Energy Balance in Relationship to Nutritional Health

May 22, 2018 DRI Recommendations in comparison to Energy Intake Intake Status kcal 2082 UNDER Carbohydrates (g) 124 UNDER Fats (% of kcal) 62 OVER Proteins (g) 114 OK Table 5: May 23, 2018 DRI Recommendations in comparison to Energy Intake Intake Status kcal 1784 UNDER Carbohydrates (g) 119 UNDER Fats (% of kcal) 61 OVER Proteins (g) 103 OK Table 6: May 23, 2018 DRI Recommendations in comparison to Energy Intake Intake Status kcal 1884 UNDER Carbohydrates (g) 119 UNDER Fats (% of kcal) 61 OVER Proteins (g) 103 OK Table 7: DRI Recommendations in comparison to Average Energy Intake (May 22- May 24, 2018) Intake Status kcal 1917 UNDER Carbohydrates (g) 121 UNDER Fats (% of kcal) 61 OVER Proteins (g) 104 OK Energy Expenditure In table 8 you can see the data from my energy expended over the course of three days. As you can see in table 8 the results had significant variation. You can see a similarity between days 2 and 3 due to the low intensity exercise completed on those days. Although on day 1 there is a significant increase in the energy expenditure due to the increased time and intensity of exercise completed. Total Energy Expenditure (kcals) by Date of Data Collection Date of Collection Energy Expenditure (kcal) Difference between day (kcal) May 22, 2018 3532 May 23, 2018 2800 Decrease by 732 May 24, 2018 2454 Decrease by 346

Throughout the three consecutive days of data recorded and compared, the energy expenditure greatly exceeded the dietary intake on day 1, moderately exceeded on day 3, and minimally exceeded on day 2. There is a visualization of the overall trend between intake and expenditure over the course of the three day collection period located in figure 4. Overall I consumed an average of 1917 kcals and expended an average of 2928.6 kcals, so on average I exceeded my dietary intake with energy expenditure by 1011.66 kcals.

Discussion

As I was looking at my daily averages in my dietary intake and energy expenditure over the consecutive three days of data collection, my hypothesis was proven to be correct. In my hypothesis I had predicted that I would have a negative energy balance, and because my dietary intake was less than my energy expenditure it resulted in a negative energy balance and proved my hypothesis to be correct. I wasn’t surprised by my results because I plan my meals and my exercise requirements from my doctor are very precise.

Throughout this period of time I was meticulous with my meal preparation and completing every task with accuracy because I want to heal from my recent sickness and feel better. I was recently taken off of a steroid called prednisone which caused me to get sick in the first place, and that made me extremely hungry all of the time, so now that I am off of that medication and am back on my ADHD medication and am taking the proper supplements, my cravings have subsided and given me the ability to have more self control and precision within my dietary intake. The data from the three consecutive days only varies within the exercise because of my limited food options and meal preparation required to meet my dietary restrictions and requirements. Although depending on the level of movement planned for the day I increased or decreased my planned amount of food to be consumed. This is a good representation of my recent lifestyle and the lifestyle I will maintain over the next three months or until otherwise specified by my doctor. It was difficult initially to abstain from eating out with my friends, but due to my dietary limitations it is a requirement, so when we would go out I would either bring my tupperware of food or just drink ice water, this reduced my calories substantially when I first started this diet.

It was difficult to plan and prepare my meals during a time when I can barely attend my classes and am trying to catch up in school, as well as navigating the die off symptoms that occur with this diet. On May 22nd I expanded significantly more energy than on the other days recorded because of the jogging I completed. The other two days were supposed to be easy forms of movement which were yoga, hiking, strength training, and biking. Those activities are not as hard on the body and expend less energy. On this diet plan it is imperative that I do not work my body too hard due to the massive amount of dietary restriction that has been implemented. My intake values were consistently either over or under the recommended DRI values because of the unique diet I am on restricting the amount of carbohydrates consumed and increasing the amount of fat and protein consumed. I was also consistently below the DRI recommendations for daily kcals. This information tells me that I should be eating more food per day and more nutrient dense food that provide higher amounts of kcals. It also tells me that I should reduce my fat intake and increase my carbohydrate intake.

