Reflection on 3 blogs

1.ifeelrumblyinmytumbly.blogspot.com (Winnie!)

Her reflection was well written and the information of her 3day diet is neatly arranged on her blog and I thought it was overall quite well done. Her modified dish is also alot healthier than the one she ate originally (: Great job :D

2.theyummuyumyums.blogspot.com (Cheritta!)

Neat presentation of 3 day diet as well (: I would say good job done on the reflection too. Like me, she takes in more energy than needed. However, I guessed she balanced it well too with sports and excising. A balance is essential as it ensures that she leads a healthy life (:

3.supermanlovesfood.blogspot.com (Yanggin!)

Both of us did not have enough calcium in our diet but my percentage of calcium (as compared to RDA) was lower. I guess both of us have to take more soya related food and green leafy vegetables! Nice effort in beautifying the blog and neat presentation of information! :D

Reflection on the PT

What have you learnt about your eating habits?

I thought that my eating habits are little unhealthly and I take my meals quite irregularly (especially my dinner which is often taken quite late). However, I balance my diet with the exercises I do and my CCA ( track and field), and make sure that I am not underweight or overweight. When I eat more oily food, I do more exercises to kill the calories/fats in my body and hence, I don't really go overweight (:

Do you consider you diet as a healthy one?

As I have mentioned above, I balance what I eat with the exercises I do and hence, I suppose its quite healthy. However, I have strong taste buds and tend to eat stuffs that are saltier and sweeter than usual. I need to improve on this before I suffer from illnesses such as diabetes.


Are the suggest nutritional tools useful? How?

The nutritional tools are quite useful in analysing my diet and I thought that it was pretty useful in like finding what's wrong with my diet so that I can put more emphasis on improving the parts I need to improve on instead on working aimlessly. . Overall, it was quite useful to a certain extent and they provided some information that I never knew :D

Why is your suggested one-dish meal healthy?

I thought that my one-dish meal was quite healthly (: It was high in fibre and vitamin-rich (with the vegetables). Furthermore, brown rice was used. I think it would be quite suitable for diabetic patients also since the white rice has been replaced. It was lower in sodium (as compared to the original one) because "Braggs" was used instead of soy sauce. Hence, it was overall quite healthy. The ingreedients used in the new dish is all fresh (not preserved) and yeahp, this adds to the nutritional value of the meal! :D

Modification of a dish

(picture taken from http://homeinsg.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/olive-fried-rice.jpg)

I want to modify the Olive Fried Rice I ate on Friday. The Olive Fried Rice is fried with preserved olive. It would be healthier if fresh olives are used because it'll be less oily and fattening. I suggest that we can replace the white rice with brown rice as brown rice has a higher nutritional value and its less sweet as compared to white rice. Evidence shows that brown rice contains more fibre, vitamin and minerals than the white rice (: The original fried rice has very little vegetables. Hence, I think that more vegetables should be in the Olive fried rice the next time. Examples of vegetables that can be fried with the fried rice would be beansprouts, lettuce leaves which are high in fibre. Not forgetting their vitamin content, the beansprouts are high in vitamins A,B,C and E while lettuce leaves are high in Vitamin A,C and K (: In addition, we can use "braggs" instead of soysauce to fry the fried rice. "Braggs" is low in sodium as there are no preservatives and table salt added. This means that it is a healthier alternative as compared to soy sauce etc.

3 day diet (:

Click on the picture to zoom into my diet (:

Based on the information you have provided, your daily energy requirement is estimated to be 1,852 kcal. This energy requirement is the level of calorie intake from food that will balance the calories your body burns, thus maintaining your weight. For weight loss, you should consume fewer calories and be more active. If you need to gain weight, consume more calories than your body requires.

Period of Analysis: 21/01/2010 - 23/01/2010
Average intake per day

-Energy (kcal) 2,183 (1852) --> 118
-Carbohydrate (g) 338.6 (277.7) --> 122
-Protein (g) 55.6 (54.4) --> 102
-Total Fat (g) 69.2 (61.7) --> 112
-Saturated Fat (g) 25.1 (20.6) --> 122
-Cholesterol (mg) 85.1 (185.2) --> 46
-Calcium (mg) 628.1 (1000) --> 63
-Dietary Fibre (g) 27.2 (18.5) --> 147
-Sodium (mg) 2804.4 (1235) --> 227


