Diet Modification

My Personal Diet Modification Plan

After analyzing my personal diet in terms of nutritional strengths and weaknesses I found the following:

• Strengths:

• I love fruits, vegetables, fish, chicken and lean meats.  I have never been a picky eater and love to try different foods.
• I do not care too much for fried foods aside from the occasional fried chicken.  I prefer my food baked, grilled, steamed or stir-fried.
• I drink sodas and tea only on occasions.  I do not drink coffee either. I used to drink iced tea pretty regularly but I stopped three years ago after I realized it was dehydrating me.
• I try and keep my sodium intake at around 1500 mg/day but do go over on some days.
• I reduced my fast food intake about three years ago and if I do go to a fast food restaurant I pick a healthy option if available.
•  Weaknesses:                                                                                                
• I love breads, especially warm and with butter.                                     
  
• I love anything chocolate.
• My weakness is sweets especially late at night or if I am tired or stressed.
• I enjoy breakfast tacos but do not eat them very often anymore.
• I love Mexican, Chinese, and Italian food which are a lot of carbohydrates.
• I love, love, love ice cream especially in the evenings or right before bed.  I was eating this at night after work on a regular basis for several months which caused me to gain weight.
• I like mayonnaise on my potato salad and sandwiches.
• I love eggs in any form.

Now that I have written down my nutritional dietary strengths and weakness I can see that I need to make some serious changes.  I have already made sever modifications but will need to make more.

•  I will limit my bread intake and replace it with whole wheat bread.  I will put only a small amount of butter on my breakfast toast.
• Chocolate treats will be limited and I will replace milk chocolate with dark chocolate.
• I will not buy cookies, cakes, or any sweets so that I will not be tempted to snack on them.  I have already started buying plain Greek yogurt and eat this at night with fruit when I want something sweet. I will try and not use eat sweets or food when I am tired or stressed.  I will go to sleep if I am tired or exercise if I am stressed.
• I have already stopped eating breakfast tacos and replaced them with natural whole wheat shredded wheat, fruit and unsweetened almond milk.
• I will look for healthy recipe alternative to Mexican, Chinese, and Italian foods.  I can use brown rice, whole wheat pasta and not use soy sauce or any condiments that add unneeded calories and fat.
• I have stopped eating ice cream but do miss it.  I will rarely eat frozen yogurt but I think an occasional plain and small ice cream cone will not be bad as long as it is only on occasion.
• I will replace mayonnaise with yogurt on my recipes and use mustard or hummus on my sandwiches.
• I have to limit my daily egg intake and use more egg whites.
• I will exercise portion control.
• I will use a smaller plate and follow the Choose My Plate guideline for food portions.                  
  
• I will eat fish more often and make sure I eat plenty of fruits and vegetable.

These are a few ways that I can make changes and improve my nutritional dietary intake.  By following this plan and incorporating exercise I will eventually reach my weight and nutritional goal. I can then be a good example to my family.