionary kcalorie allowance (see your MyPyramid Analysis)? Overall Impression: Do you see anything in your diet that you could improve? Give examples of some changes you think you could really make! Do you see anything that you do well and should be happy about? Congratulations! You're done!

personal dietary project step one: keeping food and ... 2008/mcmullen... · biol 221, spring 2008...

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