Running head: MY PLATE

Choose My Plate
Sarina Thomas
Dr. William Hesse
October 19th, 2017

Running head: MY PLATE

Introduction
I hope it comes to no surprise that health is highly dependent on diet and exercise. In fact,
according to the 2015-2020 dietary guidelines, over the past one-hundred years we have been
able to witness diseases subside as nutritional deficiencies lessen (Department of Human Health,
2015). According to the guidelines, half of all Americans suffer from ta least one chronic disease.
Although one may look at me and assume I am healthy simply because of my size and figure,
this is unfortunately not a reliable indicator of how and if I take care of myself. Until recently, I
thought eating slightly healthy was enough. After reviewing the guidelines and what my food
tracker has to say about me, I am encouraged to keep up my new exercises and become an
advocate for everyone to promote to a better lifestyle.
Do you meet the requirements for the Dietary Guidelines? Why or why not? Be specific and
use details from your food tracker results.

Running head: MY PLATE

Clearly, at 103%, I am exceeding in consuming my daily intake of protein. Sadly, the whole fruit
section is lacking. Every week at the grocery store I browse the beautiful reds, yellows, and
greens of the fruit section. Fear of consuming too much sugar is what stops me from grabbing a
box of those lovely driscoll strawberries.
Although the assignment only asked us to fill in breakfast and lunch for one day, I was eager to
add my dinner portions as well. On that day, my diet consisted of a wider variety of foods than
usual. This could be why I was not able to meet my 2,000 calories. The tracker also did not take
into account the exercise I participate in on a daily basis, which is usually two to three miles of
walking with my chocolate lab. Since I am a twenty-four-year-old woman with a moderately
active lifestyle, I also am assuming I need to add calories to the recommended 2,000 based on
the Dietary Guidelines graph, referencing a sedentary lifestyle (DHHS, 2015, Appendix 2).
A surprise and fright that was brought to my attention was also that I am typically only
consuming 66% of my daily vegetables. This means I could be deficient in iron, fiber, potassium,
and vitamin As (Office of Disease Prevention, 2015a, p. 28).
Lastly, I am missing the recommended dairy intake by 34%. Sure, I add creamer to my coffee
every morning, but aside from that I do not typically consume dairy. Although the Office of
Disease Prevention provides alternatives that will assist in consuming enough calcium, I will
admit I wont be the first in line to purchase bone-in sardines, tofu, or fortified rice milk. Even
when consuming these alternatives, they do not suffice in the recommended amount of vitamin D
needed (ODPHP, 2015b, p. 7).
What changes would you make to improve the food you eat to improve your nutritional
intake? Be specific and use at least three examples.
I was alarmed when that little red bar appeared over my saturated fats section on the food tracker.

Running head: MY PLATE

I quickly learned that these fats are to be limited, but in frustration and confusion I keep asking
myself what are saturated fats and where do they come from? How could I be so unaware? To
my surprise, I almost always revolve my meals around these evil fat molecules that have no
double bonds (American Heart Association, 2016). Something that resonated more clearly was
this: my favorite food of all time (cheeseburgers) was actually president of the saturated fats
club. The first recommendation I would give myself would have to have been one I needed six
months ago; dont purchase that half of the cow from your husbands grandmother! In my garage
I will find 160 pounds of frozen beef, ready to be cooked and eaten at any given time. I now
understand why unhealthy eating is so easily attained: these foods are available and simple to
prepare. Specifically, I desire to add more fish to my diet, in place of beef that we have been
eating religiously. According to the guidelines, adding just 8 ounces of seafood every week adds
healthy, polyunsaturated fatty acids (Nesheim, Oria, & Yih, 2015).
Another suggestion for myself would be to eliminate my morning coffee, and replae it with a
cup of 100% orange juice. This will give me more fiber, potassium, and vitamin C. However,
since even pure fruit juice has less fiber than eating a fruit itself, I would only suggest drinking
one cup towards the recommended two.
Lastly, I need to pay attention to the grains section of my graph. The dietary guidelines
recommend that half of grains consumed in one day are whole grains, opposed to refined. It is
deceiving to look at this orange bar in my graph and assume I am meeting these
recommendations, since I am at 89% of grains for the day. However, the bar also shows me that
majority of these grains are refined. Whole grains are essential because the grain seed is not
compromised, and the kernel isnt cracked. When eating these, I will gain 32% of my daily fiber,
42% iron, and 29% magnesium (ODHP, 2015a, p. 28).

