Assignment Goals
The goals of the Diet Analysis assignment are for you to:
Apply the scientific method by:
collecting data using a 3-day food record
entering the data into MyFitnessPal
analyzing the data to determine how the results compare to recommendations and your previously written hypothesis statements
writing a report on your findings
Understand your usual dietary habits and identify changes to improve your health.
Note: If you are concerned that recording your own diet has the potential to trigger, maintain, or worsen disordered eating symptoms, use this Hypothetical 3-Day Food Record instead of recording your own diet. If this alternative assignment does not meet your needs, please notify your instructor as soon as possible to discuss options.
Note: You will not be graded on your dietary habits; you will be graded on your performance applying the scientific method. The Diet Analysis assignment must be completed and submitted in order to submit the Improved Diet Plan assignment.
Using MyFitnessPal
We will be using free software called MyFitnessPal (https://www.myfitnesspal.com). You will use it to track your food and beverage intake for this assignment. Do not include dietary supplement intake for this assignment.
Note: You are required to use MyFitnessPal for this project. No other software can be used.
Getting started using the MyFitnessPal website
NOTE: These instructions use the MyFitnessPal website. If you use the MyFitnessPal app, please use the Getting started using the MyFitnessPal app instructions.
The first time you go to the website you will need to set up your account by clicking on “Start For Free”; follow the directions to establish an account. You will need to answer initial questions, including your:
weight goal: please select “Maintain Weight”. If you want to gain/lose weight you can address this in your paper, but it will be easier to interpret your reports if you select “Maintain Weight”.
baseline activity level: choose the option that best describes your activities
sex
date of birth
location/zip code
height
current weight
goal weight
email address
password
Once your account is established, you can click on “Log In” and enter your email address and password to get started.
Correct the recommendations for potassium. Recommendations have recently changed and MyFitnessPal hasn’t been updated to reflect this. Use the following instructions to correct this:
On the website select My Home > Goals > Edit on the Micronutrients section
Scroll down to potassium and edit the recommendation to reflect the appropriate recommendation below for your gender and age group:
Female age 14-18: 2300 mg
Female age 19+: 2600 mg
Male age 14-18: 3000 mg
Male age 19+: 3400 mg
Click Save Changes at the bottom of the screen
Recording and entering your food/beverage intake
Note: Watch the Using MyFitnessPal video for tips on entering your food/beverage intake.
Log on to https://www.myfitnesspal.com. If you are logging on after the first time, click on “Log In” in the upper right of the website.
Enter your email address and password.
Click on the “Food” tab on the top navigation bar and then select the appropriate day on the calendar.
Record everything you eat and drink for three days in a row.
Try to avoid altering your typical eating habits as you go through this process. It is human nature to under-report food intake, so please strive for accuracy.
DO NOT include vitamin/mineral/herbal supplements in the data entry.
Click on “Add Food” to enter foods for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. Adding foods/beverages under the appropriate meal/snack will allow you to see how your intake is distributed throughout the day.
Use the search function to find specific foods for each meal/snack.
Select the food/beverage from the list that most closely match those that you ate/drank.
Whenever possible, select foods that have the green shield (MyFitnessPal Green Shield) as these foods have complete nutrition information and will provide the most accurate results.
Be sure to record serving sizes and quantities accurately (see below for serving size guidelines).
Try to avoid selecting units in the metric system.
Sometimes, “fluid ounces” and “ounces” are confused. Use fluid ounces (fl oz) for liquids; use ounces (oz) for weighed foods.
NOTE: Not all foods will be found. Find the food in the database that most closely matches what you actually ate.
After completing your entry for Day 1 (example), select the next day from the calendar and enter all foods consumed. Repeat for the third day.
Serving size guidelines
A scoop of ice cream = 1/2 cup
A fist = 1 cup
A thumb = 1 ounce
Pair of dice = 1 ounce of cheese
A handful = 1-2 ounces of snack food
Palm of hand = 3 ounces of meat
Writing your report
You are required to use the Diet Analysis Template and Instructions to write your paper; this will help ensure that your paper includes all the necessary items/topics. Points will be deducted if you do not meet the formatting and information requirements outlined in the template.
Tips for writing your report
The focus of this paper is to compare your average intake to the MyFitnessPal Daily Goal and specific food/beverage (not dietary supplement) changes that you can make to better meet the MyFitnessPal Daily Goal and/or lower your health risks.
For tips on completing the nutrient data table for your report, watch one of the following videos:
For those using the MyFitnessPal website – compiling data from the website
For those using the MyFitnessPal app – compiling data from the app
When writing your report, always compare the “Average Intake” value to the “MyFitnessPal Daily Goal” value from the data table you completed.
Micronutrient intakes greater than 66% of the MyFitnessPal Daily Goal are generally considered adequate (healthy). High micronutrient intakes (greater than 100% of the MyFitnessPal Daily Goal) from food are generally not a concern for toxicity.
Include specific food/beverage changes you can make to better meet the MyFitnessPal Daily Goal for each area.
Examples of specific foods are bananas, milk, peppers, brown rice, etc.
Food groups such as ‘fruits’, ‘vegetables’, and ‘protein’ are not considered specific foods for this assignment.
Use Grammarly to check the grammar and spelling of your paper.
