MYPYRAMID- MENU MODELINGBy: ____________________

WHY FOLLOW MYPYRAMIDGUIDELINES?

First PDE: vegetables, fruits, milk, and meat and beans intake below recommendation

MyPyramid created to provide personal way to improve diets and lifestyle

Conclusion: improve my diet intake in order to meet MyPyramid food recommendations to promote a healthier lifestyle

BACKGROUND RESEARCH INFORMATION: “MENU MODELING WITH MYPYRAMID FOOD PATTERNS: INCREMENTAL DIETARY CHANGES LEAD TO DRAMATIC IMPROVEMENTS IN DIET QUALITY OF MENUS” (KOLODINSKY J, HARVEY-BERINO JR, BERLIN L, JOHNSON RK, REYNOLDS TW)

In this article, the effects of gradual changes to meal planning were observed.

Comparison between a baseline menu, three incrementally changed menus, and a target menu = small, practical improvements that met MyPyramid recommendations and improved overall diet quality, which led to weight loss

In my diet I aimed for a similar model but completely changed my diet to meet MyPyramid guidelines instead of doing gradual changes

BACKGROUND RESEARCH INFORMATION: “POSITION OF THE AMERICAN DIETETIC ASSOCIATION: TOTAL DIET APPROACH TO COMMUNICATING FOOD AND NUTRITION INFORMATION” (FREELAND-GRAVES J, NITZKE S.)

Significant influence affecting food choice is lack of time: 2000 American Dietetic Association Trend Survey- 38% indicate too much time to keep track of diet

Income related limitations to food choices: transportation, cooking facilities, food preparation skill

Societal influence: presence of another person can increase intake quantity of meal by 44%

Media is a powerful influence on diet choice for Americans: 1997, approx. $11 billion spent on food advertisement

BACKGROUND INFORMATION: “KNOWLEDGE OF CURRENT DIETARY GUIDELINES AND FOOD CHOICE BY COLLEGE STUDENTS: BETTER EATERS HAVE HIGHER KNOWLEDGE OF DIETARY GUIDANCE”  (KOLODINSKY J, HARVEY-BERINO JR, BERLIN L, JOHNSON RK, REYNOLDS TW)

2007 Case study: Out of 200 college students, 1/3 reported eating recommended amounts for five food categories

“increased knowledge of dietary guidelines does appear to be positively related to more healthful eating patterns among college students” (In this manner I found the “plan” of PDSA helpful– research increased motivation to follow diet <awareness of health improvement>).

Food in many college meal plans have more energy, fat, and less nutrients than home-prepared food (for my project I strictly ate at home and did not go to the cafeteria)

PDSA

Plan: Objective: meet MyPyramid guidelines

for each food group and keep calories below 2,076.87 (to maintain weight)

Plan menus for the weeks that follow MyPyramid guidelines

Record all meals in a food journal and then input intakes into NutritionCalc for four weeks. Everyday I will note if I meet MyPyramid guidelines.

PDSA

Do: At the beginning of the experiment, I

calculated my average intake for each food group in MyPyramid to use as my baseline data

Next, I tried to eat according to the menus I created that followed MyPyramid guidelines.

Everyday, I would input all my intake into NutritionCalc and compare my data from each week with the baseline data and the MyPyramid recommendations.

PDSA

Study: At the end of the first week, according to

NutritionCalc, I obtained each recommended serving amount for MyPyramid. I noticed it was difficult to plan my meals ahead of time and stick with them, or I would still be hungry. In order to circumvent this I tried to eat a variety of foods to ease the monotony, eat snacks throughout the day, and eat dense foods that promoted satiety.

I noticed that by strictly shopping around the perimeter of the super market, I wouldn’t be tempted as much to eat processed foods.

PDSA

Act: I found that as long as I planned ahead (to go

food shopping, have a meal plan, have snacks) I could easily meet MyPyramid food guidelines.

After a week I realized my food expenses were rising, or I had to go shopping more often because organic foods are easily perishable, thus I started purchasing frozen vegetables.

By the end I felt that my guidelines had become a habitual process for me. I noticed myself getting into a routine of eating snacks and small meals.

 

Intake vs. Recommendation  2000 Calorie Pattern

                       

Group PercentComparison Amount (Daily)

                       

Grains Intake 131 %   

7.9oz equivalent

Grains Recommendation       

6oz equivalent                       

Vegetables Intake 114 %   

2.9cup equivalent

Vegetables       

2.5cup equivalent                       

Fruits Intake 154 %   

3.1cup equivalent

Fruits Recommendation       

2cup equivalent                       

Milk Intake 101 %   

3cup equivalent

Milk Recommendation       

3cup equivalent                       

Meat & Beans Intake 181 %   

10oz equivalent

Meat & Beans Recommendation     

5.5oz equivalent                       

(3/01/09): Example of Data Collection

Eat All Recommende

dPortions in MyPyramid

Comfort Find Time

Foods Motivation

Environmental

Societal Influence (i.e. Eating with Another Person)

