Finding my way

So I am on my fourth day of tracking my intake after a three month break from calorie restriction. I am doing pretty well adjusting to the reduction in calories but I can see that the optimizing nutrition aspect of things is going to take a little bit of work. I am going to have to make some effort researching high nutrient and low calorie foods if I am going to reach my nutritional targets while maintaining low calories.

In the past when I was on a low calorie diet I was always taking supplements. I carefully evaluated my calorie intake for quite some time and always reached above targets for every nutrient analyzed. However I tended to rely very heavily on protein drinks for a large proportion of my calorie intake and I have come to believe that a diet of whole foods are absolutely essential for maintaining optimal health. Even though the numbers looked good my health and energy were suffering with this approach.

So this time around I am putting my energy into getting all of my nutrition from food. That is what my body is designed to do after all. If this means my calories need to be a little higher for a while then that’s okay. This is a lifestyle, not a diet, and there is no rush to get anywhere fast. I can take my time, learn something new every day, and work towards creating the best possible diet for me in terms of nutrition as well as what is going to work for me in the long term.

Here are yesterday’s results. I think I did a pretty good job estimating calories – maybe overestimating some things and underestimating others, but it is good enough for my purposes at the moment.

Meal 1: Yams (about a cup) with palm sugar syrup (2 T) and grated coconut (2 T) and 100 g cottage cheese

Meal 2: Steamed tofu with lawar – about ½ cup (Balinese dish of stir fried vegetables – mung sprouts, fern leaf tips and snake beans - and grated fresh coconut) .
Green salad with 1/3 avocado, cucumber, green pepper, steamed green beans, olive oil dressing.
1 cup fresh papaya.

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Nutrition Summary for 25 April 2007
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General (72%)
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Energy 1158.7 kcal 65%
Protein 43.8 g 39%
Carbs 142.0 g 57%
Fiber 24.8 g 99%
Fat 53.8 g 108%
Water 2019.9 g 75%

Vitamins (67%)
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Vitamin A 5048.0 IU 216%
Folate 329.9 µg 82%
B1 (Thiamine) 0.7 mg 61%
B2 (Riboflavin) 1.0 mg 92%
B3 (Niacin) 8.0 mg 57%
B5 (Pantothenic Acid) 2.8 mg 57%
B6 (Pyridoxine) 1.3 mg 98%
B12 (Cyanocobalamin) 0.7 µg 30%
Vitamin C 235.5 mg 314%
Vitamin D 0.0 IU 0%
Vitamin E 6.2 mg 41%
Vitamin K 77.2 µg 86%

Minerals (82%)
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Calcium 815.9 mg 82%
Copper 1.7 mg 185%
Iron 9.9 mg 55%
Magnesium 233.7 mg 73%
Manganese 4.6 mg 256%
Phosphorus 763.5 mg 109%
Potassium 2909.5 mg 62%
Selenium 42.9 µg 78%
Sodium 1443.7 mg 96%
Zinc 5.6 mg 70%

Lipids (69%)
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Saturated 14.4 g 72%
Omega-3 1.9 g 173%
Omega-6 17.7 g 148%
Cholesterol 8.0 mg 3%

Today seems to be looking better in terms of nutrition. So far I am on 452 calories and have already met 51% of vitamins and 49% of minerals. Now if I can just resist that bottle of wine tonight, we might actually be making some progress here.

How can it be that wine has no minerals? Surely it must at least have some potassium. Off to research …