KILEIGH CHAPMAN

DIET ANALYSIS SUMMARY

After analyzing my three-day food record and summarizing the macronutrients and
micronutrients it seems my overall diet is pretty balanced. There are a few macronutrients and
micronutrients that I was above the recommended dietary intake and a few that I fell short.
Typically, the foods chosen were from a variety of food groups but some foods may have been
repeated throughout the duration of recording the diet.
The first macronutrient analyzed was carbohydrate intake. Overall my carbohydrate
intake fell slightly below the AMDR. My total average intake was 43% when it should be 45% to
65%. There were a few meals that I did not have any grains and had a higher protein intake. To
ensure that I reach the AMDR of 45% I should include a serving of whole grains at each meal
such as quinoa, whole grain bread, or oatmeal. Looking at fiber intake I had over the dietary
recommended intake. The DRI for fiber is 25 g and my average fiber intake was around 35 g. On
the day that I consumed the most fiber, my fiber intake was 44.25 g. My highest sources of fiber
on that day came from whole grain bread which was 6 grams, canned tomato sauce which had
7.32 grams, and guacamole which had 8.88 grams. Fiber is a key component in a healthy diet.
Consuming adequate amounts of fiber will help with normal digestion and prevent constipation,
slow down digestion which helps with weight loss by preventing hunger, and lowers cholesterol.
The next macronutrient to analyze is protein. The AMDR for protein is 10% to 35% of
your total calories. My protein intake fell within the AMDR at 20%. The RDA for protein intake
based on your bodyweight is 0.8 g per kilogram of bodyweight. When calculating my protein
intake, I had consumed double the RDA at 1.6 g per kilogram of bodyweight. I fell within the
AMDR for protein and was exactly double the RDA so I do not believe I had to make any
changes to my protein intake. I am also active so I believe that this is an adequate amount. I
occasionally consume a protein supplement drink when I am on the go. This would be something
I could eliminate from my diet to make sure my protein intake does not go too high.
The final macronutrient to analyze is lipids. This is a category that I need to pay close
attention to. Comparing my average percentage of fat intake to the AMDR I was over the
recommendations. My percentage of total average energy intake contributed by fat was 41% and
the AMDR for is 20% to 35%. My saturated fat intake was over the Daily Value Limit. My % of
total average energy intake contributed by saturated fat was 11% when it should be below 10%.
My cholesterol was below the DRI of 300 mg, falling at 102 mg. Since my diet was over the
AMDR of fat I should reduce some of the sources of fat in my diet. The highest sources of fat in
my diet were from hummus, salad dressing, goat cheese, avocado, and peanut butter or nuts.
Most of these contain high levels of healthy fats such as polyunsaturated and monounsaturated
fats, but still contain some saturated fats. Since my overall fat was over the AMDR and my

saturated fat was over the daily value limit I should consider reducing the portions of these fat
sources. Another option would be to not eat all of these fat sources in one day. If I had peanut
butter in the morning and hummus as a snack, leaving off the goat cheese on my salad could be
the solution to lowering my fat intake. Dietary cholesterol is mainly in the animal products that
we consume such as meat, cheese, dairy products, poultry, fish, and eggs. It is very possible to
consume a diet high in fat but cholesterol free if you eat a lot of plant based fat sources. Some
examples of these would be peanut butter, olive oil, and hummus.
When comparing the micronutrients of my diet to the RDA and UL there were some
micronutrients that were too high and some that were too low. My sodium intake was over the
UL. I consumed an average of 3853 mg daily when the UL for sodium is 2300 mg per day. The
foods that were highest in sodium were tomato sauce at 2557 mg, avocado at 632 mg, and rold
gold pretzels at 613 mg. Eliminating canned tomato sauce or anything canned and making my
own sauce from tomatoes would reduce sodium. Also any processed foods such as pretzels or
chips would contain sodium. Eliminating processed foods from the diet would help reduce
sodium.
The next micronutrient compared was iron. The recommendations for iron are 18 mg
daily and my average intake was 15 mg. Sources of iron would include ground beef, pinto beans,
and clams. A great meal to include iron into your diet would be chili because it contains ground
beef, pinto beans, and tomatoes that contain the vitamin C to help the absorption of the iron from
the ground beef and pinto beans.
My diet did meet the recommended dietary intake for calcium so I do not need to increase
my calcium intake. I consumed on average 1125 mg of calcium and the RDA is 1000 mg. The
highest sources of calcium in the diet were almond milk at 300 mg, whole grain bread at 300 mg,
and mozzarella cheese at 443 mg.
Other vitamins and minerals that I was below 75% of the recommendations included
Thiamin (B1), Vitamin B12, Folate, and Vitamin D. My Thiamin intake was only 0.59 mg when
the RDA is set at 1.1 mg. Foods that I could include to increase my thiamin intake would be
pork, soy milk, and fortified whole grain products. My Vitamin B12 intake was only 1.36 g
when the RDA is 2.4 g. In order to obtain more B12 in my diet I would need to include more
meat, fish, poultry, shellfish, milk, and cheese. Folate was another micronutrient that fell
extremely below the RDA. I only consumed 165.7 g, which is not even half of the RDA that is
set at 400 g. I need to eat higher amounts of leafy green vegetables, seeds, fortified grains, and
liver in my diet. Vitamin D is a micronutrient that I need to work on. I only consumed 1.47 g of
Vitamin D which is about 13.5 g below the RDA that is set at 15 g. Although Vitamin D can
be synthesized from the sun I will not obtain Vitamin D from about October to April living in
New York. Therefore, I need to consume higher amounts of fortified foods such as milk,
margarine, butter, juices, and cereals. Beef, egg yolks, and salmon also contain Vitamin D.

