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Nancy Barrios

Knott-Silva

KIN 43

February 11, 2024

3 Day Tracker Reflection

I will start this assignment by saying that I chose the wrong days to start this assignment.

I didn’t look at the assignment details during the beginning of the week. It was my birthday on

Sunday and I decided to give myself a day off of some homework. I looked through the modules

on Monday, and paid attention to when things were due. I got everything done on time, but

didn’t pay attention to the actual details of the assignment until Wednesday night. Thursday was

my son’s birthday. We had plans to celebrate all day and the following. I was still able to track

everything, but those days are not indicative of how I eat most days. This does work out for me

though, because it gives me a better understanding of food choices and allows me to write a little

more.

I set up the My Fitness Pal app on my phone and on my laptop. I do have to say that it is

easier to navigate on my laptop than it is on my phone. I believe the app can use a little more

work. Looking up my totals and getting my reports was a simple process on my laptop. From

there, I was able to see that on the two days where we were celebrating my son’s birthday, my

sodium levels were off the charts. I wasn’t able to log the exact foods that I had, from the exact

restaurants that I had them from, but I do know that I did have a lot of sodium. I’m sure what I

was able to log wasn’t too far off from the actual amounts. On the day-to-day logs, nothing else
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showed up as too high or too low. Looking at the individual nutrition facts was a different, but

unsurprising, story.

I looked at my totals for the three-day period and my breakfast from the 4th day. I plan to

continue to using the app, which is actually one of my goals. Overall, my fiber intake was too

low. My sodium, as previously mentioned, was too high. My cholesterol showed up as under my

recommended intake on all three days, and over on my breakfast for today, which consisted of

two eggs. My trans fat, monounsaturated fat, and polyunsaturated fat were all too high on the

two celebration days. I also had more vitamin c than is recommended on the three days that I

tracked.

On the low side, I had calcium, iron, vitamin A, and potassium. This was not surprising

to me. I know that, even on days where I am not celebrating, I do not eat enough fruits and

vegetables. I have been iron deficient my entire life. A goal that I’ve set for myself recently is to

start eating more foods that are rich in iron. I plan to buy organic beets, strawberries, grapes,

ginger, lemon, and hibiscus to make a juice that I came across. I plan to drink that juice daily.

Beets are a good source of iron and also vitamin A. Grapes are a good source for fiber and

potassium. This is not the only thing I will do to better my health, but it is one goal and start to

something new.

I also plan to increase my iron by eating more iron rich foods, like beans. I can also carry

around nuts, like almonds, to snack on throughout the day. I love beef, so I will eat it a little

more often than I already do, but I will not overdo it. I will make sure that the beef that I eat is

lean, which shouldn’t be hard, because that is my preference.

To increase my calcium intake, I will eat more leafy green vegetables. To increase my

potassium intake, I will try to have one banana a day. The banana would actually be a good
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snack with the almonds that are also a good source of potassium. For more vitamin a, I will eat

more fruits like guavas, which I have growing in my yard for part of the year. When they are not

available, I will eat other vitamin A rich vegetables that are in season.

A goal to decrease the things that are bad for me is definitely to decrease my sodium

intake. I can accomplish this by cooking my own food at home as much as possible. I can still eat

out and celebrate, but it’s good to keep everything in moderation. The days that my fats were too

high, were the days that I had cake and fries. All of those were celebratory meals with my son. I

can definitely choose to limit and also stay away from these food on other occasions. Just like

with the sodium, everything in moderation.

My biggest goal is to live my life happily, and in moderation. I want to move more,

become healthier, and live healthier overall. I do not believe in diets, but I do believe in lifestyle

changes and better choices. I think it’s past time for me to make myself a priority and give my

food the time that it deserves. I will eat better, eat more, do more, and ensure that I am being

more active. I will make sure that I am checking in with my mind, with my app, and with my

body to know which changes need to be made throughout my life.