Nutrition .. it isn’t rocket science (or is it??!)

Sometimes it feels like figuring out the nutritional content of an eating plan is a bit like rocket science.  So many variables and so many things to track.  Protein, fat, fiber, calories, vitamins, minerals, probiotics, prebiotics,  ... it really does feel a bit like rocket science, doesn’t it?

Many have suggested I use an app to track my food.  I think that’s a great idea, but my challenge is I’m so busy in my day that sometimes I feel as though I barely have time to eat and exercise, let alone enter everything into an app.  And, those annoying pop-up ads!  Give me a break.  I honestly don’t want to put my meals into an app since I can’t say I truly trust any of them to be secure.  Now what would a hacker do with my food intake information?  Probably nothing, so it’s silly.  But I’m still using the old-fashioned method of keeping it in my head.  Remember, I’m developing new habits for the rest of my life, and I certainly have no interest in cluttering my cell phone with yet another app.

Here’s the latest version of my eating plan.  I’m going to focus on having a set plan for protein intake.  That’s this blog.  Then, I’ll research and do another blog with a focus on fiber intake as it’s critical to keep things moving.  Lastly, the third blog in this nutrition mini-series will wrap up with complex carbs and other nutritional things important for long term wellness. 

Based on my consultation with the nutritionist I wrote about in the “Nutritionist Views….” blog of May 5th, I know I need to eat 90 grams of protein on a daily basis to maintain muscle mass.  Here’s a list of the food with the highest per serving protein content I’ve found.  I’ve listed them in rough order of most to least efficient per serving.

                        Soybeans (dry roasted)          34 grams per ½ cup serving.

Protein Powder                       15-25 grams per scoop

                        Turkey Breast (Roasted)        25 grams per 3 ounce serving.

                        Seafood (cooked)                   18-27 grams per 3 ounce serving.

                        Chicken (white or dark)          24 ounces per 3 ounce serving.

I was thrilled to see Soybeans top the list  They make great snacks and having grown up on an Iowa farm where soybeans were our big cash crop, I’m excited to go back to my roots.  By the way, it’s the mature soybeans that have the higher protein content.  Edamame is young soybeans and has lower caloric and protein content so go for the more mature beans or adjust your serving size to get to the protein goal.

The next step in my quest for reaching the recommended protein goal was to look at the caloric content of each protein heavy food.  It will be counterproductive if I focus so much on protein that I take in too many calories.  Remember, 1,300 calories per day put me on a rough track to achieve a one-pound loss per week.  It depends on metabolism and exercise but that’s my mental target every day … 1,300 calories.

For those protein-dense foods listed above, here’s the caloric content.

                        Soybeans (dry roasted)          388 calories per ½ cup serving.

Protein Powder                       100 – 130 calories per scoop

                        Turkey Breast (Roasted)        125 calories (without skin) per 3 ounce serving.

                        Seafood (cooked)                   70-180 calories per 3 ounce serving.

                        Chicken (white or dark)          150-170 per 3 ounce serving.

Of course, if any of the animal proteins listed above are fried or cooked in a way that adds fat and calories, the caloric content per protein gram will go up significantly.  And, as it turns out, if the fish is farm raised, the caloric content is different than if it is wild caught. 

The caloric range for fish is the widest of any of the animal proteins so watch that as well.  Cod has the lowest caloric content per protein gram of the popular fishes and salmon (no surprise given its relative fat level) is the highest. 

During my journey to less, I’ve had a strong focus on a plant-based diet.  I’ll still include lots of vegetables and some fruits but I’m going to add animal protein back in for now to get my protein intake up until I can get to my target weight of 150.  Then I’ll figure out how to gradually go back to my preferred plant forward diet. 

My plan for this week is to keep it simple.  I’ll start the day with the ½ cup dry oats, 1 scoop protein powder and ¼ cup blueberries plus 1 teaspoon locally grown honey.  For morning snacks, I’ll have a bottle of Yakult for the probiotics and low calories.  For lunch, I’ll have a salad of mixed greens, very light dressing of olive oil and lemon juice, with a double serving of protein and a complex carb to round things out.  Snack will be ¼ cup of dry roast soybeans and I’ll end the day with a generous serving of roasted vegetables like broccoli, carrots, cauliflower or zucchini with another (single) serving of protein.  This will hit my protein goals for the day and keep the calorie count under 1,300 if I’m careful. 

To visualize the plate for lunch and dinner, think about 25% protein, 25% complex carbs and 50% non-starchy vegetables.  I’m loading the lunch with a double dose of protein because that takes longer to digest and I don’t want to overload my digestive system at night.

This is a plan I can make work.  It’s simple.  It has some flexibility and it’s only for a week to see how it goes.  It gives me a framework and a way to keep myself accountable without apps, calculators and rocket science. 

My scale said 156 this morning.  155 or less … here I come.