INTRODUCTION Something I noticed about my diet was that I was consuming a large amount of sugar. This was demonstrated through the two clover shakes I ate in my food diary. I also ate fudge cookies, mini chocolate muffins, and chocolate pudding, which contained a lot of sugar. Sugar has both benefits and harms. One advantage is that sugar is a carbohydrate and carbohydrates provide energy. Having more energy allows people to live up to their full potential. A downside of sugar is that it causes a spike in blood sugar levels. Too drastic changes in blood sugar can lead to death. Another negative effect of sugar is that it causes obesity. Consuming too much sugar can cause a person to gain weight, until they are no longer within a healthy weight range. Sugar can also harm the heart. Excessive sugar consumption has been proven to cause heart disease and heart failure (Cathons, 2014). Another dietary trend I noticed on my food journal was that I wasn't eating a lot of meat. The only meat I had was chicken for dinner one day out of four. There are pros and cons to eating meat. Meat contains proteins, amino acids, vitamins and minerals that the body needs. Not eating it means missing out on essential nutrients; However, meat is also not very healthy for you. Some disadvantages of meat are that it causes diabetes, bowel cancer, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's disease, constipation, obesity and lethargy. Some of these diseases can be fatal! It is also high in sodium and cholesterol. These things are very unhealthy for your body and can lead to obesity (Dowling, 2013). Another thing I realized from my food journal is that I eat so many vegetables. Actually, middle of paper......it says that eating healthy can also taste good. My meal consisted of only healthy foods and it was always delicious. I also learned that it can be very detrimental to my health if I don't eat the nutrients my body needs. I think discovering that healthy can taste good will make me eat healthier. Finding out that I have to eat certain foods because it can be very dangerous for my health has led me to eat more fruits and vegetables. Before this process, I didn't eat many vegetables, but now I have learned that they are an essential part of the diet. I think my family learned the same thing I did: eating healthy can taste good. I think this will inspire them to change the way they eat for the better. I think they will start eating more vegetables and fresh foods, rather than processed foods. I would be happy if they made this change, and I hope they do.