Three Day Activity Analysis

1.     CheckPoint: Three Day Activity Analysis

·         Due Date: Day 5 [Individual] forum

·         Use the physical activity assessment tool provided on http://www.mypyramidtracker.gov to keep track of any physical activity you do over a 3-day period.

·         Use the registration instructions in Appendix B to set up an account with the MyPyramid Tracker Web site if you have not done so already.

·         Use the Analyze Physical Activities feature on the Web site as a reference to determine how many calories you burned during the 3-day period.

·         Write a 200- to 300-word response addressing the following questions:

o    What everyday changes, if any, might you make to increase the amount of energy expended in your day-to-day activities?

o    What types and amounts of exercise would work best for you?

o    Can the activities be performed year-round? If not, can you suggest alternative activities and locations for inclement weather?149

            After using the physical activity assessment tool I was surprised to find so many normal everyday activities available to put in your activity tool.  I climb stairs at work and home every day and found that there was an activity to include this daily use of the stairs.  This to me is normal every day stuff but when assessing your physical activity it does count.  Even with all of these incidentals there are a few everyday changes I can make.  I might be able to add a walk around the block after dinner in an effort to reach the thousand steps a day.  Apart from adding a walk after dinner, there is not much room in my day for adding everyday activities.  I have struggled for many years trying to find an exercise that can easily fit in with my day and that is something I will enjoy enough to do every day.  I have tried exercise videos, walking exercises, play exercises, and I have even bought a gazelle.  None of these stuck, and none of them changed my weight. I plan on my next test to be a treadmill.  Since I enjoy walking, and it needs to be something I can do late night after the kids are in bed.  A treadmill should be easy to adapt into my normal routine and easy to use. 

            The treadmill should be something I can do year round and can be a good substitute for the activities I can not do during the winter months, such as the walk around the block after dinner.  

Three Day Diet Analysis

1.     CheckPoint: Three Day Diet Analysis

·         Due Date: Day 5 [ post to the Individual forum]

·         Document what you eat during a 3-day period by using the free food intake assessment tool located on http://www.mypyramidtracker.gov.

·         Set up an account with the MyPyramid Tracker Web site by using the registration instructions in Appendix B.

·         Analyze your food intake by answering the following questions:

o    How does your diet compare to the recommendations you received from the Food Guide Pyramid? How many servings from each food group did you consume?

o    How might you modify your diet to get the recommended servings for each food group? What are some nutrient-rich foods that you could add to your daily diet?

o    Examine the food labels for three of the items included on your food diary. List the following components for each of the items:

·         Total calories per serving

·         Percentage of calories from fat

·         Total amount of carbohydrates (in grams)

·         Total amount of protein (in grams)

·         Total amount of fiber (in grams)

·         Post your response as an attachment.

           My diet is lower than the recommendations I received on the Food Guide Pyramid.  Depending on the day, I consume between one-third to two-thirds of each group.  There is a chart below that shows my comparison with my three day analysis and the recommendations.

Food Group	Day one	Day two	Day three	Recommendations
Milk	3.9 cup	3 cup	.3 cup	3 cup
Meat and Beans	2.6 oz	0	1.7 oz	6.5 oz
Vegetables	2.6 cup	0 cup	1.3 cup	3 cup
Fruit	0	0	0	2 cup
Grains	6.2 oz	4.9 oz	3.3 oz	8 oz

I found the pyramid tracker to be an inefficient tool for my needs.  Several items could not be displayed accurately.  For example, one meal included broccoli and cheese rice a roni, however the tracker did not allow for any rice a roni type that was not beef or chicken.  This I believe would show an inaccurate count of my vegetable or milk intake since what I ate had more vegetables and milk than a generic chicken flavor. 

I have made many changes to my diet in recent months, some as recent as a few weeks.  I have modified my normal breakfasts in the work cafeteria by simply not getting them.  I bring my breakfast from home which is usually cereal or yogurt with strawberries.  I also have incorporated special k granola bars or hard boiled eggs for snacks instead of chips or chocolate.  I chose yogurt, strawberries and hard boiled eggs for their iodine content to ensure my thyroid is working properly and is not the reason for my weight.

 For dinner I usually keep baby spinach leaves, broccoli and carrots in my refrigerator.  I find by keeping these items on hand I am more likely to find a way to incorporate them into a dinner in order to add more nutrition into mine and my family’s diet.  Even if only for the simplest reason of, to use it before it goes bad. 

One other change I have made is to add more vegetable nutrients into my diet by way of amazing grass power.  One of my friends has studied some benefits of having an alkaline system versus an acidic and turned me onto the amazing grass website.  By adding one scoop of their amazing grass into my milk in the morning I have increased my vegetable nutrients up to seven servings. 

The chart below shows three items I intake frequently and their statistics.  I included statistics on the Green Superfood Amazing Grass I intake daily just for show. 

                       

	Milk	Strawberry	Green Superfood
Total calories	120	49	30
Percentage calories from fat	37%	1%	0%
Total carbs	11g	12g	4g
Total protein	8g	1g	2g
Total fiber	0g	3g	2g

Links:                           

www.amazinggrass.com