Exploring Nutritional Balance in a Vegetarian Lifestyle

There was an abundance of information gained from the nutrition assignment. Firstly, I am a vegetarian and I am always concerned about getting enough protein and micronutrients in my diet. Due to this concern, I often make dishes like curries, stews, and vegetable medleys to compensate for my perceived deficiencies. Another habit I acquired from my growing concern for a balanced vegetarian diet is the frequency in which I eat. I now find myself eating around five times a day with medium proportions. It seems as though, I am hungry every three hours without fail. I usually do not watch my proportions or calorie intake since I assumed those aspects of my diet were of little to no concern considering that my diet is mostly plant based. However,

My demographics suggest that I should consume seventeen hundred calories a day. However, on the twenty-fourth of august I consumed a little over thirty-two hundred calories. Another surprise of mine was the amount of sodium chloride I take in through my diet. The bulk of my sodium intake was due to the processed foods I still eat, one being korma curry. Furthermore, I was delighted to discover that I am getting my daily needs of proteins, lipids, micronutrients, and healthy carbohydrates like fiber and starch. I discovered that I am getting every nutrient that I was concerned about on a vegetarian diet. I learned that I am getting more healthy proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates than I need in my diet. This nutrition assignment ultimately taught me that I need to further cut processed foods out of my diet, and that I need to start watching my meal proportions and calorie intake to reach a rounded vegetarian

However, I was not surprised in the least, since I live in America’s fast food crazed society. There still seems to be a fast food restaurant on every corner, even to this day. With the cost of living increasing yearly it appears that no one has the time to cook at home, since most people are working longer and longer hours. As a vegetarian I often have problems finding food in public when I am too busy to make myself a lunch for school or work. Due to this dilemma, I have made a list of places that serve vegetarian options. Still, the options are few and far between. The movie Super-Size Me further validated my frustrations with the fast food industry. Not only is there a lack of healthy choices at most restaurants, fast food outlets, and schools, but none of these restaurants seem to want to cater to a plant based diet. Super-size me taught me that most of the fast food industry is geared toward food addiction. Sadly, a plant based diet does not have the same money making potential as diary, meat, and simple sugar carbohydrates. After watching Super-Size Me I found myself more motivated to progress my diet towards a strict vegan diet. Hopefully, soon I will be successful in transitioning to a vegan