Analysis of a Day's Meals

Every so often I take the time to examine and analyse a day’s meals. Not just by post-prandial blood glucose testing, because I do that much more frequently, but to see the actual macro and micro-nutrient content in case I need to change anything.

I don’t usually count carbs. In the past, when I have performed this exercise, I found that I can vary anywhere from 50gms to over 200gms in a day but I am usually around the 100-150 range.

So, just for fun, this was yesterday. Breakfast was a two-egg omelette that included some sautéd mushrooms and spring onion. Lunch was an open sandwich on a single slice of multigrain, spread with English mustard and topped with lettuce, a slice of ham, tomato and a little cheddar. Dinner was 1 ½ grilled chicken thighs (skin on) with cauliflower au gratin (with cheddar and parmesan), steamed broccoli, a small boiled potato soaked with a teaspoon of butter. Supper was a small serve of my Psyllium, Fibre, Muesli and Nuts mix.

Snacks were spread across the day and included a mandarin, four crackers (6gms carb each) and two slices of multigrain bread. On the various crackers and half-slices of bread I spread choices of squashed avocado, peanut butter, brie or vegemite in small portions. But not all at once :-)

Over the period of the day I had three mugs of good coffee, with cream, and three glasses of Shiraz.

When I analysed all those using an old program called DWIDB (mine is an old free version) I found that half of my calories and more than half of my carbs are actually in those snacks. That makes it easy to adjust if I am having too much or too little.

Here are the numbers for the macronutrients:

Item.....quantity unit
Calories.......2064 cal
Protein............81 gm
Total Fat........110 gm
Sat. Fat...........37 gm
Mono. Fat........46 gm
Poly. Fat..........15 gm
Carbohydrate..156 gm
Fiber................32 gm
Cholesterol.....546 gm

The calories are fine as far as I am concerned; I am a 6' male with a BMI of 28. Theoretically I should be under 25 according to the experts, but I am quite happy at that level. I've written previously why I am unconcerned at exceeding the ingested cholesterol RDA. Working out the proportions of calories from the three macronutrients that the dieticians love they come to this:

Protein 17%
Carbohydrate 32%
Fat 51% (including Sat Fat 17%)

I had not noticed before, but those numbers are not too far from Gannon and Nuttall's LOBAG 20/30 series; a little lower in protein, a little higher in carbs.

Just as interesting to me are the micronutrients. This shows why I don't add many supplements to my day, because I get more than I need from my menu for most things. The list doesn't include my psyllium mix so some of the numbers below RDA are actually a little higher. Similarly, I sprinkle a little salt on some things so that would increase the sodium figure.

Next week I will repeat the exercise with a different day's menu with red meats and fish instead of chicken, and a different selection of vegetables to see if the result changes for those items I've noted for review. If I find I need to increase something, I first attempt to do that with a food rather than a supplement. For example, I would expect to find my B12 is OK because on several other days I eat red meat. However, if that calcium figure is still low on review I would consider adding more cheese or yoghurt before I add a supplement.

Vit. A 5011.07__IU 100% RDA
Vit. B6 2.09__mg 130% RDA
Vit. B12 1.71__mcg 86% RDA
Vit. C 184.54__mg 308% RDA
Vit. E 9.89__mg 124% RDA
Thiamine 1.31__mg 119% RDA
Folacin 383.37__mcg 213% RDA
Riboflavin 1.88__mg 144% RDA
Niacin 22.86__mg 152% RDA
Panto. Acid 6.89__mg 138% SA
Calcium 482.58__mg 40% RDA
Copper 1.41__mg 71% SA
Iron 13.19__mg 88% RDA
Magnesium 329.75__mg 118% RDA
Manganese 4.84__mg 161% SA
Phosphorus 1038.40__mg 87% RDA
Potassium 3499.55__mg 175% RDA
Selenium 77.82__mcg 141% RDA
Sodium 1497.73__mg 62% SA
Zinc 8.58__mg 71% RDA
Tyrosine 5.11__gm 533% RDA
Lysine 11.32__gm 1572% RDA
Phenylalanine 6.28__gm 654% RDA
Leucine 11.54__gm 1202% RDA
Valine 7.52__gm 895% RDA
Methionine 3.68__gm 1228% RDA
Cystine 1.96__gm 654% RDA
Tryptophan 1.75__gm 971% RDA
Threonine 6.24__gm 1300% RDA
Isoleucine 6.92__gm 961% RDA

Most people don't have the time to do this sort of analysis, but for a retired person like myself it is an interesting exercise.

Cheers, Alan
Everything in Moderation - Except laughter