Running head: MY PLATE

Complete a one-page reflection about how you would use this activity from the viewpoint of
a leader of a company and how this data could impact your workers inside and outside
your workplace.
As a future elementary school teacher, I think it will health and fitness should be just as
important as the other subjects, especially since children at this age do not choose their own
meals, but are fed based on what their guardian sees fit. I actually think this would benefit my
class as a whole, because it might give the learners something to be excited about. Phoebe Copp,
a community nutrition adviser, talks about a girl in one of the classrooms she was in. She says I
had a student that went above and beyond and prepared a shopping list of healthy meals for her
mom to take to the grocery store! I thought it was amazing to see the students who encouraged
their family members to eat healthier (2016).
If I was lead teacher in my future school, I would use this activity as a recommendation for the
teachers to try out first. We would track all of our results for five school days, and then the next
week show and explain to our students what we did. I believe this will get them even more
excited, as their dear teachers tried it themselves. I would also use the last thirty minutes of class,
once my students had their turn to do this for five days, for us to fill them out together at the
computer lab. After their own five days of tracking, we would do a half page to a onepage paper
that talks about our results. This way, my students can take it home and show their family. Some
families may not be as interested in nutrition, but may be interested in their students work so it
could open up a door to conversation. In previous classes, I also have mentioned the idea of
having a nutrition class once a semester at my school for the entire family. At this free class, I
would discuss how to grocery shop on a budget. I would also teach them how to make one
healthy and easy meal.

Running head: MY PLATE

Please add a brief statement in your reflection outlining the surrounding fast food
establishments in the immediate proximity to your work place or community and detail
how these may impact the choices our you make.
Being in the Panhandle of Texas, we can find BBQ on nearly every corner. In Amarillo, there is
also a culture that loves southern cooking. This is why we dont have many exquisite restaurants,
or healthy chains we are stuck with Arbys, McDonalds, and a thousand tex-mex joints. Lastly,
since we are still under a 200,000 people population, we have not earned stores such as Whole
Foods or Sprouts. Currently, as someone who has to wear four or five hats on any given day,
including wife, student, and house keeper, I dont have enough time or energy to dedicate that
much time to planning and searching for healthier items. Sometimes I find myself victim to the
convenience bug. In fact, there is an Arbys less than half of a mile from my house, and I find my
husband and I there every so often. Let me tell you a secret I dont even like Arbys. Stil, I am
encouraged and striving. Tonight I have chosen to roast an acorn squash and eggplant with my
spaghetti I wont let the fast-foods get me down!
Conclusion
When I first began this journey, I was under the impression that I was really taking care of
myself and my husband. Clearly, this assignment has impacted me, because tonight on my dinner
table you will find healthy protein, eggplant, acorn squash, lemon water, and grains. My desire
going forward is to use this new knowledge in such a way that I may change someone elses
outlook; maybe it will be a student, or a family member who struggles with low-energy and
sickness.

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7
References

American Heart Association. (2016). Saturated fats. Retrieved from:

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/HealthyEating/Nutrition/Saturat
ed-Fats_UCM_301110_Article.jsp#.WAqQvGVlk1g
Copp, P. (2016). Top 5 reasons to teach nutrition education in your classroom. Dairy
Council of California. Retrieved from: http://www.healthyeating.org/Schools/TipsTrends/Article-Viewer/Article/521/Top-5-Reasons-to-Teach-Nutrition-Educationin-Your-Classroom.aspx
Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture. (2015).
2015 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. 8th Edition. December 2015.
Retrieved from: http://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/.
Nesheim, M., Oria, M., & Yih, P. (2015). A framework for assessing effects of the food
system. Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. Retrieved from:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK305181/pdf/Bookshelf_NBK305181.pdf
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (2015a). Scientific report of the
2015 dietary guidelines advisory committee: Part D. Food and nutrient intakes and
health: current status and trends. Retrieved from:
https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015-scientific-report/PDFs/06-Part-DChapter-1.pdf
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (2015b). Scientific report of the
2015 dietary guidelines advisory committee: Appendix E-3.6: Dairy group and

Running head: MY PLATE

alternatives. Retrieved from: https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015-scientificreport/PDFs/Appendix-E-3.6.pdf