Sunday, January 07, 2007

Surprise! Week One Seven-Day Averages!

Below are my seven-day averages for my first week of CR. I started out the week with a target of 1300 calories/day. After two 2000+ calorie days in a row, I decided my body was trying to tell me something, and upped my target to 1500 calories/day. As you can see, I wasn't too far over it. I can live with being that close to my target for my very first week!

I could definitely stand to cut the saturated fat down and maybe increase the Omega-6 fats, but I'm rationally using up stuff I have in the fridge, like some delicious butter and cheese, and whole eggs that I will later on not be eating too often. Cutting back on saturated fat (to be replaced with something like olive oil, or none) will give me room to increase my protein another 9% without a lot of extra calories. Egg whites to the rescue? I think so.

I was also pleased with my nutrient targets, mainly. I did it without supplementation, and the few percentages that I'm short, I'm confident I can correct with diet or "natural" supplements like brewers yeast, which I think of as a food, not a supplement. I still don't rule out supplements at some point, but for now, I'm going to keep tinkering with the diet to see if I can edge any of those numbers up naturally.

[Warning: abuse of italics ahead.]

I was a little surprised to be low on potassium (I wonder if it's time to enjoy some avocados instead of all that butter...that would offer potassium and good fat, right?); not so surprised about the B-vitamins, except that it was B3 and B5 I was short, instead of B12. B3 is also known as niacin, and that's in coffee. So another 4-6 cups during the week might have done it...but I don't think I can handle that much more caffeine--I'm already taking more than I'd like. Maybe more salmon, some mushrooms (is it crimini?), or brewers yeast?

Could definitely use some vitamin E. Can't remember where that comes from, but such info is readily googled.

On the other hand, I was happily surprised to see my high vitamin D level (thanks to tinned sardines), without supplementation, but not at all surprised that zinc was low. That's one I might consider supplementing soon. I understand it's important for healing.

My Omega-3 was great, and I'm always surprised by the foods I discover it in, like 11% from my morning cup of blueberries!. What remains unclear to me is if I need to achieve the 100% of Omega-6, when I've read that it is inflammatory...but perhaps only when it's consumed excessively? The Omega-3/Omega-6 issue is one I still need to learn more about.

If you're like me, by now you are sick of the word "surprise." I've written it so many times it's starting to not sound like a real word anymore. And you hope I never write the word "surprise" again.

Well...SURPRISE! I'm going to, because that is one of the main surprises about this experience--just how surprising these quantifiable, objective results are, and how much surprising information they reveal about me and my food choices. I have learned more about food this ONE week than in all my life, previously. I am serious. I'm also just a wee bit obsessed right now. But that's how I operate. That's how I get things done.

Nutrition Summary

January 1, 2007 to January 7, 2007

Daily Averages over 7 days

General (97%)
Energy1635.7 kcal 109%
Protein102.4 g 91%
Fat68.0 g 136%
Carbs181.9 g 96%
Fiber45.1 g 113%
Vitamins (95%)
Vitamin A25814.5 IU 860%
Folate527.0 mcg 132%
B1 (Thiamine)1.7 mg 138%
B2 (Riboflavin)2.7 mg 206%
B3 (Niacin)13.6 mg 85%
B5 (Pantothenic Acid)4.9 mg 98%
B6 (Pyridoxine)2.3 mg 178%
B12 (Cyanocobalamin)8.1 mcg 336%
Vitamin C224.7 mg 250%
Vitamin D290.6 IU 145%
Vitamin E9.3 mg 62%
Vitamin K576.2 mcg 480%
Minerals (98%)
Calcium1579.1 mg 158%
Copper2.0 mg 217%
Iron19.7 mg 246%
Magnesium467.7 mg 111%
Manganese5.9 mg 255%
Phosphorus1501.6 mg 215%
Potassium4204.7 mg 89%
Selenium66.4 mcg 121%
Sodium2743.7 mg 183%
Zinc9.6 mg 87%
Lipids (79%)
Saturated15.9 g 80%
Omega-34.3 g 270%
Omega-612.7 g 75%
Cholesterol180.1 g 60%

2 comments:

Emi at Project Swatch said...

I'm definitely linking to you. Your averages for the week look great to me. Do you like sunflower seeds? 15g has 85 calories, and contributes 30% of B1, 20% of B5, 35% of E. Almonds also have a lot of E, but not quite as much - but I like them more. Chicken has lots of B3. I look forward to reading more from you :)

April said...

Great entry Chris! More soon on specifics!

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