In Week One, my diet showed poor alignment with the food pyramid recommendations. I consumed 0% of the recommended milk intake, 0% of the recommended meat and beans intake, 0% of the recommended vegetable intake, 47% of the recommended fruit intake, and 0% of the recommended grain intake. My diet consisted primarily of fruit in Week One and it has not changed since then. As the nutrient intake chart demonstrates, my diet is extremely low in the vital nutrients needed for a healthy diet. I am only obtaining one-fortieth of the recommended allowance of protein, for example, and my levels of most vitamins and minerals are a tiny fraction of the recommended allowance. My diet is woefully inadequate according to the food pyramid and nutrient intake recommendations.
There are several reasons that my diet has not changed despite the fact that the healthy eating assignments has made me aware of my dietary shortcomings. These are lifestyle-related. The first is that I do not live at home or in a dorm, where a healthy selection of food alternatives would be provided. I live in an apartment, and I have to prepare all of my own food. Although I know how to prepare a few simple things, they are not particularly nutritious-just easy to make. I am not really a cook, and I do not want to eat packaged processed foods, as they are loaded with chemicals and may contain genetically modified ingredients. Furthermore, I am just not particularly fond of most vegetables other than carrots. I also work full-time in addition to attending school, so there is no time to cook. I generally grab a piece of fruit on my way out the door and eat it on my way to work. This has left me with a largely fruit-based diet. I should at least take a good vitamin and mineral supplement even if I cannot take the time to prepare healthful meals; this would help to provide at least a basic complement of vitamins and minerals, probably enough to prev...