My Diet
By: Nayeli Pozuelos
About Me
I am a 14 year old female with a height of 5 feet. I weigh approximately 120 pounds with a body mass index (BMI) of 23.4 which states that I have a healthy weight. I have a basal metabolic rate (BMR) of 1,393.2.
I believe that my diet does meet my nutritional needs because on average, I get just the right amount of calories, the total amount of fat I consume is in a good range, and the amount of carbs are a little over, which is not too bad.
What are the Nutritional Requirements for a 14 year old?
According to the American Heart Association, a 14 year old male should consume around 2200 calories a day, but a 14 year old female should consume around 1800 calories/day. The total fat percentage should range from 25% to 35% per day. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle throughout childhood and adolescence may reduce the risk if becoming overweight or obese as an adult.
Calories
Calories are a measurement of energy. The definition states that, "Calories are the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water through 1 °C (now usually defined as 4.1868 joules. Through the age of adolescence, the body demands more calories than any other time period in your life. Healthychildren.org suggests that boys require 2,800 calories/day and girls hould have 2,200 calories/day. But, according to Mary Story, "Kids who are big and tall or who participate in physical activity will still need increased amounts of energy into late adolescence.” During middle and late adolescence, girls eat roughly 25 percent fewer calories per day than boys do; consequently, they are more likely to be deficient in vitamins and minerals."
Total Fat
Fat supplies energy and assists the body in absorbing the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. You need about 30% of fat per day. The two types of fats are unsaturated and saturated fat. Saturated fat is found in beef, pork, lamb, butter, cheese, cream, egg yolks, coconut oil, and palm oil. You need to limit the saturated fat to no ore than 10% of your total daily calories. The other 20% should come up the unsaturated fat. Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated make up unsaturated fat. It is mostly in plant oils like corn, safflower, sunflower, soybean, cottonseed, and sesame-seed oil.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are found in starches and sugars. They are converted into the body's main fuel: the simple sugar glucose. When you are planning any meals, you want to eat more complex-carbohydrates instead of simple- carbohydrates. According to healthychildren.org, complex carbs provide sustained energy, while simple carbs seduce us with their sweet taste and a brief burst of energy but have little else to offer and should be minimized in the diet. Nutritionists suggest that complex carbs should make up 50 to 60% of a teenagers calorie intake.
What are MY Nutritional Requirements?
There are different factors that indicate what your body needs such as your age, weight, height, gender, and how active you are. In my case, I am active and I exercise about 3-5 days a week. I want to maintain my same weight so that means that I need to consume around 1500 calories/day. The total fat should be 18%, or 270 grams. 10% of my diet should contain carbohydrates which totals 150 grams. Finally, I need 420 grams of protein/day.
I believe that my diet does provide a good balance because I try to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables and I try to limit myself from eating too much "junk food." I consume just the right amount of calories and total fat. But, I do feel that I need to have more protein and maybe a little less carbohydrates in my diet in order for it to be completely balanced and so I can maintain a healthy diet.
My Diet vs. Nutritional Requirements
Food Diary
Throughout a period of 7 days, I kept track of what I ate through a day in a food diary. I specifically wrote down the calories, total fat, carbohydrates, and protein in each food that I ate. Then,I added all the information for one day and averaged each day. This chart shows the numbers and averages for the week.
Current Food Choices
I love to eat lots of fruits and vegetables, but once in a while I would eat a lot of sweets, such as oreos and ice cream. My data also shows that for breakfast, I would eat food that was low in calories, protein, carbs, and fat. But, it was for lunch and dinner that I consumed higher amounts of calories, protein, carbs, and fat.
Bar Graph
This bar graph shows my recommended nutritional requirements compared to my actual diet. On average, I consume 1500 calories, 64 grams of total fat, 176 grams of carbs, and 64 grams of protein.