BASIC NUTRITION ASSESSMENT

Please check the items that apply to you below:

___ Do you eat out more than three times per week?

___ Do you eat boxed foods more than twice per week?

___ Do you drink any type of soda?

___ Do you eat less than 5 servings of vegetables per day?

___ Do you drink less than 4 glasses of water per day?

___ Do you feel "addicted" to certain foods?

___ Do you typically opt for lower fat and lower calorie foods when given the choice?

___ Do you eat white flour, white rice, or white bread?

___ Do you use artificial sweetners liker Splenda, Nutrisweet, or Aspartame; or consume foods that contain them?

___ Do you eat fried foods more than once per week?

___ Do you eat processed "deli" meat, bacon, sausage, or hot dogs?

___Do you feel you get all your needed nutrients from food, and therefore pass on supplements including multivitamins and fish oil?

___ Do you use canola oil or vegetable oils in cooking or in salad dressings

___ Do you use margarine?

___ Are most of the fruits and vegetables you eat conventionally grown (non-organic)?

___ Do you consume milk and dairy products at the grocery store?

___ Are the majority of your animal products from the meat counter or freezer at the grocery store (as opposed to a health food store or local farmer)?

___ Do you consider price and convenience of food to be more important than nutritional quality?

___ Do you eat sweets or candy more than once per week?

___ Do you drink more than 10oz of alcohol, three times per week?

___ Do you eat while rushed or under stress?

___ Do you, your doctor or family feel that you should lose some body fat?

___ Do you have irregular blood sugar, diabetes, or pre-diabetes?

___ Do you have blood pressure over 115/75?

___ Do you suffer from sinus issues, asthma, or allergies (including rashes, eczema, hives)?

___ Do you have gastrointestinal issues?

___ Do you frequently experience fatigue or insomnia?

___ Do you emotional/mental challenges or trouble concentrating?

___ Do you suffer from joint pain or muscle aches?

___ Do you have hormonal imbalances?

YOUR SCORE (how many you marked): ________

0 - 5 = GREAT: You are obviously a nutritionally-conscious person and are off to a good start! Like most of us, you may have some minor improvements that you could make to your nutrition plan. We trust the core principles of the Back On Track Nutrition Plan will help you take your health to the next level.

6 - 10 = GOOD: You are doing pretty well but likely need stronger discipline with your eating habits. If you can target and stick to the basic principles of the Core Plan, you will likely experience speedy improvements in your health.

11 - 15 = IMPROVEMENT NEEDED: Your diet needs some work, although you may not realize it.  It's very likely that you are doing your best, followng other guides and counting calories, but considering the principles of Back On Track, you are possibly doing some harm to your health. You will probably learn some surprising things in the Back On Track Nutrition Plan that contradict "traditional wisdom."  Rather than becoming overwhelmed, take small steps.  You can deal with these one at a time. Small successes can get you motivated to make more changes!  Aim to get your score below 6 within six months.  

16 - 20 = PRE-DISEASE:  Whether you realize it or not, your eating habits will not be without serous health consequences.  If you haven't already started to experience symptoms or have not yet been diagnosed with any disease, the day is around the corner if immediate changes are not made. Fortunately, your score is low enough that following the Back On Track Nutrition Plan will help you reduce your score even further and improve your health significantly within 6 months time.  However, long-standing illness or other factors may prolong recovery.  You will probably feel awful in your first few weeks of changes, but once your body adaps, you will undoubtedly feel the positive effects, like so many Back On Track Nutrition patients in the Houston and surrounding areas. 

20+ = CRISIS: It is time to pull out all the stops. Whether or not your doctor has diagnosed it, you are in very serious state of health crisis, and are moving in the wrong direction. The Back On Track Nutrition Plan is designed to help you reserve the track you are on. Start making changes and moving in the right direction today. The longer you wait, the less likely you will ever start. Even if you begin slowly, just get started! You are better off moving in the right direction slowly than the wrong direction quickly.

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As you may have guessed, all the items on the list are problematic when it comes to being healthy. After all, the ideal score is "zero." It is imperative that you be able to avoid answering yes to most of them. A score of 30 (out of 30) would go to someone following the Standard North American Diet (S.A.D.) religiously! It is sad but true that North Americans hold the dubious honor of having the worst diets on the planet and the most lifestyle-related disease such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and cancer. 

Every person in his or her lifetime will at some time decide to (and have to) make his or her own health top priority. We trust that you will make this decision today - not tomorrow! Regardless of your starting point, everyone has room to improve. Nutrition, just like life, is a marathon and not a sprint!