PORTFOLIO ONE
Nutritional Analysis Report
Students will individually record and analyze their diets, reflect on their data, examine popular fast food choices, and draw connections to athletic performance potential and key learnings of the course.
Nutrient Intake/Energy Expenditure: It is important that you record three actual "real" days of food intake. You will not be able to make important or interesting discoveries and conclusions if you eat twelve grain toast and bran for three days. Eat in your normal pattern and daily routines. One of your three days MUST BE A WEEKEND. Often on the weekend we include "sometimes foods" and high calorie food and drink choices. I respect your privacy and will not share any of the information from your report with anyone. Be very specific and detailed in recording your energy expenditure.
PART ONE
Record your detailed food, drink, and exercise activities on the USDA Nutrition Tracker program () or follow the link on the Exercise Science Website. You will need to create a User ID and Password. I recommend that you spend some time on this website to familiarize yourself with all of the functions available to you. You will want to print out (Hand In) and reflect on the following options:
- Analyze Your Food Intake - Meeting 2005 Dietary Guidelines
- Nutrient Intakes
- MyPramid Recommendations
- Healthy Eating History
- Energy Balance
NOTE: I don't believe this to be the "best" nutritional analysis program available, however it is easy to use, free, and reasonably sound. You are very welcome to comment on the accuracy and validity of the program in your report. If you do not like this program you can complete the assignment using the food calculator at and the energy expenditure calculator at . These two websites will provide the same service as the USDA cite.
Estimating / Measuring Food Quantity
Look at the nutritional label and the common units of measurement will usually be shown. This is usually ounces/cups/mL/grams. You can use a measuring cup for ounces, cups, ML's.
Take a minute and actually pour a cup of say cereal into the measuring cup. Familiarize yourself with the size of the portion, pour it into a bowl and examine the size. Do the same with a liquid, and than pour it into the glass that you usually use. This process will help with your portion size entries.
Some other rough rules of thumb that you can use to estimate portion sizes are provided below: (Be patient, and read, and you will be surprised at how specific the choices are that the Nutrition Tracker will provide you)
- 1oz of meat ~ size of your thumb
- 3 oz of meat ~ size of the palm of your hand/deck of cards
- 1 cup of fruit/vegetables ~size of your fist
- 16 oz of meat = 1 pound
- 5 oz potatoe ~ computer mouse
- 1 oz cheese ~ 4 dice
- ½ cup of spaghetti ~ 32 strands
Your thumb is about one ounce of cheese or one tablespoon of salad dressing or peanut butter. Your thumb tip is about one teaspoon - use this for determining the size of fats, such as butter, margarine, mayonnaise, or oil.
- liquids measured in fluid ounces or cups. 8 oz = 1 cup
- meat measured in dry weight ounces
- 16 oz = 1 pound canned meats - measured in cups
- cereal and vegetables measured in cups
- breads measured in slices
NOTE: FAST FOOD CALCULATOR has values for some foods that may help you.
PART TWO
Read a copy of the Canadian Food Guide 2009. You can go online, to Canada Food Guide, or go to . BE SURE TO RECORD AND INCLUDE IN YOUR PROJECT :
- WHAT YOUR RECOMMENDED NUMBER OF SERVINGS ARE FOR EACH FOOD GROUP
- RECOMMENDED RATIO (Acceptable ratio of macronutrients) OF FAT/CHO/PROTEIN FOR YOU
Go to and fill out your height, weight, age, gender to get a free NUTRITIONAL PROFILE. Answer the questions carefully because they will affect your profile. If this site doesn't appeal to you, go to calorieCheckBook.com to calculate your BMI. You can go to to get a recommended total number of calories a day, and the macronutrient break down. ( You may have to simply do the % calculation).
Print out (Hand In) your profile (BMI, calories per day and breakdown of fat,cho,pro) from an internet site such as listed above. REMEBER, these recommendations are in no way appropriate, that is for YOU to decide.
Think about these results; do they make sense, how do they compare to what you expected? Are these reasonable recommendations a person your age?
PART THREE
1/ For each day compare your percent of calories from carbohydrates, fat, protein, sodium and any other interesting result for you, with the recommended values from the USDA and CYBERDIET (or other) cites.
Complete the same exercise for the three-day total. (Healthy Eating History)
What conclusions can you draw about your diet based on the data?
What would some reasonable changes be, if needed, for your diet?
2/ For each day, and the three-day total, compare your total number of calories consumed to the recommended value of the USDA and the CYBERDIET (or other) values.
What conclusions can you draw about your diet in general based on this data?
Regardless of your conclusions, discuss the concept of creeping obesity, and demonstrate your understanding of it.
3/ Demonstrate your understanding of the term BMI, and comment of the accuracy of your BMI given by the Cyberdiet Cite.
Do you feel that BMI is a useful tool in the health profession? (Explain)
4/ How do you feel about your Energy Expenditure for the three days in question?
Are there any adjustments in your Energy Expenditure lifestyle that you need to make?
How would they help?
If you have not already, be sure to demonstrate your understanding of how energy expenditure and caloric intake are the basis for creating "balance".
5/ After looking at your diet for three days of typical eating, how could you make your diet more nutritious / balanced?
How did you rate according to the "Meeting the 2009 Dietary Guidelines"? Thoughts, details?
Did you find the MyPyramid recommendations helpful? Explain
Are there behavioral / habits that you could change?
Did you see any surprising information on the Nutrient Intakes? What? Explain