After assessing my diet through the process of recording my intake of food over the course of two days and analyzing its nutritional value, relative to my gender, weight, height, activity level and age, I have successfully reached several conclusions about my current dietary habits. Prior to this analysis of my diet, I was unsuspecting of some of my bad habits which were unbeknownst to me at the time and as a result, I was fairly shocked to see the results.
Among the aspects which were particularly surprising to me was my level of protein intake. Compared to the recommended 92 grams of daily intake, I managed to consume 213 grams worth of protein on average during these two days. This was 230% of what the recommended value is. However, despite my mammoth protein intake, due to the fact that my calories intake (4,295.94) exceeded the recommended level (3,000) by 1,296 calories, I my protein intake was still in the ballpark zone of what it should have been, relative to my percentage of sources of daily calories.
This number was 20%, whereas it should have been somewhere around 15%. This is seen as a recurring theme throughout my diet. That is that due to my enormous calorie intake, the levels nutrients I received from each category exceeded the recommended daily value in nearly every category. However, it seems that my percentages from sources of calories remained in the target area. As mentioned above, protein was 20% whereas the target was 15%, carbohydrates were 55% whereas the target was 55%, and fats were 26% whereas the target was 30%.
Despite this favorable percentage of course of calories breakdown, the fact of the matter is that these are merely percentages and my total intake of calories was much too high. This is also seen in my intake of total fat which was at 122.8 grams or 119% of the recommended value and saturated fat which comprised 52.65 grams of that or 154% of the recommended value. My excessive intake of cheese was a strong contributing factor to these high levels of fat.
The most appalling aspect of this breakdown is, without question, my intake of cholesterol. At a recommended daily value of no less than 300 grams, I consumed a staggering 631 grams which is over twice the value at which it should be. This can be attributed to the astonishing amount of animal products eaten by me over the course of these two days, including ham, turkey, steak and exorbitant portions of cheese which must be cut down.
In this churning sea of dietary filth, I was overjoyed to discover a budding flower which stood out from the dirt that surrounded it. In other words, there were some pleasing aspects of my dietary analysis, despite all the junk that was showing up. One of these was my intake of calcium. With the help of lots of cereal and milk, I was able to more than quadruple the recommended daily value with an intake of 4713 grams. My folate had similar results as well with 1928 grams. Fiber, however, could have used some work as I fell short of the recommended value of 43 grams with a mere 27.
Since my assessment in early February, I have maintained a constant focus on everything that goes into my body. In addition to my annual tradition of starting up a more frequent exercise routine around this time of year, I have been exercising portion control with each passing meal. One major aspect of this is that I have been cutting down on my consumption of cheeses. Prior to analyzing my diet, I was unaware that cheeses were such an abundant source of saturated fat and cholesterol. I have also made it a personal goal of mine to consume at least 1 helping of vegetables per day and it has done wonders for my diet as well as my self esteem.
One thing I don’t plan on changing anytime soon is my intake of cereals. So far, they have given me nothing but beneficial nutrients, including 100% of nearly all my vitamins and minerals and enough calcium to not ever have to worry about my bones again. Overall, although this dietary assessment had multiple negative aspects, it was nonetheless a positive experience on the whole and truly opened my eyes to the importance of proper food intake.
