Healthy Eating Plan, Essay Example

The nutrition results that were obtained will help me develop a suitable eating plan to make it healthier than it is currently.  While my budget constrains my ability to eat healthy, there are some easy ways that I think I can do to eat healthier.  The results provided some valuable insights into what I can do to improve in these areas.

Current Eating Habits

My current eating habits revealed what I was doing well in and how I need to improve.  Low-fat strawberry yogurt, fruits, vegetables, and bran checks represent the current nutrition-rich foods in my diet.  While these foods are good for me nutritionally, it obviously has some defining points as to my diet, which will be identified subsequently.

Recommendations

The results demonstrated areas in which I need to improve.  First the areas that are acceptable should be noted.  Grains, fruits, total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol are among these areas of nutrition.  In these areas I come reasonably close or above the recommended amount, or goal.

The first of the four main areas of improvement is found in vegetables.  Of the 3.5 cups recommended, I only have 1.5 accounted for, which is of course less than half of the recommended amount.  This is one area that is notably constrained by my budget, though some ways to get around this must be considered if I wish to eat healthy.

The next area of improvement is that of milk.  Of the recommended three cups, I only drink one-third of this amount, with one cup.  This is another area that is related to my budget, as milk is certainly not inexpensive.  However, once again, milk must be taken into consideration for nutritional purposes.

Meats and beans represent the next area of improvement.  This is perhaps the most crucial area of improvement, at least in terms of how much more I need to intake to reach the recommended goal.  Less than 30% of this amount is reached, as I scored with 1.8 oz of the 6.5 oz recommended.

The final area of improvement is that of sodium.  I scored roughly 600 mg over the 2300 mg recommended over three days.  Other sources advocate a higher daily limit, such as the Canadian Government’s 1500 mg per day recommendation, which is argued to be necessary to “promote good health” (Canadian Government).  Perhaps this is not as big of a deal as the other recommendations.

Overall these four areas represent those that I need to improve in in terms of my diet.  Vegetables, milk, sodium, and meat and beans should be areas that I focus in when I outline changes to my diet.  These proposed changes will be identified in the subsequent section for my eating plan.

Implementation of Changes

My healthy eating plan must be accommodated to add these changes.  Nutritionally there are some ways that I believe I can allow myself to eat better.  I think identifying ways to add these items to my diet and implement them into my eating habits is a start.  Also, budget concerns are of course relevant for me as well, which I must also keep in mind while identifying such changes.

Addressing each area individually, vegetables as the first category will certainly not be easy.  There are many practical disadvantages with vegetables.  Shelf life and budget concerns are certainly seen.  Also, they must become a part of one’s diet to eat the right amount.

One way to eat more vegetables is to take into account budgetary concerns, at least in my situation.  Paying more attention to what is in season will allow me to purchase quality vegetables for a reasonable price.  Also, paying attention to those vegetables that are normally pretty reasonable will be valuable to me, such as carrots, onions, and cucumbers, at least generally speaking.

Practical considerations also apply, especially in eating the right amount of vegetables for me.  As I eat less than half of what is recommended in that of vegetables, incorporating them into snacks is one way to go.  Carrots make for a great snack.  Homemade salsa is also a great way to compound vegetables for a great-tasting snack, though of course I would need to be careful with sodium if I am eating chips.  Adding a meal on a consistent basis that has a good amount of vegetables, such as vegetable soup, will allow me to eat more vegetables on a consistent basis, I believe.

Milk is also another area in which I need to improve.  Price isn’t exactly negotiable here, such as different prices in vegetables.  However, if I can save money in other areas, perhaps I could buy milk more often.

Adding milk to my eating plan may not be that difficult.  As a snack and for breakfast, cereal would be a healthy choice to consume more milk.  There are also healthy shakes that I could try to enhance my milk intake.  Of course, just simply being more cognizant of drinking milk may be the best way to drink more milk.

Meat and beans represents the main final area in which I need to accommodate in my eating plan, at least in regards to actual foods.  In terms of budgetary concerns, I may just have to be more careful in terms of eating meat, by cutting out unnecessary purchases.  Beans can be reasonably priced, which I could include more into my meals.  In terms of implementing it into my diet, there are not as many options as in the case of vegetables, in my opinion; I will have to get used to having meals centered on these two important areas.

Sodium must also be taken into consideration in my diet.  Although sources vary, I should be careful to eliminate those foods that are high in sodium in my diet.  Perhaps I could exchange these meals and snacks for low-sodium alternatives, such as those that incorporate missing food groups, like vegetables, meat, and beans.

Generally speaking, I would love to transform my diet if money was no option.  Eating an organic low-sodium diet would be ideal to my preferences.  However, that is not feasible for me right now, in regards to my finances.

At any rate one way to improve where I am right now is to make a budget.  I think this can help me considerably, by seeing what I am spending money on every time I shop for food.  Perhaps if I keep better track of what I am spending money on, I will be able to incorporate higher quality foods for my diet.

Other general changes can help me accommodate a better eating plan.  For instance, limiting the amount I eat out would be great.  The money saved there alone could allow me to buy foods that I wouldn’t previously.  Though it is a more general consideration, I think keeping an eye out for prices would help me considerably.  Even something as simple as buying frozen vegetables would be good, which are almost as good as fresh vegetables.  These types of general considerations could help me take into account all of these factors, and not put too many constraints on my budget.

Implementing these changes could go a long way to transforming my current diet for the better.  Even simple changes, such as eating carrots as a snack can help me each much healthier.  It is interesting to note how many of these considerations has a lot to do with discipline, such as found in budgeting, eating out, and planning healthier meals.

Conclusion

The results obtained offered some unique insights into my current eating habits.  Vegetables, milk, sodium, and meat and beans are the areas in which I need to concentrate for my diet.  After examining some easy ways to implement them into my eating plan, I should be able to eat healthier.

Although I can’t currently change to my desired low-sodium organic diet, by virtue of finances, there are some ways I can easily make these changes.  Being more conscious of reasonably-priced foods in these categories is one certain way to make these changes.  Also, I think that planning more meals for me that incorporate these foods will be helpful.

Overall these changes should help my eating plan, while taking into account practical considerations that make it difficult at times.  These recommendations have certainly helped me pinpoint and recognize some of my diet’s strengths and weaknesses.  Perhaps I will be able to implement these changes to my eating plan soon, to be able to eat much healthier.

References

Canadian Government.” It’s Your Health – Sodium.” 2008. Web. May 29, 2010.

United States Department of Agriculture. “MyPyramidTracker.” N.D. Web. May 29, 2010.