*bracketed numbers) are the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA).
*% of recommendation met is represented by "-->"


View graph of actual nutritional intake compared against RDA

-Energy 118%
-Carbohydrate 122%
-Protein 102%
-Total Fat 112%
-Saturated Fat 122%
-Cholesterol 46%
-Calcium 63%
-Dietary Fibre 147%
-Sodium 227%


Table showing the % of total calories of diet versus recommendation
-% of total energy intake
-Your diet Recommendation
Total Carbohydrates 62% 55 - 65%
Total Protein 10% 10 - 15%
Total Fat 29% 25 - 30%


Nutrition messages based on results

Energy
Your intake of energy from your diet was more than you need. Frequently eating above your energy needs can contribute to excess calories, which will be stored as body fat if it is not being used for physical activities. Excessive body fat leads to blood pressure, stroke diabetes and even certain cancers.

Energy in the foods we eat comes from three categories of nutrients - carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Fat is the most concentrated source of energy. Gram for gram, fat (9 kcal/g) has more than twice the energy of carbohydrate (4 kcal/g) or protein (4 kcal/g). Hence, foods high in fat are generally high in calories. Alcohol also supplies more calories (7 kcal/g) than carbohydrate or protein.

Know your daily energy allowance, and balance the energy from the food you eat with the energy your body uses for physical activities.

Total Fat
Your total fat intake was more than the recommended amount. A diet high in fat is associated with overweight, high blood cholesterol, heart disease and other related health problems.

To reduce total fat in your diet, use less oil or fats when cooking and use fat spreads sparingly. Use lean cuts of meat and poultry, and remove visible fat and skin. When eating out, ask for less fat or oil in your food. As extras add up, make your food choices wisely. Choose reduced fat or skimmed milk and dairy products instead of full cream varieties. Choose plain rice over flavoured rice, and cut down on the use of sweetened condensed milk or creamers.

Saturated Fat
Your intake of saturated fat was higher that the recommended amount. An excess of saturated fat can raise your blood cholesterol, subsequently increasing your risk of heart disease.

The main sources of fat in our diet are also the sources of saturated fat! These include coconut-milk based foods, blended oil (usually used in commercial cooking), flavoured rice (e.g. chicken rice, nasi lemak, nasi briyani) and creamer/whitener/condensed and evaporated milk in beverages. Cutting down or limiting such sources of fat will also help to reduce saturated fat intake.

Sodium
Your sodium intake was greater than the recommended amounts. Sodium acts like a sponge, holding water in our body. Excess sodium increases the blood volume, which then raises the pressure in our blood vessels. Hypertension or high blood pressure increases the risk of stroke and heart attacks.

The main source of sodium in our diet comes from salt (sodium chloride) and sauces added during cooking or at the table. To cut down on sodium intake, gradually reduce the use of salt and sauces when preparing or cooking food so that your taste buds have the chance to adjust. Try flavouring foods with natural seasonings like lemon juice or herbs and spices. Choose fresh food over processed foods over processed foods and enjoy the natural taste of foods. When eating out, ask for less sauces or gravy in dishes.

Calcium
You were not getting enough calcium in your diet. Without adequate calcium, you may be at risk of developing osteoporosis, a condition where your bones become weak and brittle. If left untreated, osteoporosis can worsen until a fracture (crack or break in the bone) occurs.

Increase your calcium intake from a variety of sources. Consume calcium-enriched breads and biscuits, green leafy vegetables, calcium-fortified juices, high-calcium soya bean milk, ikan bilis, sardines (with bones), tofu, as well as milk and other dairy products. Vitamin D helps our body absorb calcium. Your body can make this vitamin after sunlight hits your skin. You can easily obtain enough by getting at least 30-60 minutes of sunlight a day.


Aside from eating wisely, remember to make exercise a part of your life. Exercise helps to burn fat, tone your muscles, improve your stamina, relax and sleep better, as well as keep you alert and study better! Exercise at least 20 to 60 minutes, 3 to 5 times a week, until you sweat and breathe deeply without getting breathless. Choose an exercise that you enjoy, and try a variety so that you don’t get bored. Keep your exercise routine simple, fun and interesting.


When shopping for food, look out for products with the Healthier Choice Symbol. These products are lower in total fat, saturated fat, sodium and/or dietary fibre content compared to other products in the same category.

Special thanks to http://www.hpb.gov.sg /default.aspx for helping with my diet analysis! :D