Diet Analysis Essay Sample

Introduction

The information provided in the log is a good representation of what I eat on a given day. I wake up at approximately 6:30 am on school mornings, so this is when I eat my breakfast. Before I go to school, I generally try to eat my breakfast so that I can stay awake for the morning. I do not like to eat a lot of sugar or carbohydrates in the morning because I do not think it helps me pay attention in the mornings. In the mornings, I try to eat eggs—usually one egg—and a cup of milk, because I really enjoy milk in the mornings. It is something that I have always tried to drink plenty of, and I find that it gives me really good energy.
I know that I should eat lunch, but I sometimes don’t; I get a lot of caffeine through my Starbucks consumption, instead. I try to eat lunch, but sometimes real life gets in the way and I can’t make time. On days where I don’t eat lunch, I do try to eat my dinner early. I ate chicken and rice, which were both easy to find in the food tracker. After my trip to the gym, I had some whey, which is a relatively normal day of eating for me.
I get significantly fewer carbohydrates than the program recommends. This is because I intentionally eat much more protein, as it is what is working for me insofar as strength training is concerned. I get a relatively small percentage of my calories every week from carbohydrates. Instead, I focus on getting most of my calories from proteins and fats. Most of my carbohydrates came from rice, vegetables, and fruits, because I try to eat relatively clean sources of food. Carbohydrates are good sources of quick energy, but they do not do a lot insofar as building muscle is concerned. Because I am focusing more on building muscle, I try to include fewer carbohydrates in my diet.
As stated in the previous paragraph, I get much more protein in my diet than is generally recommended—approximately 199% more. Most of my calories each week come from protein. This has been helping me maintain my weight but increase my strength levels and my muscle, while reducing the amount of fat that I am carrying on my body. Eggs, chicken, and milk are all good sources of protein, as is fish and whey. I try to eat good, whole sources of protein that are lean, like chicken and fish. Protein helps build muscle and gives long, slow-burning energy.
I eat more fat in a day than I should according to many diet plans, because I am eating fewer calories than I am supposed to, and fatty foods are generally calorie-dense. Good fatty foods include things like nuts and nut butters; I really enjoy almond butter, which is a good source of both protein and fat. Fats are also good sources of slow-burning energy, and they help me maintain my endurance during long training sessions or sessions where I am trying to lift a lot of weight. I cannot imagine cutting back on the fats in my diet, although I can probably replace some of the saturated fats in my diet with unsaturated fats. However, I eat relatively cleanly, and I feel that as long as I am eating cleanly, my diet cannot be too unhealthy; I still eat carbohydrates in the form of vegetables and fruits.

Goal Setting

I need to do better as far as getting my vitamins is concerned, particularly vitamin A, C, and E. I also need to get more magnesium into my diet. I can begin to take supplements to ensure that I am getting the recommended dosages of all the different vitamins that I need to stay healthy. I should also cut down on the sodium in my diet slightly. I also want to reduce the amount of cholesterol that I am getting in my diet.

Implementation

Evaluation
My goals are relatively easy to meet; for the first three, merely taking a daily vitamin could help me reach the recommended daily limit in two months. I should probably have the doctor check the levels of vitamins in my blood in two months. In two months I will also track my foods for three days again, to see if I have managed to significantly cut the amount of sodium and cholesterol in my diet—I would like to see a reduction of 50%.