Many people experience many complications with their health, myself included had my own set backs. During the summer of 2018, I was diagnosed with Hepatitis A, something which was very unfamiliar in my family history. Symptoms started to appear while I was with my sister at the hospital after her knee injury. Before being diagnosed, my eating habits began to change, losing crazy amount of weight and spent most of my day sleeping from being fatigued. After taking all precautious possible, to prevent getting Hepatitis, this has become a surprise to me. Hepatitis A involves multiple side effects, one of the most dire consequences that comes with this disease is loss of appetite, which effected my eating habits tremendously. Meanwhile, I have been trying to improve my eating habits. Adjustments to my diet includes eating salads, a good amount of protein, and most importantly cutting out fast foods. It was difficult to do while balancing an after school job studying, and becoming a full time student. Following the change of my diet, I am on the path to incorporating physical activity into my day.
Throughout the day, my eating habits decreased tremendously. After logging in the food that I have consumed for three days, the results came as a shock to me. Prior to reviewing what I had been consuming throughout the day, I would not have thought about how many kilocalories, proteins, carbohydrates, and other nutrients that were actually consumed until it was logged in. In light of viewing every single food consumed, each respective foods’ ingredients, and the nutrients supplemented by each food, I was surprised to see the amount of nutrients I was deficient in and to what degree I was deficient. The same can be said about the foods and nutrients I had in excess. The protein deficit displayed in my nutrition summary was an eye opener. With protein values that met less than seventy-five percent of the set goal, it is obvious this is critical complication of my diet. My sodium and cholesterol excess was especially shocking to me as I have been making a significant effort in trying to stray away from foods high in sodium, carbohydrates and especially sugar. I consume large amount of eggs throughout the week, having the knowledge that it is healthy for oneself, provided that it is consumed in appropriate amounts. It was not until after I had analyzed the Diet Record Report, that I realized the nutrient breakdown of eggs. It was disappointing, having now been informed on the drawbacks of my diet.
During the beginning of the semester, we discussed in class about how much one should consume X amount of protein, carbohydrates, fat and alcohol. According to the Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Ranges, an average adult percentage of calories should range between 10-35% for protein, 20-35% for fat, and 45-65% for carbohydrates. Based on my results, I have fallen within the range for all three of these nutrient groups. My diet for the three days consisted of large amount of sugar, which contributed to my carbohydrate levels, since sugar is a form of carbohydrate. The body converts sugar into glucose, which becomes a source of energy. Understanding this principle was necessary in order to complete the Metabolism assignment. This assignment consisted of recording what I had eaten over a 24-hour period, and calculating the amount of energy consumed. Comparing what I had consumed in that day, with the three days which were recorded in Nutritionist Pro, was appalling. Looking back at the Metabolism assignment, I consumed approximately 910 kilocalories in a day. However, looking at this assignment, about 1,311 kilocalories were consumed each day for three days.
While taking a look at MyPlate analysis, I would not have considered that I went above the recommended portion of protein that should be consumed by 0.5oz. A portion of the kilocalories that was consumed all together was 362 empty calories. Empty calories are foods that is an unhealthy type of fat and sugars added.