Media (i.e. Food Advertisements)

Off Eating Schedule/Woke Up Late

Ate Out/NoTime to Cook

Forgot Snacks/No Time

Forgot to Go FoodShopping/No Time to Go

Respond to EmotionalCues (i.e. Stress,Emotional Duress)

Too Lazy to Cook/EatReadily Available Food

Control Calories Weight Loss

Benefits of Diet (OverallHealth Improvement,

Receive All Essential Nutrients)

Mood Improvement

Keep Hydrated

Soy vs. Meat

Non-Fat, No Salad Dressing

Whole-Wheat vs. White

Low-Fat & Non-Fat vs. Regular Milk

Variety of Fruits & Vegetables

Small Meals with Many Snacks in Between

Canola Oil vs. Butter & Animal Fat

Fishbone Diagram

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 290

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Grain Intake

Grains IntakeRecommendedLower LimitUpper Limit

Day

Ounces

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 290

1

2

3

4

5

6

Vegetables Intake

Vegetables IntakeRecommendedLower LimitUpper Limit

Day

Cups

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 290

1

2

3

4

5

6

Fruit Intake

Fruits IntakeRecommendedLower LimitUpper Limit

Day

Cups

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 290

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Meat & Beans Intake

Meat & Beans IntakeRecommendedLower LimitUpper Limit

Day

Ounces

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 290

1

2

3

4

5

6

Milk Intake

Milk IntakeRecommendedLower LimitUpper Limit

Day

Cups

Tim

e/W

ake

Up La

te (M

isse

d Bre

akfa

st)

Forg

ot S

nack

s

Ate O

ut

Forg

ot to

Go

Food

Sho

ppin

g/No

Veget

able

s0

1

2

3

Reasons For Not Meeting MyPyramid Rec-ommendations

Baseline Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Target0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

Changes Over 4 Weeks

Energy (kcal)Total fat (kcal)Saturated fat (kcal)

Intake

Calo

ries

RESULTS:

Like Menu modeling article: changes to food intake that observed MyPyramid did result in overall diet improvement. (Kolodinsky J, Harvey-Berino JR, Berlin L, Johnson RK, Reynolds TW)

Kcal was below the baseline level and the recommended level from NutritionCalc (to maintain current weight)

Total fat was below both baseline and target (NutritionCalc recommendation) level

Saturated fat was below both baseline and target (NutritionCalc recommendation) level

RESULTS:

Positives NegativesBegan eating more unprocessed foods My food budget rose significantly

Ate a variety of new menus that incorporated MyPyramid foods

Preparation of the food became time consuming

Saw how difficult it would be for certain people to follow MyPyramid food guidelines (ex. Socio-economic, time, occupation, etc.)

It was difficult to find time to go to the grocery store often and maintain my academic life because organic foods are easily perishable

Felt healthier and refreshed by eating organic foods

I had to learn how to juggle my menu plans so that I promoted satiety while eating all MyPyramid food groups and keeping calories below 2,000 to maintain my weight

I felt surprise that my total fat and saturated fat fell from my baseline diet after only the first week and calories were kept in check with little effort

When I didn’t plan ahead, I noticed I ate more during meal times because I did not have a snack in between or I woke up too late to eat breakfast

Maintained a healthy diet with MyPyramid recommendations met

I became hyper-attentive sometimes about eating the right portions and would sometimes forgo eating out because I was too frightened about environmental temptations

FOR THE FUTURE… I do not think I will input my intakes into NutritionCalc

but I found a food diary was helpful to keep track of what I ate, so I may continue it

The menu modeling article found that while small changes promote dietary change, it is uncertain about long-term behavior. Thus, I feel it is important to continue to be aware of MyPyramid guidelines even though this project is over

I feel in the future I should learn to make simpler meals, manage my grocery shopping time better, and purchase more frozen vegetables in order to save time and money

I will note that by avoiding the aisles in the grocery store, I am not as tempted to purchase processed foods.

I will continue to eat small meals and snacks throughout the day as I found this lessens my hunger for “unhealthy” processed foods.

REFERENCES: 

1. Freeland-Graves J, Nitzke S. Position of The American Dietetic Association: total diet approach to communicating food and nutrition information. J Am Diet Assoc. 2002; 102: 100-108.

 

2. Hornick BA, Krester AJ, Nicklas TA. Menu modeling with mypyramid food patterns: incremental dietary changes lead to dramatic improvements in diet quality of menus. J Am Diet Assoc. 2008; 108: 2077-2083.

 

3. Kolodinsky J, Harvey-Berino JR, Berlin L, Johnson RK, Reynolds TW. Knowledge of current dietary guidelines and food choice by college students: better eaters have higher knowledge of dietary guidance. J Am Diet Assoc. 2007; 107: 1409-1413.