Does the Quality of Food Really Affect Your Body?

A WebQuery for Middle and High School

Designed by

Allison Bowman
bowmanal@cwu.edu

Introduction | Task | Process | Resources | Evaluation | Conclusion

Introduction

When you feel tired and sluggish, the first thought that probably comes to your mind is that you haven't been getting enough sleep. Or maybe you're stressed over a big assignment, or you think you're getting sick. But did you ever think that it could be the quality of foods that you're eating that are making you feel tired or sluggish? Many of today's foods are overprocessed, packed with preservatives, and are meant to be convenient to cook. This often means that they lack nutrional value and have been stripped of vital vitamins and nutrients. Quality foods can really help give you more energy, look better, and best of all, they keep you full longer which prevents overeating out of hunger. Your task for the next few weeks is to keep a food journal, and document how you feel after each meal.

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Task

This will be a two-part task.

Your task for the next week is to record everything that you eat or drink in a food journal. Eat as you normally would, but remember that you need to make sure that you include serving sizes (as accurately as possible) for every food or drink item you ingest. For example, at lunch you had: 1 tuna sandwhich, an apple, and a small carton of milk. You would record that you had: 2 slices of white bread, tuna mixed with mayonaise, a medium sized apple, and 2 cups of milk. I also want you to record the calorie count for each item, and then also the meal total. So if your sandwhich had 200 calories, the apple was 100, and the milk had 120 calories, your meal total would be at 420 calories. After you record what you've eaten, you will also need to record how you feel during and after. After the first week, we will analyze the results of your journal, and then make changes for the next week.

During the second week, you will actually make better choices nutritionwise. Try and choose the healthier alternative when faced with two unnutritious items. Again, record the serving sizes as accurately as possible, and remember to record how you feel during and after.

At the end of the two week period, you will write a two to three page reflection paper on your experience. Include how you felt during and after meals, in between meals, and during daily activities. Did you feel sluggish after lunchtime? When looking back in your journal, what do you notice about your food choices that influence how you feel later in the day?

The Process

One way to get you started on your paper are to ask yourself a few questions during the two week food recording period.

    -    How did I feel waking up? Was I tired? Energized?
    -    Did I sleep better or worse depending on the quality of food I ate?
    -    Am I sluggish after a meal because I ate too much? Am I not eating enough?
    -    Did drinking more water help in any way?
    -    During the second week, what changes did I see/feel in my body when making healthier choices?
    -    Is this something I could stick with, at least half of the time?
    -    Is the amount of calories I'm eating in a day beneficial to me? Am I not eating enough? Too much?

Resources

These are two great websites for tracking calories and food intake:
 

Evaluation


Food Journal:

The food journal will be based on entries for everyday, and relative accuracy of serving sizes. 5 points will be awarded for a complete day, 5 more for serving sizes for all items. If there you missed a meal or ate less for any reason, document it so that you will still receive full points. For example, if you're sick and spent most of your day sleeping and not eating, write that down so that I can see you weren't just missing entries.



Reflection Paper:

 
CATEGORY
4
3
2
1
Mechanics
No grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors. Font is Times New Roman at 12 pt.
Almost no grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors. Font is 12 pt. Times New Roman.
A few grammatical spelling, or punctuation errors. Font is not Times New Roman or bigger than 12 pt.
Many grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors. Font is not Times New Roman and not at 12 pt.
Quality of Information
Information clearly relates to the main topic. It includes several supporting details and/or examples.
Information clearly relates to the main topic. It provides 1-2 supporting details and/or examples.
Information clearly relates to the main topic. No details and/or examples are given.
Information has little or nothing to do with the main topic.
Organization
Information is very organized with well-constructed paragraphs.
Information is unorganized with well-constructed paragraphs.
Information is organized, but paragraphs are not well-constructed.
The information appears to be disorganized and paragraphs are poor quality to non-existant.
Amount of Information
Reflection is the full two pages in length.
Reflection is 1 and 1/2 pages.
Reflection is 1 page.
Reflection is less than one page.

Conclusion

I hope that at the end of this assignment you will understand the importance of eating quality foods and realize how much food impacts the way you feel and your health. I highly encourage you to continue to keep a food journal and eventually record activity and exercise. My goal with this assignment was to give you tools to evaluate your health and give you a starting point when deciding to change your health habits.

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