Counting Calor... Nutrients!

You can't get too much of a good thing right?  Well, technically when it comes to food even if you are eating all the right things you can still eat too much of it to actually lose any weight so I decided to start tracking my food again on My Fitness Pal a couple of weeks ago.  I LOVE My Fitness Pal.  It's so easy to use AND now they have a page that tracks your nutrients to show how you are doing throughout the day.  Here's what you can track:

Micronutrients:  Iron, Calcium, Potassium, Vitamin A, C
Macronutrients:  Fat, Protein and Carbohydrates. 

I decided to focus only on the micronutrients to see what it would look like.  I found that when I look mostly at those numbers and make sure I'm eating foods that get me to 100%, the fat is low, the carbohydrates come from healthy sources and the protein works itself out.  I don't usually get the system's recommended number on protein but I get the minimum required for me which is 30 grams (more about that below).  I'm not going to get on my soap box about protein in this blog but does anyone even know what the word is for protein deficiency?  NO!  WHY?  Because it doesn't happen in America unless you are not EATING enough food... period.  OK enough of that for now. 

Also when I focus on the micronutrients I am full at every meal, it lasts until the next meal AND I stay within my calorie budget.  Have I found the mystery to satisfying healthy eating???  It's pretty awesome!  If you want to connect with me on My Fitness Pal I'm listed as Drarceneaux.  I share my journal with my friends so you can see what I'm eating.  Here's an example of a day and the results:

Breakfast	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
Grape nuts - Grape Nuts, 0.5 cup	210	44	1	8	290	5
Silk soymilk - Soymilk, 0.5 cup	50	5	2	3	50	4
Craisins - Dried Cranberries, 0.06 of a cup	29	7	0	0	0	6
Coffee w trivia, 1 serving(s)	42	6	2	0	25	6
	331	62	5	11	365	21
Lunch
Broccoli - Broccoli Steamed, 1.25 cup	38	5	0	3	38	2
Black Beans - Black Beans, 1 cup	144	26	0	10	608	2
Carrot - Medium, 2 medium carrot (61g)	50	12	0	1	84	6
Cucumber - With peel, raw, 0.5 cup slices	8	2	0	0	1	1
Balsamic Vinegar - Balsamic Vinegar, 0.5 tbsp	7	1	0	0	2	1
Watermelon - Raw, 0.25 cup, balls	12	3	0	0	0	2
	258	49	1	15	733	14
Dinner
Curried Chic Peas With Apples, 1 serving(s)	237	40	6	8	309	8
Dole - Bananas, 1 banana	100	27	0	1	1	14
	337	67	6	9	310	22
Snacks
Coco Polo - 70% Dark Chocolate Sweetened With Stevia With Tart Montmorency Cherries, 20 g	85	11	7	1	5	3
Watermelon - Raw, 1.5 cup, balls	69	17	0	1	2	14
	154	28	7	2	7	17
Totals	1,081	206	20	37	1,415	75
Your Daily Goal	1,200	150	40	60	2,300	45
Remaining	119	-56	20	22	885	-29
	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar

Here's what the Micronutrients looked like that day:

Potassium - 3091 consumed, 3500 recommended
Vitamin A - over by 491%
Vitamin C - over by 174%
Calcium - 45%, should have used my remaining calories on a cup of coconut milk
Iron - over by 48%

Cholesterol - 0

5 shocking things I learned when staring only at micronutrients: 

1. 1/2 cup of Grape Nuts has 90% of your iron!  
2. Watermelon, which I LOVE is an excellent source of Potassium, Vitamin A and C 
3. Black Beans are a great source of protein, potassium and iron
4. Most important:  Dark chocolate cherries has IRON!
5. A big pan of broccoli will fill you up immensely and give you protein, potassium AND 168% of your Vitamin C! 

When you are eating mostly plants you get a bigger "bang for your calories", you get to rack up the micronutrients and here it is...  EAT MORE FOOD!  When you throw in the meat for protein purposes your whopping number of calories also get you more fat and cholesterol that you DON'T need just to get more protein that you really aren't deficient in.  The recommendation is 10-25% of your calories in protein.  So if my calorie intake is 1200 and each gram of protein equals 4 calories then my minimum should be 30 grams.  I am usually over the minimum every day.  If I'm working out I may use my exercise calories for additional plant protein.  It's not that big of a deal.  I don't need the meat for the protein or the iron.  The only other nutrient I need to make sure I get is B12.  Most plant powered people supplement.  I have found a great supplement that works on multiple levels and gives me 100% of my B12.  You can see the information here.  If you want to try it I can get it for you. 

So before doing this I was trusting that I was getting everything I needed from plants but now I know I'm covered.  That's a great feeling!