When I began this analysis, my idea of a quick "diet" was to eat very little, maybe even nothing at all. I do tend to struggle, as most teenage girls in this society do, with my appearance. Sometimes I compare myself to other girls, or fall into the deep hole of seeing the unnaturally small models in the media and believing that those women have the desirable, healthy bodies. This assignment has been a wake-up call. Instead of being morbidly over the calorie and sodium count like I thought I would be, I was very low in every single category. Even on my cheat day, where I had an In & Out burger with 480 calories and french fries with 395 calories, I was still 834 calories under the suggested daily calorie intake for my weight, gender, and age. I think this has partly to do with my poor habit of eating little amounts of food. I tend to feel full very quickly, and stop eating after only a couple bites. In fact, on some days I did not have breakfast because I overslept, leading me to eat even less.
So why, I ask myself, do I still believe myself to be a little heavier, to retain weight and fat in the unsightly places? Some part of this, I think, is my food choice. Look at my food intake for Day 3. Out of the 8 foods I ate that day, 3 of them were laden with carbohydrates, toast, a bagel, and white rice. Bagels and white rice are both notorious for being carb-heavy and unhealthy. I could substitute my bagel lunch for a more protein-heavy lunch. In fact, my only protein intake that day was one portion of chicken! I could swap the white rice for the far more beneficial brown rice. I could increase my portion size while being mindful of what I’m eating, like having 2 eggs for breakfast instead of a sugary Starbucks scone. My only veggie intake that day was broccoli! That is unusual for me, but still concerning.
Another factor to my appearance might just be genetic. My family has a vast history of being overweight (partly because of the Italian family’s killer pasta recipes). Sadly, I do not know how I can remedy this.
The scariest day for me to see was Day 1. I had only 695 calories! I ate only 7 different foods. I was vastly below in fiber at only 7.4 grams, Vitamin C at 17.12 grams, iron at 3.96 milligrams, sodium at 1803 milligrams, Vitamin B-6 at 0.3 grams, and magnesium at 76 grams. That is not a healthy diet for a moderately active 17 year old girl who danced for 3 hours that day. I see that not a single nutrient was fulfilled that day. How was my body still functioning?
I need to increase my protein intake and my fat intake while decreasing my carb intake. As I stated before, I tend to “overcarbsume” like many other Americans. I also need to sadly not eat my favorite and dear Kind Granola Bars. I am addicted to the Almond and Apricot bars, and for some reason I built up in my mind that they were healthy. They are not. They are a better choice than a bag of Lays, but not better than having some veggies with hummus, or a handful of almonds without the added honey and sugar.
As a moderately active person, I am in the studio or gym often, whether it be teaching my crazy little munchkins or working my max on a solo routine. I expend a lot of energy, even more than regular because of my pre-existing and exercise-induced asthma, which causes moderately intense or vigorous activity to be even more difficult. I often hit the wall that you described in class, because I have no stored energy reserves after my initial carb intake runs out. This impairs my growth as a dancer.
Also, I struggle with a regular sleeping schedule, which I have read can wreak havoc on your weight fluctuation. When I sleep less my body doesn’t heal or rest properly. I feel as though I am dragging my way through the day, a feeling that is intensified by my lack of energy from food. Hopefully this will regulate when I am done with college applications.
All in all, if I eat more meaningful calories with nutrient-dense foods, increase my protein and fat intake, reduce my carb intake, sleep more, etc. then hopefully I will see more results.
Bibliography:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_fingers
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penne
https://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/generic/pesto-sauce
https://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/generic/chicken-parmesan
http://mobile.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/usda/yellow-sweet-corn?portionid=59083&portionamount=89
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Espresso
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_cream
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinach
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana
https://www.almondbreeze.com/products/almondmilk-original/#nutritionalFacts
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egg_as_food
https://www.caloriecount.com/calories-kind-almond-apricot-bar-i214668
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/baked-products/4872/2
https://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/smuckers/strawberry-jelly
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/calories/natural-jif-creamy-peanut-butter-1-serving-357013801?v2=false
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrot
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cucumber
https://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/kraft/natural-mozzarella-string-cheese
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate-covered_raisin
http://pizzamyheart.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/PMH-NutritionFacts.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butter
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cream_cheese
http://www.fatsecret.com/diary.aspx?pa=fjrd&rid=57097
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broccoli
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/calories/starbucks-pumpkin-spice-scone-362000702?v2=false
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hummus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onion
http://www.in-n-out.com/pdf/nutrition_2010.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemonade
https://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/generic/caesar-salad-(with-romaine)?portionid=19864&portionamount=1.000
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Date_palm
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/calories/asian-noodles-noodles-310598318?v2=false
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/calories/generic-1-3-cup-of-filipino-chicken-adobo-dqf-350951758?v2=false
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice