I’ve started counting my calories. Read all about it at this post or check out my calorie intake log on Google spreadsheets.

Saturday was my first day tracking calories. It took forever and was a pain in the butt, but I learned a few things. First of all, I’m not eating enough to gain weight. I ate about the same amount of calories as I burn by doing nothing. BUT, I also went swimming and went for a really long walk. If I’m going to insist on being active, I’m going to need to eat more. And that’s a great position to be in!

I also noticed that I jam a lot of calories in at the end of the day. This doesn’t bode well for me. Logic tells me I should be eating more earlier in the day, so I have energy to take on all that life hands me. I also don’t like to go to bed with a full tummy.

My breakdown of protein fat and carbs was about 15% / 32% / 53%. I’m still not sure exactly what this ratio should be for muscle gain, but they’re well within the healthy range according to the May Clinic. My fat intake is on the higher end, but I’m not going to worry!

Diary for Saturday, May 23, 2009

Total Calorie Intake:

1586 kCal, 57 grams of Protein, 52 grams of fat, 193 grams of Carbs

Total Calorie Expenditure:

2192 (1600 from just being alive, 220 from swimming, 372 from walking)

Calories In – Calories Out

-606 (deficit)

Breakfast

Buckwheat crepes filled with sweet creamy tofu and apples, topped with jam.

Calories: 290 kCal
Protein: 12.1 grams
Fat: 6.4 grams
Carbs: 49.4 grams

Swim

Swam a mile, working in some intervals.

Second Breakfast

Vegan blintz filled with sweet creamy tofu, served with apples and yogurt on the side (apples and yogurt not shown)

Calories: 141 kCal
Protein: 7 grams
Fat: 4.5 grams
Carbs: 19 grams

Walk

Three parks with Tim, plus a trip to the farmer’s market and the grocery store. When all was said and done, we were out for nearly three hours. With that and the swimming, I’d had a very active morning – no wonder I was so hungry for lunch.

Lunch

Tim’s awesome scrambled egg lunch, with toast, avocado, roasted tomato and mushrooms, and a side of mixed leaves

Calories: 366 kCal
Protein: 14.4 grams
Fat: 20.9 grams
Carbs: 33.2 grams

Snack

Leftover scrambled egg and tomato from lunch
(No picture!)

Calories: 65 kCal
Protein: 4.4 grams
Fat: 4.3 grams
Carbs: 1.8 grams

Dinner

Black bean mush burger on homemade bun with three tomato relish, homemade mayo, lettuce, tomato and mixed salad. Paired with Hooky Bitter from the steam-powered Hook Norton Brewery.

Calories: 725 kCal
Protein: 19 grams
Fat: 16 grams
Carbs: 90 grams