For my height, weight, and age it was calculated that I would burn an average of 1916
kcal per day. When comparing my diet analysis to this number I consumed an average of 1925
kcals per day. This means that I only consumed an average of 9 kcals over what I burned. If I
multiplied the 9 kcals by 7 days a week I should theoretically be over 63 kcals a week and gain
0.02 lbs. a week. One reason that I may not be gaining weight is that this formula does not
consider the kcals burned each day when exercising. One reason that I am not losing weight if I
am burning more kcals than I am consuming is if the food database did not let me accurately put
in a different brand of food that is a different nutrient composition with higher kcals.
There are a few food groups that I would consider to be deficient. These food groups are
beans and peas, starchy vegetables, other vegetables, dairy, and the protein food group. I am
deficient in potassium only consuming 3987 mg when my target should be 4700 mg. Since I am
low in starchy vegetables and other vegetables and am okay in the fruit category, that could
contribute to my potassium deficiency. If I consumed potatoes which is a starchy potato I could
increase my potassium level. Iron is another nutrient that I am deficient in and is most likely a
cause of poor protein intake and bean intake. If I consumed more meat in my diet, I would be
okay. Vitamin B12 was also deficient which is also due to low protein. Vitamin D is a nutrient
that I am low in which is most likely caused from being low in dairy consumption. Choline is
another nutrient that showed to be under the target. Consuming more protein and dairy would
help my choline intake.
According to MyPlate I consumed too many empty calories. I should have consumed less
than or equal to 258 calories and ended up consuming 371 empty calories. Of those 371 total
empty calories, 274 calories came from solid fats and 97 calories came from added sugars.
Specific foods that contributed to these empty calories for fat were the dressings and cheese.
Sugar is often added to flavored Greek yogurt, peanut butter, and trail mix.
Some inconsistences occurred between MyPlate and Diet Analysis Plus. One difference is
that the target calories and average eaten calories were different. For Diet Analysis Plus it was
recommended I eat 2016 kcals and that on I average my intake was 2025 kcals. For MyPlate it
was recommended I intake 2000 calories and my average intake was 2069 calories. Another
inconsistency was between the nutrients. An example is Diet Analysis Plus states that I am
deficient in folate but MyPlate said my Folate levels were ok. One last inconsistency was when I
was logging by diet for the three days Diet Analysis Plus was limited in the food and brands of
foods allowed to type in. MyPlate did not have all the food options but had a much better
selection. This may contribute to the differences in calories and nutrient deficiencies.
I believe MyPlate is a useful tool for the general public to use to improve their diet.
Although it may be time consuming to enter your diet, it was simple to enter. The results were
easily broken down to show which food groups you were under, over, and okay in. Next to that it
showed the servings you received and the recommended servings which help visualize how
many more cups of vegetables, for example, you would need. Then it is further broken into the

nutrients you are under, ok, and over in. This also helps to visualize which food groups may be
causing the nutrient deficiencies. The only suggestion I have is to help list which foods
contributed to empty calories in the diet so those could be avoided.
The three-day diet analysis was typical of my usual diet and activity patterns. The
analysis that was logged however did not properly include my activity level to reflect what I
actually did. My diet was properly logged to the best of my ability but some of the brands were
not available to log into the system. The fact that my activity level was not properly logged
affected the target amount of calories to consume. The more active you are the more calories you
can consume to maintain weight. The calories may have been off slightly since the brands chosen
were not the actual brands that were consumed. One part of my diet that I need to work on is
consuming more protein from meat sources to increase my iron consumption. Another
adjustment that could be made to my diet is to increase my dairy intake to help increase Vitamin
D levels. One other change I need to make to my diet is to decrease my sodium intake and
increase my potassium intake. This is done by eating less processed, canned, or packaged foods
and choosing more whole vegetables, starches, and fruits into the diet.