Personal Narrative: My Carbohydrate Intake

On Wednesday October 7th, I was determined to break my usual pattern of eating high carbohydrates and high sodium intake. I tried to achieve my goal by reducing total calorie consumption. I ate only 1,404 total calories, which is 596 calories less than targeted allowance. I had coffee, whole grain bread with peanut butter and an apple in my breakfast. I ate brussel sprouts, and grapes in my lunch. For dinner I ate vegetable quesadilla, sour cream, and lentil soup. I had tortilla chips and avocado in my snack. Though I cut down on total calories, my carbohydrate intake was still high, 208g/day, 160% of the RDA. I succeeded in cutting down my sodium intake. My salt intake was only 1879mg/day. My protein intake was 14%, which is on the lower end …show more content…
I ate salad, yogurt, and wheat crackers in my lunch. In my snack, I ate walnuts, dates, apple, raisin bran cereal, and milk. In my dinner, I ate tomato soup, potato sandwich and chocolate chip cookies. My total calorie intake was 1,898, which is 102 calories less than daily allowance. My carbohydrate intake once again soared up to 308g/day, 237 % of the RDA. My salt intake was also high, 3552 mg. My empty calorie consumption was high too, 325 calories. My protein intake was 12% and total fat consumption was 27 % of the AMDR. My dietary fiber intake was 34 …show more content…
However, this one week experiment of recording my diet and analyzing daily consumptions of nutrients made me realize that I need to improve my diet in carbohydrate and protein intakes, consumption of vitamin D, E, choline, and mineral intakes of potassium and sodium. To bring a well balance of macronutrients, I need to increase my protein consumption. My average protein intake is 15% of the AMDR, closer to lower range (10% to 35%). I will increase my protein consumption by eating more high quality proteins and planning my meals that include complementary protein dishes. I recognized that with my low physical activity, eating 59 % of my food intake from carbs was too high. I need to reduce my carbohydrate consumption and increase my physical activity that will help me burn down some of the calories from my high carbohydrate diet. I plan to eat complex carbohydrates like whole grains, beans, potatoes, corn, and other starchy vegetables and eat little amount of processed and refined carbohydrates. For my low level of vitamin D, I will add food fortified with vitamin D, such as milk and cereal. Also I will try to get some vitamin D through spending 5-10mins every day in sunlight. I will improve my vitamin E consumption by increasing the intake of nuts, seeds and plant oils such as sunflower seeds, almonds and sunflower oil. I will eat incorporate different legumes, nuts and