Dietary and Nutritonal Information

Dietary Analysis Information

Diet is extremely important in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. It has become especially important in the past few weeks as I was recently diagnosed with type one diabetes. This means that I have to watch carbohydrate intake and take the correct amount of insulin for it. Therefore watching what I eat and the amounts I consume is imperative.

As I recorded the food I ate and logged it into the YMCA website, I had a few surprises dealing with the amounts of other ingredients in the food I am consuming. Although my calorie intake was under 2,000 per day, I was surprised at the individual amounts of calories that were in each food item. For example, I had no idea how high the calorie content in French dressing actually was. Also, even though the chicken in my salad had fewer carbohydrates, it contained more calories than the breadsticks I ate. Another thing that was surprising was that although my calorie intake for the whole day was about the same, the break down of individual dietary allowances varied. For example the first day my carbohydrate intake was a lot lower than it should be. The second day my carbohydrate intake was about equal to what it should be in a day.

Based on my "Recommended Dietary Allowances" for day one I needed to eat more carbohydrates and less protein and fat. Day two I ate an adequate amount of carbohydrates, I ate less fat but still needed to cut down on the amount of protein I took in. I think on a day-to-day basis I usually eat more protein but try not to eat as much fat or carbohydrates. Mostly, I need to eat more food items with iron and other vitamins. I think if I really watch what I eat and read up on food sources with more vitamins I will be able to get my diet more in balance.

For both days my energy balance was in the negative numbers. For day one it was -411 and for day two it was -294. These numbers mean that my body used more calories than I ate. I exercise everyday for at least an hour if not more in one way or another which I think helps to balance out my calorie intake and how many calories I burn off. The number of calories I burn off by just existing isn't much more than the actual amount I take in each day. I'm not trying to lose or gain weight but to maintain the weight that I am currently. I think by burning about the same amount of calories that I intake and by exercise, I should be able