A much easier day: what I eat when I have 1,400 calories
Jan 7, 2012 Weight Loss
[Please note: I am not a doctor, or a nutritionist, and following any advice I post is done at the reader's own risk.]
Yesterday I talked about what I eat on a typical day when I only allow myself 700 calories. It is at this point that I will stop and direct you to this post if you’re itching to leave me a comment screaming “700 calories isn’t enough! You will die!” I completely agree. Living on 700 calories a day would be stupid and dangerous. I’m varying my calories each day and averaging more than 1,400 calories a day each week. (I’m getting preemptively defensive because last night several people on twitter commented on my plan without actually bothering to read the post. I really hate that.)
Anywho, I thought I’d detail what I ate today to show the contrast between the two days a week when I severely limit calories and carbs, and the four days a week when I eat 1,400 calories and don’t limit carbs.
Today I ate:
- slice of homemade white bread with 3/4 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
- Green Giant “Just for One” serving of peas & corn in basil butter sauce
- Lean Cuisine Fettuccini Alfredo with 1/2 bag Steamfresh broccoli, cauliflower & carrots
- small bowl of Smart Start cereal with 1/2 cup 2% milk
- 2 hardshell tacos with refried beans, shredded cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, carrot, low-fat sour cream, and taco sauce
- 2 Hershey’s chocolate bells
- slice of homemade white bread with 1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
It all added up to 1,405 calories. This is the way I like to eat – foods I love, even a little dessert. And it naturally fell within the generally accepted range for fats (29%), carbohydrates (56%), and protein (14%). I exceeded the recommended daily amount of fiber (that was the Steamfresh veggies and the refried beans). I always go over the recommended daily allowance of sodium, every single day, but I don’t care because my blood pressure is always in the kick-ass excellent range (actual medical term). The only thing I wasn’t happy with today was my calcium intake. I needed about 25% more than I got. Which surprised me, because I had cheese and sour cream and Alfredo sauce and milk today. Mental note: eat more cheese tomorrow (a tough assignment, I know).
I’m detailing all of this to get across two things. One, it is totally possible to eat great-tasting food, and enough of it to feel satisfied, on 1,400 calories. And two, I’ve gotten a bit obsessed over the years with weighing and measuring my food and keeping track of it. I’ve been using MyFoodDiary.com for years. It’s really easy to use, and at the end of the day I can get a quick snapshot of how I ate that day, or delve into the details. It’s a great site. It costs money, but I think it’s totally worth it. Food diaries have been proven to work, and if you’re anal retentive like me, this site will become a good kind of obsession. :-)
Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. This post has a Compensation Level of 0. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information.
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Tags: Food, My Food Diary, Weight Loss
