Keep a food diary for 1 week (include the diary with this assignment). Write down everything you ate and drank every day that week. If you are eating packaged food, write down the number of calories you consumed, as well as the amount of protein, carbohydrates and fats (in grams), as well as fiber, sodium, and any other vitamins and minerals. Otherwise, use your favorite calorie/food tracker website or app (a popular one is https://www.myfitnesspal.com/). Answer the following questions:
- Use a calorie calculator online – like this one from MyPlate. On average, how many calories did you eat in a day? Do you think it’s hard to estimate how many calories you ate? How many calories should you eat in a day, according to MyPlate? Consider your sex, age, activity level and body size.
- Do you think you are eating the correct proportions of protein, carbohydrates, fiber and fats every day? If not, which nutrients are you missing and which do you eat too much?
- Are you eating the right servings of foods, as recommended by MyPlate? What is missing? What do you eat too much?
- What is one short-term change do you think you can make to your diet to make it more balanced?
- What are some long-term changes do you think you should make to your diet?
- What are barriers that prevent you from eating more fruits and vegetables? What could help you overcome those barriers? This can be your own behaviors or something in your community or neighborhood that could help.
