Diet Analysis Project MyFitnessPal

Diet Analysis Project MyFitnessPal

Visit the MyFitnessPal website at myfitnesspal.com. Take a few moments to explore this website.
There are many resources to the website including blogs, community, recipes, goal setting and is
useful for determining calorie needs, managing weight, tracking physical activity, assessing nutrient
intake. Included on the website are many suggestions and useful tips for eating a healthier diet. This
project will help reinforce the nutrition concepts taught in this class and are a great resource to share
with friends and family.
To Get Started:
1. Go to: MyFitnessPal.com and review the website and its links.
2. Create a profile and log-in. You’ll need to supply at a minimum a username, password, ht, wt, and
activity level. There are many other options such as goal setting, weight loss, etc.
3. There is also a phone app available at no charge and can be linked to a digital device such as a
Fitbit
Food and Exercise Records:
Recordeverything you eat and drink for 5 days. The accuracy of your diet analysis will greatly
depend on how well you enter your food intake information into the MyFitnessPal food diary. In
order for the analysis to be of any value to you, it is extremely important to be as accurate and as
truthful as possible when keeping track of the foods/beverages you consume on these days. The
following are some things to note when keeping your food records.
 Keep a written food journal with you for convenience or use the smart phone application as
you go along.
 Write/record what you eat at the time you ate it. Remember to include things such as snack,
drinks, etc.
 Make sure you record portion sizes accurately. Become familiar with what 1 cup, 1
tablespoon, 4 oz, etc., looks like on a plate or in a glass so you can visually estimate when
you don’t have measuring cups or spoons available
 While you are keeping your records do not change your eating habits. The main objective of
this project is to analyze your current daily eating pattern, do not try avoid eating something
just because it may be inconvenient to write down or remember
 Try recording 4 weekdays and 1 weekend day to get a better assessment of your weekly
intake
Note: If you take a multivitamin- it is recommended to leave it out of your food record as this project
is meant to analyze your food intake.
Activity Record: Keep a written record of the time you spend doing exercise everyday or enter on
smart phone app. This includes running, aerobics, weight lifting, or any other activity that you engage
in. This information should be added to the exercise diary of MyFitnessPal
When complete, enter this information into your MyFitnessPal account (or record as you go,
whichever you prefer). Pay careful attention to portion size, time of day the food was eaten, and
additional condiments used in the preparation of the food. If you are having difficulty finding a match
for the food eaten, try the best you can to select a food with the closest nutrient profile.

TO DO:
1) Once you have entered your full day’s intake and exercise click on “Complete This Entry”
and then “View Full Report” (Printable). Make sure you have checked all the boxes for the
Printable Diary.
2) Make note of your totals for each day for each category, divide by 5 to get your average
intake for calories, carbohydrates, fat, protein, cholesterol, sodium, sugar, and fiber.

QUESTIONS:
1. What are your estimated calorie needs, according to your goal? (1 pt.)

2. What is your average (5 days) calorie intake? (1 pt.)

3. Compare your average caloric intake to your estimated calorie needs, will the difference or
similarity have any effect in helping you achieve or maintain a healthy body weight? Why or
why not? (3 pt.)

4. What are your average daily intakes of calories, carbohydrates, fat, protein, cholesterol,
sodium, sugar, and fiber? Include an actual number, not just “below” or “above” (5 pts.)

5.Average Daily CalorieIntake (10 pts.)

Carbohydrate (daily average): ___________g/day x ______ calories/g = _____________ calories/day
Protein (daily average): ____________g/day x ______ calories/g = ______________calories/day
Fat (daily average): ____________g/day x ______ calories/g = ______________calories/day
If you consumed an alcoholic beverage, include the average alcohol calories here
Alcohol ________________calories/day
Total kcal/day (add up all of the above calories) ________________calories/day
Percentage of kcal from macronutrients:
Carbohydrate calories  total average calories x 100 = _________________% of total calories
Protein calories  total average calories x 100 = ____________________% of total calories
Fat calories  total average calories x 100 = ______________% of total calories

6. To analyze the health benefits and harms from each category, use the Daily Nutrient
Calculator (DRI) on the USDA’s website to find the data representing your individual
requirements. If your average intake is higher/lower than recommended, why is this a
problem? Be sure to comment on each nutrient analyzed.
What are the possible consequences of continuing to eat this way? If you are on target with
the recommendations, why is this beneficial?Make sure to discuss the health benefits or
harms within each nutrient category. For example, if you are averaging too much sodium
what effect might this have on your health? If you are on target for
fiber, why is this beneficial? You must report on all categories even if you are
meeting the recommendations and discuss the longterm benefits or harm of continuing
to eat this way. (20 pts.)

7. What role does physical activity play in health? (5 pts.)

8. What do you know about trans fats and why are they harmful? (5 pts.)

9. What would make obtaining fruits and vegetables so difficult for the average American to eat
in adequate quantities? (5 pts.)

10. What are some suggestions that would help you or others obtain their recommended daily
intake of fruits and vegetables? (5 pts.)

11. In general, how do you think your diet fairs? What, if any, changes will you make to your diet
after completing this project? Explain in detail.(20 pts.)

TO BE PASSED IN:
 Include all5 days of your food intake and exercise as entered into MyFitnessPal. Click on
“View Full Report” (Printable) and either take a screen shot or save as a .pdf. Attach all 5
reports to your project, make sure that contain your food and beverage intake for all 5 days.
(20 points).
 Answers to the questions (points indicated for each answer)
 Include references, do not use Livestrong, Huffington Post, NY Times or any other media
related source. Use only peer reviewed journal articles or your textbook.

Food, Beverage and Activity Record
You don’t need to include this form

OPTIONAL or ENTER AS YOU GO IN SMART PHONE APP
Name: ________________________________________________________________
Date and Day of the Week: _________________________________________
Time Amount Food or Drink and Description Activity
(type/minutes)

Today’s I ate or drank (circle): more than usual less than usual as usual

Answer Preview……………..

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