Create a personal diet modification plan by analyzing your personal diet in terms of nutritional strengths and weaknesses and discussing the changes you plan to make in your own life to better meet the dietary guidelines.

From here on out I plan to do better with the way I eat. Almost a year ago in October I started the healthy life style. I decided to do this because I was having knee pain, when I went to the doctor my doctor told me that I was too heavy for my knees. From that moment on I knew that I had to do something. Over the course of the year I have lost 30 pounds and managed to keep it off. To lose the weight I changed the way I ate and added exercise to my daily activity. I started eating more fruits and vegetables along with lean protein, and whole grains. I made sure I ate small meals versus large meals. I've noticed that you stay fuller for longer when you eat small meals versus filling hungry and eating more when eating larger meals. I also made sure I cooked versus eating out. Cooking at home is better than eating out because when cooking you know what ingredients you put in your food and you can pin point your calories as well.

Here is a picture of what my plate looked like during my weight lost journey. 

Discuss the nutritional requirements across the lifespan – from pregnancy to childhood, and from adolescence to adulthood.

Nutrition is something that should start early from pregnancy up to adulthood. When a woman is pregnant it is important that she is feeding herself the proper nutrients so that the baby growing inside her receives proper nutrients as well. Eating healthy while pregnant allows the baby to grow and develop like it should. Infants drink formula or breast milk because it gives the nutrients a baby needs. As the baby gets older baby food is offered in the form of fruits and vegetables this is to prepare the baby for the healthy life style over the years. Different stages of a child’s life requires different amount of nutrients and calorie intake. For example “on average, though, a 1-year old child needs about 800 calories a day; at age 6, the child needs double to 1,600 daily calories. By age 10, about 1,800 calories a day support normal growth and activity without causing excess storage of body fat”. (Sizer & Whitney, 2013) If parents start their children off eating a certain way as a child then nine times out of ten the child will eat the same way as an adult. So parents should lead by example. Typically during adolescents their food choices are not so great. The calorie intake may be different for each child depending on if they are active in sports or not. A lot of teenagers eat and drinks things that are high in calories due to being on the go a lot so they eat what the can. Many people don’t think this can effective the future but it can because although as a teen you were able to eat whatever you wanted without gaining weight that could possible effect your body as an adult. As adults we try to make good food choices based on what we were eating as a child if our parents instilled healthy eating habits in us a child. Adults try to do what is best for them because at this point they are getting older and things have changed. The body becomes more risky to get diseases. It is important to follow the recommended daily guidelines because over eating or not eating enough can put you at risk for some many diseases and or possible becoming obese. We all know that gaining weight is easier to put on then it is too loose.

Sizer, F. & Whitney, E. (2013).  Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies (13 ed)

Describe the role of diet in preventing underweight, overweight, and obesity.

Over the years the number of overweight and obese people has been on the rise. “With Americans fatter and more malnourished than ever--almost two-thirds of the population is considered overweight or obese compared with 56 percent in the late 1980's and early 1990's.” (Gray, 2010) Overweight and obesity can be prevented with the appropriate diet which would include; fresh fruits and vegetables, lean protein, whole grains basically eating the appropriate amount of everything from all the food groups. Knowing the proper nutrients that we are supposed to intake will help us in maintaining our diet.  One way we can prevent being underweight and overweight is understand a healthy diet and the importance of being active throughout the day. Maintaining a healthy diet and proper exercise can definitely prevent us from being underweight as well as overweight.

 

Being underweight is just as unhealthy as being overweight because both put you at risk of health issues. Overweight is being above the normal healthy body weight having a body mass index between 25 and 29.9. Obesity is having a lot of excess fat with a body mass index of 30 or higher and it puts a person in the position of having health risks for many different diseases.

Gray, K. (2010).  The Complexity of Obesity. Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, 27(19), 15-17. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Sizer, F., & Whitney, E. (2013)  Nutrition: Concepts and controversies (13th ed.)

Explain the digestion, absorption, and metabolism of the macronutrients (carbohydrate, protein, and fat). Make sure to identify the parts of the body involved in these processes.

