122 Nutrition & Wellness for Life Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. For your diet analysis to be valid, you need to become adept (skilled) at esti- mating food amounts. Look at measuring utensils to help you become familiar with what amounts such as one tablespoon and one cup look like. Find out how many ounces your cups, bowls, and glasses hold. Consider using your hand as a reference for judging food amounts (Figure 5.13). This will help you correctly record the amounts of foods you consume. Record what you eat for several days. This will give you a more accurate picture of your eating habits than a one-day record. You will also get a better account if you record your food consumption on typical days. Avoid keeping a record on birthdays, holidays, and other days when you are likely to follow different eating patterns. Analyze Your Diet Use the information recorded in your food journal to determine whether you are meeting your daily nutrient needs. A number of software programs are avail- able to help you quickly analyze your diet on a computer. Most of these programs include a database of food composition tables. These tables are reference guides list- ing the nutritive values of many foods in common serving sizes. MyPlate Plan The MyPlate Plan on ChooseMyPlate.gov offers a manual option for tracking and analyzing the food you eat by food groups. The second page of the personal- ized MyPlate Plan is a form that lists food group targets along the left side and space for tracking daily food choices for each food group in the middle column. USDA Food Composition Database The US Department of Agriculture provides a national nutrient database for con- sumers to use. Name brand packaged foods and prepared foods sold in restaurants and supermarkets are included in the database. You can reference this database, enter data about the foods you ate into analysis software, and the program will gen- erate a report showing the calorie and nutrient values of those foods. You can print a detailed analysis of how your daily nutrient values compare to the RDAs and AIs. This comparison will show you which nutrient needs you have and have not met. CASE STUDY Change for the Better Kiara enrolled in a physical conditioning class for her phys- ical education elective this semester. However, she is finding that she tires easily, is weaker than her peers, and has little stamina. One day, the class instructor discussed the importance of nutrition for optimal health and performance. Kiara isn’t sure how good or bad her eating habits are, but she is sure she could do better. Kiara is determined to improve her overall health—she just doesn’t know where to start. Case Review 1. What steps can Kiara take to achieve her goal of improving her overall health? 2. What resources might be helpful to Kiara during this process? 3. Do you think Kiara will succeed? Why?