Assignment Task: Skills You'll Gain by Completing This Assignment
Analyze diet from a "whole picture" approach
Consider small ways to change intake to better meet your individualized needs
Evaluate possible barriers to making successful lifestyle changes
Introduction to Your Assignment
Check this brief video for an orientation to NUTR 100 resources and assignments:
YouTube Video: Elements of Nutrition Orientation NUTR 100
After all the readings you've reviewed and skills you've practiced in our course so far, it's time to take a step back and look at everything from a bird's eye view.
Consider your food journaling experience, your Cronometer analysis, as well as your MyPlate comparison and look for overarching themes and connections.
The goal of this assignment is to help you find areas that could make the biggest positive impact on your health! In this assignment, you will:
- Consider your diet as a full picture
- Discover options for changes that could help you better meet the recommendations for the general population or your own calculated needs
- Connect these changes to health outcomes
- Brainstorm potential barriers that could get in the way of your success in making these changes
See example assignment and rubric (below) for additional assistance before starting on this assignment. Make sure to review the rubric before submitting your assignment to ensure that you have included all the assignment expectations.
NOTE: Please carefully read the rubric (see below) before submitting your assignment to ensure that you have included all the assignment expectations. After your grade has been posted, please check the grading rubric for detailed feedback from your instructor and suggestions for improvement.
NOTE: If you completed an alternative assignment for Units 4 and 5 Assignments due to the triggering nature of the assignment criteria, continue using the same approach you used previously or please reach out to your instructor for an alternate assignment option.
Instructions:
You should include about seven paragraphs in your paper.
An introduction paragraph, explaining how the course activities have helped you see possible areas of change in your diet
One paragraph per change you suggest to yourself, for a total of five paragraphs
A conclusion that ties your goals together into one complete picture of your diet
Make sure to include APA formatted in-text citations and a reference list when appropriate. While there is no minimum word count, most students find that they can convey their thoughts in a detailed, clear manner in about 500 - 700 words.
You must address the following in paragraph format:
- How have the course activities helped you see areas of possible improvements in your diet?
- Five unique, specific changes you would like to make after everything you've learned in this course
- Consider nutrients, food groups, and specific goals you are working toward.
- Provide specifics such as food substitutions or changes and/or numerical data from past assignments or reliable sources.
- Changes should be focused on foods and beverages, not supplements.
- Provide details as to exactly what this change entails.
- Examples: What will you add and how will you add it? What will you replace and what will you replace it with? Etc.
- What health outcome might you expect from making this change?
- Explain the health-based/nutrition-science-based reason for making each change.
- If you removed a food or beverage, why?
- If you added something to your diet, explain what nutrient(s) you were trying to add and why. Etc.
- Make sure to connect these health outcomes to credible and reliable sources in APA format.
- A conclusion that creates one complete picture of your diet
- Which nutrients or food groups were you the most worried about in terms of lack or excess throughout the course assignments?
- How do your above goals tie into those areas of improvement? Want Assignment Help?
- Include numerical data from your past assignments when appropriate.
Optional: Want to Expand Even More?
This optional content is not required and is not worth additional points.
These additional topics may be interesting to consider as you close out this course. Feel free to add these talking points to your paper if you wish.
- What factors could impact your ability to keep up with these changes long term?
- Consider environmental, mental, physical, and emotional barriers that could impact your ability to continue these changes.
- Are any of these factors completely out of your control? If so, what could you do to mitigate the impact of that factor?
- Connect your goals to your most recent laboratory report or your most recent physical with your doctor.
- How will these changes help reach the goals set by you and your medical team?
- Are your goals realistic? As we learned in this course, it's important to make small, achievable goals.
- Discuss why they are or are not realistic and what that means for your success.