Homework #6: Food Diary

            For breakfast yesterday I had 2 small pancakes. I don’t usually like to eat in the mornings but my mom has started making big breakfasts for my exchange student, so I usually just have some too. In total that was about 147 calories.

            Right before gym I had a small fruit snack from the vending machine in the cafeteria. It was almost like a fruit roll up; I think it was about 10 calories.

            We went to the Mexican place by our school for lunch and I got a chicken burrito. It probably consisted of about 377 calories.

            Before my College Now course I went to get an ice coffee. This had about 0.5 to 3 calories in it.

            Once I got home I ate a little hummus and pita bread. The hummus was about 45 calories I think and the pita bread was 77 calories.

            We ordered in Indian food for dinner because my parents weren’t home. I had Tikka Masala. 10 oz is 200 calories, but I’m not sure if I had a complete 10 oz of it.

            In total it seems that I only ate about 859 calories. It is of course possible that the calorie readings weren’t entirely correct, because I wasn’t sure how big my serving was or the “calculator” didn’t give the right estimate.

            Today for breakfast I had a bowl of oatmeal with brown sugar in it. This was maybe 173 calories.

            At my internship they had gone apple picking the weekend before, so they offered me one. It was really crisp and juicy. The calorie count for this apple was 77 calories.

            While out making copies for internship, I bought a sandwich from a deli. It consisted of turkey, lettuce, tomato, oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, mayonnaise, and Swiss cheese. I can’t find that exact sandwich online, but I’m guessing it had about 400 calories in it.

            When I got home I had a lemon zest Luna bar. An entire bar consists of 180 calories.

            For dinner I had lemon chicken, which was about 210 calories. As a side there were potatoes and other vegetables. They probably added up to about 384 calories.

            I ate about 1.424 calories in total today, which is significantly more than yesterday. But these calories came from much healthier foods as opposed to food prepared by a restaurant.

            Now examining the food that I’ve eaten for the past two days, I realize that I may not always be eating the healthiest food. For one thing, it does not even seem to be that I reached a thousand calories in the first day. I’m not sure if that is necessarily a bad thing, but as an athlete I probably should be eating a little more. But in turn, the food from which I received the calories could have been more nutritional. Pancakes in the morning are fine but I think something with less sugar might be a little better. I used to just eat an apple or banana, but would still feel hungry by second period. I did not have a choice that morning of what to eat, because my mother was already in the process of making it. Since my exchange student is a boy, she realized she needed to make more food to fill him up. I simply receive more for breakfast as a result of that. The fruit snack that I had before gym was the only thing that I had exact change for, therefore it was the reason that I bought it. It was pretty nutritional though, as the school has changed their vending machine options. The burrito for lunch maybe wasn’t the greatest choice. The actual location is a little dirty and I’m not sure how sanitary the food is kept. It made me feel overly full, not in an enjoyable way at all. Caffeine is also not a great thing, especially for a teenager, but I really needed the boost before my college class. I don’t drink ice coffee that regularly, so I believe it is fine to treat myself once in a while. As for the hummus and pita, I am happy that I chose to snack on that. Normally I’ll grab a candy bar on my way home, but I feel that the hummus was a healthier alternative. Lastly, the Tikka Masala, while a lot of food, was in general pretty healthy. Indian food tends to consist of a lot of vegetables and spices; it’s very natural. I don’t think it was a bad choice, especially since the next option was Chinese food; the American imitation tends to be extremely unhealthy. While only an analysis of the foods for the first day, I do believe it suffices for a general interpretation of my eating habits. 

            Looking at these foods, they are all something that I ate because of the way they tasted. Even if in a rush, I do at least pick something that I am going to want to eat. The things my mom makes I do eat because I have no other option, not really depending on the taste. It is never anything terrible, just not what I would prefer. But when I only go for taste, I have noticed through these two days that I occasionally do not feel the greatest.

            After the first day I was extremely tired, and while I’m sure part of it had to do with school, I think it came a lot from the food. When I eat heavier foods such as a burrito, I tend to tire out easily. I realize now that my mood and energy depends a lot on the foods I eat. During internship today I was starting to get a little worn out until I had an apple. By providing calories it gives you a boost. (Not only this, but where the food comes from in particular). The burrito as mentioned before came from a dingy little fast food restaurant. I believe that if it had been prepared differently, I wouldn’t have felt so affected by it. The ingredients might have been lighter; the chicken might have been less greasy and the beans better quality. The apple, besides the fact that it is fruit, came from an independent farm and was hand picked. It is therefore understandable that it gave a boost of energy instead of slowing me down. But nonetheless the heavier foods do tend to have a good taste. Sometimes it makes up for the fact that I do not always feel so great afterwards, or adds to it, as I want to eat more.

            Where and with whom I am around seems to affect the foods I eat. As previously stated, my mother tends to cook more because of our exchange student. Therefore when he’s around, I have a bigger selection of food from which to choose. During lunchtime when I am out with friends and have just had 4 periods of school, I tend to want to eat a lot. I do not seem to look at nutritional value but instead something that will suffice for the rest of school time. But then when I look at the food I got during internship, I see that under time pressure I also do not pay much attention to what I am eating. The turkey sandwich was not terrible for me, but there were definitely healthier alternatives that I chose to ignore because I just wanted something quickly. Normally my mother cooks dinner, generally resulting in something nutritional and healthy like tonight’s lemon chicken. But again, when I was just at home with my exchange student and ordering in, we decided to go for Indian. This is not necessarily unhealthy, but when the amount of food eaten is factored in then yes maybe it was not the greatest. I feel that I can not help eating more when food is ordered, because it just has a more exciting quality to it than “your mom’s cooking”.

            Food has an interesting presence in our lives that we do not even realize. Now examining my food I understand that it is affected by my mood, but in turn affects my mood right back. I eat what I feel I need at that moment, whatever is fitting. Because of the food diary, I was much more conscious after eating every meal. It made me more aware of its nutritional value. I did not want to change my eating habits just for this, but it did help me recognize the way that I eat and if it truly is beneficial. I do think I eat an okay diet, not amazing, but not particularly harmful. I am a little surprised though that I am eating so little calories; I am positive I did not calculate falsely on the servings when I did the addition. I think that is what I need to work on now: maybe taking in a couple more calories, but instead of unhealthy ones such as a burrito, ones that come from fruit or vegetables. This will probably help me keep up my energy more and hold me longer through the day so I do not feel the need to snack so much in between my meals. All in all, my eating habits are acceptable, but there is always room for improvement.