Your Tasks
Task 1- Food Log
You will keep a 3-day food log, where you will record the meals and snacks that you ate, along with their nutrients, throughout each day. You can choose to track this using Cronometer or the provided Word document
.
This week’s focus: fat, cholesterol, and protein
You may record calories and carbohydrates; however, they are not required for this week.
Please see the Everything You Need to Know About- DIETARY ANALYSIS ASSIGNMENTS page for more specific details on this process.
Task 2- Analysis
Please answer the following questions in complete sentences:
- In regard to last week’s ‘challenge’-
- Did you try some of your carbohydrate additions or replacements? If so, how did it go?
- In regard to fat (general)-
- What was your averageLinks to an external site. fat intake over the 3 days? Was your fat intake within the daily rangeLinks to an external site. (the AMDR is 20-35% of your caloric intake)? Were you surprised by your averages, why or why not?
- What did you eat the most of: saturated fat, trans fat, monounsaturated fat, or polyunsaturated fat?
- Which foods contained the most fat? Were you surprised by the fat content of some of your foods? If yes, which ones surprised you?
- Reflect on the fats consumed this week. Did some affect the way that you felt (i.e., mood, satiety, etc.)? Which ones?
- In regard to cholesterol-
- What was your averageLinks to an external site. cholesterol intake this week? Is this above or below the recommendation of less than 300 mg per day (200 mg if you are at risk for heart disease)? Any surprises?
- Were there any foods that you ate that help in lowering cholesterol? If yes, what were they?
- In regard to protein-
- What are your recommendedLinks to an external site. dietary protein needs?
- What was your average protein intake over the 3 days? Based on this average, are you meeting your recommended protein needs?
- What are problems with diets that are low in protein? What are problems with diets that have excessive protein?
- Would you say that the majority of your protein comes from animal- or plant-based sources?
- How difficult would it be for you to switch to plant-based proteins? Why?
- Looking forward-
- How has learning about fat and protein affected your motivation to eat a healthier, more balanced diet?
- What are two foods that you can swap in order to:
- reduce saturated and/or trans fat;
- increase monounsaturated and/or polyunsaturated fat;
- reduce cholesterol;
- reduce animal-based sources and/or increase plant-based sources;
- increase protein intake (if protein intake was too low); or
- decrease protein intake (if protein intake was too high)?
