Amirjani 1

Shadi Amirjani

Health ED 44

May 26, 2017

Calorie Intake and Healthy Dieting

Nutrition, including well-balanced dieting and rational calorie intake, is an essential part

of everybody's life and one of the most fundamental factors of an individuals health throughout

the life cycle, which helps prevent a wide range of health problems. In nutrition, calories are the

measure of the amount of energy in a food or used by the body to fuel activity (Dudek 148).

Insufficient calorie consumption is likely to result into a wide range of long-lasting health

problems. What also makes adequate calorie intake exceptionally important is the fact that

insufficient energy consumption in the form of calorie intake can reduce an individual's ability to

work and perform other daily activities, have a profound negative effect on an individual's mood

and psychological well-being and even reduce life expectancy.

Taking this into consideration, I strongly believe that it of fundamental importance to be

aware of my regular diet in terms of calorie and nutrient consumption and make changes in it

where necessary. As a result, below is the table, representing my intake of food and indicating

my calorie intake for the course of the past 7 days (see table 1).

Table 1

Food and Calorie Intake for the Past 7 Days

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Breakfast Lunch Dinner Snack(s) Total #

of

Calories

Day 1 Bacon and eggs Taco salad (350) Lasagna (405) Peanut butter 2862

(281 kcal) Chicken Burrito Nut cake (440) sandwich kcal

1 cup of orange (455) Diet Coke (0) (485)

juice (90) 1 cup of soda (96) 1 cup of

flavored

yoghurt (260)

Day 2 2 French toasts Roast beef Starbucks chicken Peanut butter 2737

(340) sandwich (395) & black bean salad sandwich kcal

Coffee with Subway tuna bowl (360) (485)

milk (42) salad (238) Fried pork (430)

1 cup of soda (96) Pasta with eggs

(351)

Day 3 Vanilla flavored Medium French Beefsteak (335) Chips and 2812

yoghurt (260) fries with sauce Baked potato (240) Salsa (338) kcal

Coffee with (340) Asian grilled

milk (42) Royal chicken salad (560)

Cheeseburger 1 cup of soda (96)

(505)
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1 cup of soda (96)

Day 4 Cereals with Subway chicken Roasted chicken 2 apples 2738

yoghurt (240) sandwich (370) (355) (156) kcal

Coffee with 2 sliced of 2 large sweet Chocolate

milk (42) pepperoni pizza potatoes (324) bagel (290)

(795) 1 cup of soda (96)

1 cup of orange

juice (90)

Day 5 Three blueberry Tuna salad Baked salmon Starbucks 2580

pancakes (253) sandwich (387) (245) almond kcal

Avocado-egg Starbucks Baked potato (240) croissant

toast (417) Caramel Vegetable salad (410)

1 cup of milk Macchiato (130) with broccoli (176) 1 banana

(100) (222)

Day 6 Bacon and eggs Taco salad (550) Spaghetti Chips and 3244

(281) Sandwich with carbonara (581) Salsa (338) kcal

1 cup of orange turkey (405) Whole wheat roll 3 tablespoons

juice (90) Almond latte (230) of almonds

Coffee with (190) 2 cups of soda (345)

milk (42) (192)

Day 7 Cereals with Starbucks Italian- Roasted chicken 3 tablespoons 2276

yoghurt (240) style ham & spicy (355) of raisins kcal

Coffee with salami Sandwich Mashed potato (170)

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milk (42) (480) (220) Dark

1 cup of soda (96) Whole wheat roll chocolate bar

(230) (343)

1 cup of milk (100)

According to the table above, the average level of my calorie intake is higher than the

recommended level. What is more, my diet cannot be considered as healthy in terms of nutrient

consumption, including excessive intake of carbohydrates and sodium, and insufficient amounts

of calcium.

One of my major nutrition goals is to reduce the consumption of soda, which adds up to

200 kcal to my calorie intake per day. Substituting soda with water or orange juice helps not only

reduce my calorie consumption, but also makes my diet more healthy and well-balanced.

Another major nutrition goal for me is to substitute high-calorie and unhealthy snacks, such as

chips and salsa and peanut butter sandwiches with healthy fruit snacks. I also consider the

reduction of unhealthy fast food meals in my menu and their substitution with home-made salads

and healthy sandwiches to be one of my key nutrition goals.

Therefore, I developed a one-day menu, which includes healthy and low-calorie meal

options (see table 2).

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Table 2

One-day Healthy Diet Menu

Breakfast Lunch Dinner Snack(s) Total # of

Calories

Cereals with 2 tomato-cheddar cheese Roasted chicken 2 apples (156) 1962 kcal

yoghurt (240) toasts (493) (355) 3 tablespoons

Coffee with Vegetable salad with Baked potato (240) of raisins (170)

milk (42) broccoli (176) 1 cup of water (0)

1 cup of orange juice (90)

I have to admit that after completing this project I was truly surprised about the amount

of calories I consume on a daily basis. I would have never thought before that particular salads

account for a major portion of my calorie intake. For instance, I was surprised to find out that a

portion of Taco salad is two times higher in calories than whole wheat roll or baked potato. I was

also surprised, when I calculated calories contained in soft drinks, as I never considered drinks to

be the major sources of calorie intake. I would have never thought before that soda and

Starbucks coffee are very high in calories.

In fact, before completing this project I was not aware of how many calories are in the

foods I eat on a daily basis. I am confident that knowledge received during the course of this

project will definitely change my eating patterns. In the first place, I will always take into

consideration not only the quantity of food I consume, but also its caloric value. I will also try to

substitute unhealthy high-calorie meals with healthy and low-calorie foods. Having thoroughly
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analyzed my typical diet, I will exert every effort to eliminate unhealthy snacks from my diet and

include more fruits and vegetables into my daily menu. Having calculated all the consumed

calories, I will also include more home-made meals into my diet instead of take-away meals

from fast food restaurants. In addition to this, I will cut back on sauces and high-calorie dressings

that I consume in all my salads. Another major change that I am ready and willing to make after

this experience is to adjust my diet in terms of calorie consumption to the levels of my physical

activity and energy that is needed for it.

The overall experience during this project was not only interesting and engaging, but also

extremely useful in terms of theoretical knowledge and its application to my dieting and eating

patterns. I will apply the received knowledge to my own eating patterns and educate my friends

and family members on healthy dieting, including ways to reduce the level of calories consumed.
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Works Cited

Dudek, Susan G. Nutrition Essentials for Nursing Practice. 7th ed. N.p.: Lippincott Williams &

Wilkins, 2013. Print.