Our digestive system plays a vital role in our bodies. “Eating healthy nutritious food is the number one way to avoid digestive problems.” (Martin, 2006)  The digestive system is the body system collected of structures that disruption compound food particle into smaller, absorbable product. Having a healthy digestive tract allows the body to fight off different types of diseases. Absorption is basically the transfer of nutrients from the digestive system into the circulatory system that is then distributed into the cells in the body. “The digestive system’s job is to digest food to its components and then to absorb the nutrients and some non-nutrients, leaving behind the substances, such as fiber, that are appropriate to excrete.” (Sizer & Whitney, 2013)

These are the organs of the body that make up the digestive system. 

Carbohydrates, fats and proteins are the macro-nutrients that the body needs to survive these also are essential to the metabolism. Carbohydrates are the main source of energy. Fat is an essential factor for building body tissue and cells, and it helps in the absorption of some vitamins and other nutrients. Protein is the main factor of our organs, muscles, all our living cells, and most of our body fluids.

Martin, B. (2006).  How Digestion Works. Total Health, 28(3), 44-51. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Sizer, F. & Whitney, E. (2013) Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies (13 ed).

Identify the names, functions, and sources of essential macro- and micro-nutrients.

 Micro-nutrients and macro-nutrients are both essential in the everyday life of a human, the difference is that micro-nutrients is required in small amounts and macro-nutrients is required in large amounts. Micro-nutrients are known as the vitamins and minerals we need to survive on a day to base, these are thing such as fluoride, selenium, sodium, iodine, copper and zinc. Also include vitamins such as vitamin C, A, D, E and K, as well as the B-complex vitamins. Eating more fresh fruits and vegetables is a way to ensure that one is getting enough vitamins and minerals needed because fruits and veggies are high in vitamins and minerals. Macro-nutrients are things such as carbohydrates, proteins and fats humans need these things in their daily diet as well. Micro-nutrients are important because they help the organs in the body develop and grow as they should. While on the other hand macro-nutrients provide energy. Nutrients are ingredients needed for development, metabolism, and to help the body overall function as it should. 

Sizer, F. & Whitney, E. (2013) Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies (13 ed).

Describe the factors (e.g., social, psychological, philosophical, and physical) that drive our food choices.

The choices we make when choosing the food we eat come from our social, psychological, philosophical and physical factors of our everyday life. The social and philosophical factors consist of family traditions and social gatherings such as birthday parties, anniversary’s etc. Growing up a way to celebrate a birthday was to have a party in which we cooked it became a family tradition. The psychological factors include not knowing the importance of food and its nutrition values, emotional eating such as being stressed or being bored. It is over time that these behaviors of bad habits are learned and accepted from generation to generation despite their negative penalties. The physical factors come from the being hungry, having cravings for a certain type of food or simply being concerned about the way a person looks some people thing appearance is everything. “Consumers also value convenience so highly that they are willing to spend almost half of their food budget on meals prepared outside the home.” (Sizer & Whitney, 2013). These days’ people don’t want to spend the time in the kitchen cooking because it seems to be more convenient for one to either go out to eat or stop and grab something to eat.

Sizer, F. & Whitney, E. (2013).  Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies (13 ed)

Describe the characteristics of a healthy diet and the challenges associated with choosing the right foods.

The characteristics of a healthy diet are getting the proper nutrients that are an essential factor to maintaining a good healthy life style. Ensuring that one receives the proper nutrient consists of eating healthy and balances the foods from all the food groups; these include fruits, vegetables, dairy, meats, whole grain, fats and oils, also drinking the appropriate amount of water is essential as well. By maintaining a healthy life style that includes healthy eating and exercise is the key to keeping your body in the best shape as possible. The challenges associated with choosing the right foods are having self-control. There are so many fast food restaurants which it becomes so convenient to just stop and go versus preparing a lunch before leaving the house in the morning. Having self-control helps when you do stop to grab a bite to eat because it helps you will make good food choices when you do stop at fast food restaurants to something to eat. 

Sizer, F. & Whitney, E. (2013).  Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies (13 ed)