This poses a conflict to my doctors recommendations, although these are good for the majority of people with my attributes, the recommendations are inherently flawed because they do not account food allergies or dietary restrictions. I was not surprised about the lack of carbohydrate intake throughout the three days because on the specific diet I am on, it is requested that I do not consume traditional carbohydrate filled foods such as fruits and most grains, and if I do they need to be on the specified list given by my doctor. This series of data collection helped me analyze my consumption and recognize the amount of fat within meat proteins and the amount of carbohydrates within foods that we often do not assume to be carbohydrate filled. I am a college student on a budget, so abiding by a strict diet while sticking to a strict budget presents a challenge. But I overcame this challenge through strategic meal planning and changing the spices on similar dishes with the same ingredients in order to obtain some variability in the food that I am consuming. I realized that it is hard to consume the amount of calories recommended by the DRI while abiding by a strict diet such as the one I am partaking in.

The candida diet usually results in major weight loss which I have found, but through this activity I have found that when I track the calories closely I can adjust my energy expenditure and intake to slow the weight loss because it is all about calories in versus calories out. Throughout my process collecting data, I initially used the notes application within my iPhone for the purpose of collecting specifics and the times in which I consumed each food. Then I implemented the data into the myfitnesspal application which I have been using since I was a junior in high school when I trained with a personal trainer in pursuit of competing in a bodybuilding competition. This app is incredibly helpful when tracking your food and exercise because it has an expansive database with majority of food types and brands, as well as a label scanning option where you can scan any packaged food you have. You can also enter your own food item if you cannot find it in their database. This application provided me with knowledge and ease when measuring and calculating my micro and macro nutrients to make sure I am meeting all of my doctors requirements. Although this application provided a vast amount of information and was easy to use, when I came to inputting my data into the USDA SuperTracker, I found some difficulty because of their limited options.

This provided me the opportunity to add my own information into their database using the data from MyFitnessPal in order to reach the level of precision I was looking for in my data analysis. I thought it was important to enter the data, although it was an extra step, if I would have just picked the closest alternative it would have squed my ending data. There are a variety of databases connected to the SuperTracker that provide ease to the user when comparing their personal intakes and expenditures with the DRI recommendations, but the lack of variety and minimal alternative food options it creates either an extra step for the user or if the user chooses to estimate what the closest type of food and amount would be, it changes their data and results in inaccurate results. The data I recorded from the three consecutive days of intake and expenditure were relatively consistent other than the expenditure and overall calories, but are a quality representation of what a typical week would look like for me. In an effort to follow the guidelines of my doctor and save money buying food, I usually buy in bulk and then freeze what I do not use while preparing my meals.

The meal preparation and consumption of similar foods given my limited options and budget provided a lot of consistency in my diet, versus the diet I had prior to my diagnosis. This reduced my consumption in kcals and the importance of movement and precise recording of my intake and expenditure has substantially changed my habits and required a lot of planning. Planning my meals and days around exercise and timely food consumption has increased my kcal expenditure as well because I am making my health a priority. Although my intake and expenditure data prior to this lifestyle change are not recorded, my kcal expenditure has significantly gone up. There was some difference in energy expenditure due to the distance between classes per day as well as the required exercise and level of intensity of the specific exercise. On May 22nd I showed an increased energy expenditure because it was my heavy cardio day and I had the longest distance to walk to class. I also went on a walk with my friend and her dog because it was a nice day, so that added to my kcal expenditure.

Conclusion

Concluding my analysis, my hypothesis was that I would be at a negative energy balance, and that was supported through my three day data collection and analysis. I expected that my dietary intake would be lower than my energy expenditure which would result in an negative energy balance which was accurate because of my precise recommendations given by my doctor. My results were relatively consistent regarding my dietary intake besides the increase and decrease in calorie intake, the composition of overall calorie intake regarding macronutrients were relatively similar. Although, my energy expenditure varied depending on the day due to workout differentiation and the distance walked between classes. I found that there are various flaws within USDA’s Supertracker and many features I think would be a great addition to the program. First, they could partner with Nike and MyFitnessPal to braden their ability and food database because it was difficult to find certain foods. It would grow the amount of users and give them a broader, deeper look at their food intake and expenditure and how their bodies respond to that regarding their energy intake and expenditures and nutritional composition.

References:

Boose, K. (2018). Lecture 2. Anth. 220, Nutritional Anthropology. University of Oregon. USDA. (2016). SuperTracker. Retrieved from https://supertracker.usda.gov/default.aspx

A way out of the junk-food eating cycle. (2017, January 27). Retrieved from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170127112939.htm

Hyman, M. M. (2017, February 08). Food As Medicine, The Blood Type Diet And The Ketogenic Diet. Retrieved from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/food-as-medicine-the-blood-type-diet-and-the-ketogenic_us_5899ddede4b02bbb1816bfd3

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