Food reflection Essay

1. Have you ever kept a food journal before? If so, why? I have done a food once when I was in high school. It was my sophomore year in health class. My teacher wanted us to learn about what kind of food we eat. So she made us do it for one weekend. She wanted us to share what we ate and how everyone ate differently. Some people ate healthier and some did not. She made us look at how much we ate and what she should do to eat healthier. 2. Did this food record make you more aware of what you were eating? Did it make you change your eating habits? Why or why not? This food record does make me more aware of what I am eating. Like for that certain day I ate more than the weekdays. On weekdays I would not have time to eat as much as I did because the weekdays I am busy with schoolwork. That day I was with friends during lunch but during dinner I was alone. I don’t think it will make me change my habit on eating. For me, I like to eat different things each day. I do not like to eat the same thing everyday. I like to change things up so I wont get tired of eating the same thing. This is why I feel like I do not need to change my habit because I do change everyday. This also showed me to eat other things. Like it showed that my vegetable and whole grains are low. Which means that I need to eat more things that have them in it than other food. 3. Did your food/drink intake indicate anything about what was going on in your daily life? No I do not feel like it indicates anything about what is going on in my daily life. Like going to the gym to run or walking around the park with friends. Some days when I am lazy, I would sit around and eat food all day long while watching TV. Then other days I would be out with people working and doing activities. I think the only thing the food report shows is the amount of food that is intake but does not show the other activities I do. The food report does not show if I were working at a job. Whether I would be sitting or standing all day. 4. What surprised you about your intake, if anything? One thing that surprised me in the food I ate was the amount of calories that are in some food. I never realized how much could be in one cup or a couple ounces. Usually I do look at the box where it has the calories and the food in it. While looking back at it, it seems as if the calories was not that important, the important thing is to look at the type of food that is in it. Like if there is any grains or meat or vegetable. I looked at the food report and it showed that my vegetables intakes are low. I thought I was fine with the vegetable but I guess I am not. 5. Was your eating pattern for this day usual? Why or why not? This was normal for my weekends. Like I know I can relax and eat as much as I want over the weekend than on the weekdays. On weekdays I am in class and out of class from 8AM to 2PM. If I were not in class I would be at work. So I do not have as much time to eat whatever I want or as much as I want. On a usually weekday, I would get a snack for the morning and then eat at 2 after all my classes are finished. On weekends I would typically eat more. Having a small meal in the morning and two big meals for lunch and dinner. 6. What changes will you make, if any, to your eating patterns after this assignment? Some changes as I said in some of the other questions are to eat more whole grains, eat more vegetables, and take in less refined grains and meat. I need to cut back on some meat because I know if I eat too much I will start to gain weight. While cutting back some of the food, I also need to start to go to the gym more often.