Whether or not you used the USDA test, how do you think your eating habits measure up? Too much fat? Not enough protein? Too much sugar?

Do you think the USDA guidelines are a good tool, or are they flawed? Do you worry about what you eat at times when you aren't trying to lose weight? Do you feel better when you're trying to eat healthy foods?

-- Anonymous, May 22, 2001

Answers

I got frowny faces on milk and protein, but happy faces everywhere else. Makes sense -- I know I'm not getting enough protein, and I absolutely can't drink milk anymore. Not bad, though. Neat site.

-- Anonymous, May 22, 2001

The only match for risotto was "rice casserole with cheese." "Tomato" turned up no matches but Tomatoes, raw finally did. I could do salmon, baked broiled, but not salmon, broiled with ginger and garlic. (Should I have put in the G&G separately?) This site is slightly better than efit (?), which I tried after coming across it on Athena's site; but though it doesn't have so many it still has a lot more prepared food and not as many options for fresh as I need. I got a frowny face on sodium, which surprised me, though--given that I put "rice casserole with cheese" not to get a frowny on grains--I guess I eat enough cheese for it not to frown about my diary intake.

-- Anonymous, May 22, 2001

They do not have specific pasta products listed individually, except spaghetti. I did notice that. But I never use the prepared foods for any of these, because I always cook things with less oil and more veggies, so I just add the ingredients separately.

-- Anonymous, May 22, 2001

I entered "soymilk" and it came up with the following options:

SNAILS SNAILS, STEAMED

Turns out you have to enter it as 2 words: "soy_milk"

-- Anonymous, May 22, 2001

I know my eating habits are bad because there are hardly any fruits I like so I rarely eat them. There are more vegetables I like, but I don't eat as many of them as they'd like you to - 5 servings a day.

According to this I'm eating more protein than I need, which is interesting.

I have some issues with the USDA guidelines - isn't the food pyramid based on foods the farmers have a lot of that the USDA wants to push, rather than on what peoples' bodies need?

-- Anonymous, May 22, 2001

Wow, now there's a conspiracy theory I hadn't heard before...

-- Anonymous, May 22, 2001

Actually, I've heard it before, but it had more to do with the original "four food groups" idea from back in the 40's and 50's. I do think it's sort of weird that the page uses "meat" as a synonym for "protein" in the category names, but I don't see any terrible conspiracies in the way the foods themselves are rated. It's not like free government cheese is being analyzed under a different standard than soy proteins or whatever.

I've read that most nutritionists and doctors consider the current food pyramid to be the best and healthiest approach for most people, although I know some people think it allows too much fat and cholesterol and overemphasizes protein. Didn't I just read something about a possible downward adjustment in recommended fat intake?

-- Anonymous, May 22, 2001

Okay, maybe there is a conspiracy on behalf of the meat and dairy industries. I just checked the food I've eaten so far today, and I got a frown for both meat and dairy. (I haven't had dinner yet, of course.) But in the nutritional analysis, I had almost exactly the recommended amounts of protein, calcium, iron, etc. So although the nutritional analysis seems to be pretty good, the pyramid itself is somewhat biased, because it's not taking into account that there are non-animal sources for protein, calcium, etc. At least, I guess that's what's going on. Kind of odd.

-- Anonymous, May 22, 2001

Actually, the food pyramid was created in order to de-emphasize meat and dairy and reduce fat in the American diet. Before that, there were just the four food groups: meat, dairy, grains, and fruits/veggies and all were equally stressed. Then, a few years back, they changed their serving recommendations to encourage a diet which was higher in grains, fruits and veggies and less focused on meat and dairy.

Many nutritionists have complained that the guidelines are still too meat and dairy oriented, but I think the USDA is wary of changing their recommendations too dramatically, because they don't want to make them too out of whack with the way most Americans are already eating.

-- Anonymous, May 22, 2001

I take it back. That website sucks. There is no way to just select tofu or tempeh or soy protein or anything like that. There are 42 entries with the word "soy" in them, and most of those are soy sauce. There are six matches for "tofu," and four of those are dishes that include beef or pork. The other two are mayo and yogurt made with tofu.

It's useless if you don't eat meat.

-- Anonymous, May 23, 2001

Beth -- try www.dietwatch.com -- I've been using that one for a while and it's got a much better database of foods in it. I like it mostly because I've been using it so long, so it has all of my weights and exercise records in it, and moving them would be a pain. I love to see my weight loss chart, ya know? But the food database is pretty good. Doesn't give out happy faces, though ...

-- Anonymous, May 23, 2001

I've read their articles but I could never find a food database there. They do think I should gain eight pounds, though, so they're officially my favorite nutrition site.

-- Anonymous, May 23, 2001

Considering the fact that I operate on a theory that if it's neither chocolate nor fried, it's a vegetable, I'd say that my diet is horible. Actually I just went home for a few days and almost everyone remarked that I have lost weight, which made me really happy. After college having the computer job and a car meant I gained a chunk of weight. I don't even own a scale but I do want to lose my belly. Starting in February or March I began eating less and walking home 4.5 miles from work every day. I hadn't noticed much of a difference but apparently everyone else has. Problem is my eating habits consist of this: Breakfast: nothing... I wake up too late
coffee at work.
lunch: a turkey sandwich, small bag of doritos, and brownie I get at the University Bookstore (overpriced at that)
more coffee.
dinner: nothing, usually. unless you count more coffee.
Saturday is my "free day" when I can eat anything I want, which usually means a dozen donuts, burger and fries, and a pint of iced cream.
Wednesday nights I go to a local pub for anarchist drinking night. I usually get a burger and fries, and an IPA or three. The lettuce on the burger is probably the most nutricious thing I eat all week. Wednesday nights I go

-- Anonymous, May 23, 2001

Young man, go to your room.

-- Anonymous, May 23, 2001