Here is the food that I had input into the food log :
All of this food helped to generate this calorie graph below:
From the graph, I could tell that my diet contains too much carbohydrate and a very small percentage of protein which is what my body needs the most right now since I'm in high school and is something that I really should improve on.
Below is the nutrition graph calculated on the website :
It was obvious from the table that I lack certain vitamins such as vitamin D and vitamin E. It came to me as a surprise when I found out I actually consume 100% vitamin A as I always thought my body lacked in that category. However, there are certain vitamins and minerals that take up too big of a percentage from my diet which is probably something I should cut down on.
The website also presented me with a %-RDA/AI Graph that calculated precisely the nutrients that my body needs and the ones that I over-consume. Here is the graph :
This graph provided me with some unexpected results. For example, I never knew my diet consisted of such a big percentage of many different types of vitamins although I still lack vitamin D and vitamin E. However, the level of fibre in my diet is really low which is really bad as it can lead to constipation and other heart diseases. It also came to me as a surprise as I generally thought that since I always consumed quite a fairly big percentage of carbohydrate that it would automatically bring my fibre level up but it made me realize that I was wrong. Also, I should be drinking more water for proper digestion and as it plays some of roles that fibre does for the body such as " cleansing my intestines" but water is also important for many other reasons which is why I always try my best to consume at least 8 glasses of water a day.
Below is the calorie balance chart based on my diet:
This graph shows that my body is not burning enough calories as it should be and that I should either cut down on consuming foods that contain big amounts of calories or start working out and performing proper exercise to be able to burn more of those calories.
Assessment on my eating and activity:
After going through the graph and evaluating my eating habits, I realized that for someone who doesn't eat very much on a daily basis, I consume too much carbs and that I'm not doing enough to burn the calories that come with it. It probably has to do with the way I've been brought up. I've always been petite since I was younger, always the smallest in class. This had always worried my parents and it probably also has something to do with the more asian mentality and that is unless you look big enough for your age, you're not healthy. And so, ever since I was young, they would push me to eat as much as I can. And since we eat rice almost every day, that eventually adds up to a lot of carbs. Every time I finished my plate of rice, I'm encouraged to eat another plate of rice. That was only the way my parents and grandparents thought would help me grow. However, now when I think about it, all of that never really helped me in any way as after all, carbs only provide us with energy and not help with the growing process. According to the calorie graph, my body lacks a huge percentage of protein which is why I should be focusing more on eating what my body needs instead of just eating more in general which is what I've been doing all my life.
Also, I'm not someone who exercises very often. Although I've joined the rock climbing group in school but its only once a week and isn't enough to burn the calories that I have to burn.
Overall, based on the %-RDA/AI graph, there are fairly big amounts of different kinds of vitamins and minerals present in my diet. However, as stated before, my body lacks fibre and vitamin D. Fibre, just like water plays an important role in helping with digestion or " acting as a cleanser for intestines". As I've mentioned, I always thought that consuming carbs would automatically give my body fibre but now I realize that I was wrong and that I should pay more attention to the kinds of food that provide my body with fibre without me having to consume large amount of carbs as I've realized that the two are somewhat irrelevant now. The other thing, based on the calorie graph, there is also more fats in my body than protein which in my opinion wouldn't be the ideal situation for me as since Im not very tall, my BMI would be very unbalanced if I started to put on lots of weight which is why I always find it hard for me to try and consume more of the necessary foods needed in my diet without having to worry about putting on weight. However, by doing this assignment, I now have a better idea of what my body needs and doesn't need too much of and I'm going to make an effort to work on it in order for me to live a better, healthy and nutritious lifestyle.
