Food Diary
Why Do This?
The food diary/eating log assignment analyzes the food you eat and compares to
current nutritional recommendations using an online software program. Identifying
nutritional problems begins with an awareness of nutritional needs and current food
habits. These reports will help you to make better decisions about your eating.
What To Do?
1. Record every food and beverage you have had to eat and drink for three days. ).
List everything even if you only had a taste. Don’t forget break times, nibbling at
your desk or at a party or in front of the TV. Record the amounts as you
remember them.
2. Go to www.MyPyramidtracker.gov. and then click on the Assess Your Food
Intake link.
3. Either log in or create a new login.
4. If you haven’t already done so, fill out your personal profile. Be honest; no one
will see it. Set the entry date field to the first day of your food diary. Save your
profile and the click on Proceed to Food Intake.
5. In the Enter Food Item panel, type in the name of your first food item and click
on the search button. Matching food items will appear below the search button
on the left. Locate the best matching food item and click on the Add button; the
item will appear in the right column. If no item is correct, try naming the food
more generically and try again. Repeat steps until all the food items for the first
day have been entered.
8. Click on the select quantity button in the right column. For each item, select the
serving size, and then select the number of servings.
9. Click on the Save and Analyze button to display a menu page. You can now
print out these 3 reports:
1. Meeting 2005 Dietary Guidelines
2. Nutrient Intakes
3. My Pyramid Recommendations
10. Click the update profile button at the top of the page before entering
Day 2 and Day 3. Change the date to reflect the next day of your food diary and
repeat steps 5 through 9. Be sure to print all three reports for each day.
11. When you have completed all three days of the food diary, click on the Calculate
Nutrient History at the bottom of the nutrient table page. The Healthy Eating
History page opens displaying your energy (caloric) history. Click on the 1 week
link at the top of the page to display a graph for this nutrient. Print this page.
12. Write a short report comparing your actual intake to the RDA for the nutrients.
Be sure to determine whether you are getting enough or too much. Think about
why and what you might do to improve.
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Food Diary for Three/and Fourth Days
Day 1
Food and
Amount
Day 2
Food and
Amount
Day 3
Food and
Amount
Day 4
(Record after
reports are
studied)
AM until noon
Noon to 6 PM
6 PM to
Bedtime
Page 2 of 3
Food Diary
Goals for Improvement/Day 4/Assessment
1. Set one nutrition goal for improvement in your diet. Write your goal and be
specific so that the goal can be measured.
Example: I want to increase my fruit intake from 2 servings per day to five
servings per day. OR I want to increase my calcium intake to 1200 mg per day.
2. Record a Day 4 Food Intake, eating to meet your goal. Enter the foods into
the software program on www.mypyramid.gov. Include a copy of the three
reports ( Meeting Dietary Guidelines, Nutrient Intakes and My Pyramid
Recommendations ) for Day 4.
3. Assess your accomplishment of meeting your nutrition goal.
The strengths of my food intake are:
The specific areas for improvement in my diet:
List three things I have learned from this project.
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