Day 3: January 27, 2016

Day 3!

Breakfast: 8:30AM

• Special K Red Berries cereal ➣ 
• Nutritional value: 1 cup
• Calories: 110 
• Calories from fat: 0
• Total fat: 0g
• Protein: 2g
• Sodium: 190mg
• Soy Milk ➣ 
• Nutritional Value: 1/2 cup
• Calories: 54 
• Calories from fat: 15
• Total fat: 1.75g
• Protein: 3g
• Sodium: 90mg
• Flax Seeds ➣
• Nutritional Value: 1 tablespoon
• Calories: 30
• Calories from fat: 15
• Total fat: 1.75g
• Protein: 1.5g
• Sodium: 5mg
• Nothing exciting for breakfast, once again! 

Lunch: 2:00PM

• Panera Bread Tomato Soup   ➣
• Nutritional Value: 1 container
• Calories: 240
• Calories from fat: 150
• Total fat: 17g
• Protein: 3g
• Carbs: 20g
• Sodium: 740
• This soup may look low calorie, but it was extremely high in sodium and fat for such a small container. While this soup tasted really good, it was not as good for me as expected. I definitely need to limit myself to low-fat soups from now on. On the plus side, this soup had 7 grams in fiber, which I've been significantly trying to incorporate into my diet. 
• Smartfood White Cheddar Popcorn ➣
• Nutritional Value: 1 individual bag
• Calories: 100
• Total fat: 6g
• Protein: 2g
• Sodium: 180mg
• Carbs: 9g
• I like the availability and the taste of my 100 calorie popcorn, its not terrible for you and provides me with a cheesy taste that I crave sometimes (just kidding, all the time). 

Dinner: 5:30PM

• Rotisserie Chicken ➣
• Nutritional Value: 1 medium breast
• Calories: 141
• Calories from fat: approx. 30
• Protein: 20g
• Sodium: 0mg
• I ventured to TDR again today, and luckily they had fresh chicken at one of the stations. I realized over these past three days that I did not have red meat once, just poultry.
• Macaroni and Cheese ➣
• Nutritional Value: 1 cup
• Calories: 245
• Calories from fat: 60
• Protein: approx. 10g 
• Sodium: approx. 1000mg
• Total carbohydrates: 35g
• Every Wednesday at TDR is Mac and Cheese day, and a single serving is around 245 calories. While it is incredibly high in sodium, carbohydrates, and fatty oils, it surprisingly is not too high in calories. 
• Vanilla Ice Cream ➣
• Nutritional Value: 1 large scoop
• Calories: 250 
• Sodium: 45mg
• Saturated fat: 45mg
• I decided to treat myself and get some vanilla ice cream at the cafeteria! 

Final Thoughts:

Today I was still under calorie wise, with about 1200 calories compared to 1800. I seemed to be OK on most categories, but unfortunately over on saturated fats. I realized that I cannot have both ice cream and mac and cheese, no matter how tempting they are. From these three days of tracking my food, it has come to my attention that I need to cut back on the saturated fats that I am eating, and incorporate more fiber, as well as fruits and vegetables to get vital nutrients and to have a lot of energy. Today, I was okay when looking at my sodium levels, which is a positive step in the right direction. My breakfast remained healthy and mundane, and I think that I am definitely going to start using more flax seeds in my foods.

Day 2: January 26, 2016

Here is Day 2:

Breakfast: 12:00PM

• Special K Red Berries cereal ➣ 
• Nutritional value: 1 cup
• Calories: 110 
• Calories from fat: 0
• Total fat: 0g
• Protein: 2g
• Sodium: 190mg
• Because of the snowpocolypse, I did not have time pick up a variant of breakfast, so for the next week I will probably will be having Special K cereal and soy milk. 
• Soy Milk ➣ 
• Nutritional Value: 1/2 cup
• Calories: 54 
• Calories from fat: 15
• Total fat: 1.75g
• Protein: 3g
• Sodium: 90mg
• Side note: I bought 2 large gallons of Silk Vanilla Soy milk for a great price, so there is an abundance of milk in my fridge currently. 
• Flax Seeds ➣
• Nutritional Value: 1 tablespoon
• Calories: 30
• Calories from fat: 15
• Total fat: 1.75g
• Protein: 1.5g
• Sodium: 5mg
• From looking at the label, I found out that Flax is an acronym. 
• F = fiber
• L = lignans (a natural anxiodiant)
• A = alpha-linolenic acid (a variant of Omega3's)
• X = excellent choice! 
• My mom sent me bags and bags of flax seed from Trader Joe's, so I'm slowly starting to sprinkle it on a lot of my foods. 

Lunch: 3:00PM

• Grilled Chicken ➣ 1 breast
• Nutritional Value: 
• Calories: 92 
• Calories from fat: 5
• Protein: 15g
• Sodium: 22mg
• I finally ventured to TDR in the cold, and ate the scraps that was left. There was only hot dogs, hamburgers, overcooked chicken, and fries for lunch, so my options were extremely limited.
• French Fries ➣ 1 cup:
• Nutritional Value:
• Calories: 168
• Calories from fat: 80
• Total fat: 9g
• Protein: 2g
• Sodium: 139mg 
• Since there wasn't much to eat, I went for the fries. There are 11 calories of saturated fat in my cup of fries, and they essentially had no nutritional value besides the 17g of carbohydrates. 

