As I mentioned on Friday in my Eat on $3 a Day I have started tracking how much I eat daily. I started tracking my food on January 23 and now that I have 2 full weeks in I have some idea on how I am doing since changing my lifestyle, embracing Dr. John McDougall’s starch based diet. My main source of calories come from nearly 80% carbohydrates that constitute my diet.
Any early “myth” Dr. McDougall dispelled was that “starches make you fat.” A large potato gives you about 150 calories, a cup of rice approximately 200 calories. Compare that with two tablespoons of mayo at 200 calories or a cup of grated cheddar cheese at 450 calories. Do the math and see what you come with if you need to eat 2200 to 3000 calories a day. Potatoes are a great source of carbs, until you top them with sour cream, butter and bacon bits.
Looking over these past 2 weeks I have averaged 1657-1682 calories a day, much lower than what the suggested daily intake should be. Even with what I am eating I don’t go hungry during the day. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to get the carb intake up around 80%. February 2 I did have 73% carbs eaten that day, thanks to a Subway Veggie Delite sandwich and a serving and a half of potato enchiladas for dinner.
More notably than the carbs are the low fat intake, which were single digits the first 7 days I tracked my food, as I averaged 1682 total calories a day. The last 8 days have seen that number increase, but still been a percentage point or two around 10% total fat eaten. The exception being January 31 when my daily diet consisted of 17% fat. That was due in part to 4 whole wheat tortillas, that contain 3 grams of fat each.
Still I have been able to stay away from dairy, which has proved invaluable when it comes to keeping the total fat down. We have started to eat more potatoes than rice the past few weeks as well, now that I have found a new interest in the sweet potato, which I can with just about anything or even eat it plain.
For the period between January 23 to February 5 I am averaging 1648 calories a day. My total fat is at 9%, just under the 10% goal I am aiming for. Protein running a bit high at 14%, but I am not going to worry about that much. Eating fewer beans a week will drop that number significantly. As for total carbs I am only at 59%!
Over this time period I have lost about 1 pound, down to 189.5 as of this morning. That gives me a projected weight of 173 pounds by the end of my period. Not sure I want to drop down that low unless I am able to add some muscle to my frame, but eating a carb heavy diet has me seeing weight loss, not weight gain. Interesting once you starting reading up on nutrition and the details of why this is. I am very pleased with this trial period, but have felt great since changing my diet.