The MyPlate plan helps catch consumer’s attention for a good daily reminder for healthy eating. It makes it easier to visualize how to create a healthy meal and all the ingredients that are involved in a healthy meal. MyPlate showed me that every plate I eat should be divided into four groups. The plate should always be divided into fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, and a small section of dairy. I predict that I will be exceeding in the carbohydrate category and lack in the vegetable group. According to the food plan, it says everything you eat and drink matters. I’m positive I will learn a lot about my food intake and develop a better eating habit.
My consumption of fruits exceeded my target goals for the 3-day average checklist. On all 3 days I had fruit, I would usually have a banana early in the morning with oatmeal. Since I was born, I was always told by a family member that fruits are a marvelous source of minerals as well as vitamins. According to MyPlate, no fruits have cholesterol and fiber could always be found in the pulp of the fruit (ChooseMyPlate.gov). Each day I had over my two cups maximum capacity. Consuming the exceeded amount of fruit could develop in weight gain. Fruits include vitamins such as potassium, vitamin C, dietary fiber. I always recommend everyone to wash the fruit before eating them to get rid of the dirt and help clear away bacteria from the outside. I ate mandarins every day which are considered a citrus fruit. Citrus fruits are loaded with vitamin C, this can boost your immunity and assist in disease prevention.
I did not consume the number of vegetables required for none of the 3 days. I was not surprised at all, because I do not like vegetables, especially 2 ½ cups of vegetables a day. On day two and three I had ½ of corn, which is still not enough vegetables for the day. Since I was little my family didn’t really make me eat vegetables, every now and then they will serve carrots and peas and I will have to eat that. As I grow older, I’m starting to try new things, but I still can’t overcome eating something green. My solution to solve this problem would be to buy 100% vegetable juice and drink it. Nonetheless, this would only help a little because by eating an actual vegetable will get me more fiber. Vegetables also have various nutrients like folate, potassium, dietary fiber as well as vitamin C, and vitamin A.
I did not accomplish my grain goal within the 3-day checklist which was a shock to me. My intake should have been 6 ounces of grain per day which seem like a lot but in reality, you can consume that real quick. From the day I was born I was always eating warm bread in the morning, and always having rice with each meal. I will admit that I was surprised at how many calories the whole wheat waffles had. Two whole wheat waffles have 170 calories, at least is less than regular waffles. In day one and two I did exceed my serving of grain compared to day three where I did not. Maintaining an above limit diet may help reduce the possibility of heart disease. Grain is important, especially whole grains because it contains fiber and may help with weight management. Grains also contain vitamins such as vitamins B which play a role in metabolism. I seem to be eating the appropriate amount of grains, perhaps slightly too much. I will try to reduce my grain admission and replace it with vegetables to get myself to a well-rounded diet.
Dairy is a valuable source of protein and a great source of calcium. I didn’t eat dairy on day one or three. I had some melted cheese on day two, and that was the entire dairy I had. Consuming dairy products improves bone health. Calcium is one of the nutrients in dairy and this assist in building teeth and bones. To reach my daily limit I will start eating yogurt with cereal in the morning. I was adding water to my oatmeal each morning, I think I will switch and give some fat-free or low-fat milk a try. I usually buy whole milk, but I think instead I’ll start buying fat-free milk to lower calories and saturated fat. According to (ChooseMyPlate.gov) to keep blood cholesterol healthy, we need to restrict the dairy we intake. This is because there is countless dairy merchandise that may be high in saturated fat.
Lastly, I want to talk about proteins, unfortunately, I didn’t accomplish my goal of 5 ½ ounces of protein daily. Protein operates as building blocks for muscle, bones, skin, cartilage, and blood. I want to include eggs in my diet, but not too much because this could cause high cholesterol. High cholesterol level could increase in heart disease. I didn’t exceed my protein level in those 3days because cooking is not my specialty. I want to make changes by starting to search up meals I could of that could meet target goal for protein. I will make the changes in my diet by adding seafood dishes. Seafood consists of many nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA (ChooseMyPlate.gov). I also enjoy nuts, but I try to stay away because they are high in calories. I ate chicken on day two and three and meaning I met my magnesium intake. Magnesium is used to release energy from the muscles and building bones.
My physical activity varies because sometimes I go into the habit of working out every day to not working out at all. For example, on day one I didn’t work out at all due to the cause that I just felt lazy. I rate my activity level as moderate because I like moving at my own paste. Being physically active can help you in many ways. Working out could increase your chances of feeling better, have stronger muscles and more. When you are not physically active you are more likely to get type 2 diabetes, have a stroke and many chronic diseases. By being active and having the motivation to exercise you can increase the number of calories you burn. An exercise I try to accomplish every day is to do as much cardio as possible. We always want to move slow and not carry heavier weight when it isn’t necessary. Not being careful could lead to injuries even though we are only doing moderate activities. According to (Health.gov) studies show that only one such injury occurs for every 1,000 hours of walking for exercise.
My wins
The changes I will try to incorporate in my new healthy diet would be to cut down on sodium, added sugar and trans-fat. Sodium is controlled by the kidneys, if too much sodium is consumed your body won’t be able to get rid of it and it will accumulate in your blood, which can lead to high blood pressure. Before this project, I would drink soda every day, but I told myself that I would cut soda out of my life once and for all. Soft drink contains a lot of added sugars which adds up fast especially calorie wise and it’s usual stuff that you don’t need in your diet.