Dinner: 7:30PM

• Cheesecake Factory Chicken Pasta ➣
• Nutritional Value: 
• Calories: 590
• Saturated Fat: 8g
• Sodium: 748mg
• Carbs: 55g 
• I ordered off the "Skinnylicious" menu at the Cheesecake Factory with friends, but it is unbelievable how much sodium is in one bowl of "low calorie" pasta. Thank god I didn't get cheesecake. The carb data is seems about right in terms of the dish, since pasta is filled with whole grains and carbohydrates. I did get some protein from this dish, however I was unable to find a number related to the grams of protein. 

Snacks: Throughout the Day

• Banana ➣
• Nutritional Value: 1 medium banana
• Calories: 90
• Total fat: .4g
• Sodium: 1g
• Carbs: 27g
• Protein: 1.3g
• Bananas are high in fiber, and potassium. While they are high in sugar (14g), their nutritional value surpasses the levels of sugar. 
• Smartfood White Cheddar Popcorn ➣
• Nutritional Value: 1 individual bag
• Calories: 100
• Total fat: 6g
• Protein: 2g
• Sodium: 180mg
• Carbs: 9g
• I picked up a package of individual popcorn bags so that I wouldn't overeat (popcorn is my favorite snack). The level of carbohydrates was surprisingly moderate, and this snack also has a gram of fiber. In addition, this snack is gluten free and has no artificial colors or preservatives. 

Final thoughts: 

Based on my nutrients report, I would say that I improved from yesterday. My calorie intake was higher by around 100 calories (give or take), and I was okay by limiting my intake of added sugars, cholesterol, and saturated fat. Again I eat the right amount of protein and carbohydrates, but I still need to limit my sodium intake and increase the amount of fiber in my diet. I made progress by adding flax seeds to my cereal, but it is important  that I find foods rich in fiber to help my digestive system. In addition, I need to up my calcium intake so that I have strong bones, since bone loss runs in my family. While yesterday I ate fewer calories, today I feel that what I ate was better and heartier. I was hungry yesterday, and so today I began having a few snacks to try to keep my energy up. I have a tendency to take a lot of naps, but I realized the more I ate the less tired I was. The chicken I ate in my pasta and for lunch was at the bulk of my protein intake, and I was constantly eating carbs throughout the day. 

Day 1: January 25, 2016

Here is day 1 of my food blog!


Breakfast: 10:30AM

• Special K Red Berries cereal ➣ 
• Nutritional value: 1 cup
• Calories: 110 
• Calories from fat: 0
• Total fat: 0g
• Protein: 2g
• Sodium: 190mg
• Soy Milk ➣ 
• Nutritional Value: 1/2 cup
• Calories: 54 
• Calories from fat: 15
• Total fat: 1.75g
• Protein: 3g
• Sodium: 90mg
• Soy milk is also very rich in Calcium, Vitamin B12, and Vitamin D. 
• Blueberries ➣ 
• Nutritional Value: 1 cup
• Calories: 84
• Calories from fat: 0
• Total fat: 0g
• Protein: 1g
• Sodium: 0g
• Blueberries have a very high Vitamin C and Vitamin K content. 

 

Lunch: 1:30PM

• Goldfish ➣ 
• Nutritional Value: 1/2 cup
• Calories: 140
• Calories from fat: 45
• Total fat: 5g
• Protein: 4g
• Sodium: 170mg
• While Goldfish are my favorite snack, they are incredibly high in sodium and carbohydrates. 
• Tortilla Soup ➣ 
• Nutritional Value: 1 container
• Calories: 150
• Calories from fat: 15
• Total fat: 1.5g
• Protein: 9g
• Sodium: 570mg
• I got low fat tortilla soup from Panera Bread in Tenleytown, and even such a small container has SO much sodium! I realized after my first two meals that I should make more of an effort to cut my sodium intake.

Dinner: 8:00PM

• Breaded chicken breast ➣ 
• Nutritional Value: 1 breast
• Calories: 188
• Calories from fat: between 20-30
• Total fat: approx. 3g
• Protein: 11g
• Sodium: 574mg
• I did not eat particularly well for dinner, as I had breaded chicken breast rather than grilled or baked, and while it has a lot of protein, breaded chicken also has a lot of saturated fats from the breadcrumbs and the copious amounts of oil. 
• Thin crust cheese pizza ➣ 
• Nutritional Value: approx 1 slice
• Calories: between 225-250
• Calories from fat: approx. 135
• Total fat: approx. 15g (Wow!)
• Protein: 10g
• Sodium: 430mg
• It was very hard to eat healthy during Snowzilla, since the only places that were delivering were either pizza or greasy chinese. I had to choose between two evils! 

Final thoughts: 

Overall, I consumed roughly 1100 calories today. I was under my daily calorie intake which was supposed to be around 1800, according to my height and weight. The only aspects of the nutrient chart in which I was in the OK, were protein, carbohydrates, added sugars, fat, and cholesterol. I did NOT meet a healthy eating goal today, The pizza and breaded chicken definitely added to the cholesterol and the total fat/sugars. I really need to up my fiber intake as well as lesson the amount of saturated fats and sugars in my diet. Additionally, I should try to have 'good carbs', rather than greasy foods like the ones I consumed today. I started my day off right with a healthy and balanced breakfast, but I slowly went downhill starting at lunch.