A Day in the Life of My Diet #4: Macros at 35%/35%/30%

Haven't posted a Day in the Life of My Diet photo sequence in a while, and things have certainly changed since my last diet update from last July!

As some of you know, I have irritable bowel syndrome which REALLY puts a significant hamper on my ability to eat a varied diet full of fruits, veggies and certain carbs.  Finding the right mixture of clean, all-natural, well-balanced foods has been a struggle one year in the making, and it's a challenge each time I get bored of my meal plan and have to switch things up.

I have, however, found an agreeable and well-balanced diet plan that is working magic for me right now, so I thought I would share it.  I am aiming for a Carbohydrate/Protein/Fat caloric breakdown of 35%/35%/30% based on an 1800 calorie diet.  The following amounts to 1807 calories, 34.4% from carbs, 27.4% from protein, and 38.2% from fat.  So obviously I'll want to bring down my fat and bring up the protein.  Next week I'll cut out the nuts, reduce my avocado dose to 1/4 fruit instead of 1/3, and will add in a few hard-boiled egg whites at snack time.  I'll also likely switch out apples (which give me stomach problems) in favor of berries, which will decrease my sugar intake to my target range (50g).  We'll see how that all pans out. The fats I currently consume are "healthy fats" (from salmon, avocado and nuts), but I'm still going to need to bring it down a notch.  Eventually I will trade out 4oz of salmon for 6-8oz of a leaner fish like cod, tuna or tilapia.

Meal 1 -- Pre-morning work-out meal
One small banana, 2 tbsp all-natural peanut butter, and 20 fl. oz. water


Calories:  280
Fat / Saturated Fat: 16g / 2g
Cholesterol:  0mg
Sodium:  131mg
Potassium:  642mg
Carbs:  30g
Fiber:  6g
Sugar:  13g
Protein:  9g

Meal 2
Rosemary, Dill, Spinach and Egg White Quiche (For recipe, CLICK HERE), 16 fl oz water and black coffee

Calories:  212
Fat / Saturated Fat: 10g / 2g
Cholesterol:  177mg
Sodium:  600mg
Potassium:  306mg
Carbs:  5g
Fiber:  2g
Sugar:  1.6g
Protein:  25.4g








Meal 3
1 oz beef jerky, 1/4 serving mixed nuts, 2 pieces Ezekiel toast with 1 tsp raw honey drizzled on top, 16 fl oz water

Calories:  291
Fat / Saturated Fat:  5.5g / 0.3g
Cholesterol:  10mg
Sodium:  420mg
Potassium:  212mg
Carbs:  41g
Fiber:  7g
Sugar:  11g
Protein:  20.5g








Meal 4
1 whole head of Oak Leaf Lettuce, 1/2 lemon juice, 4oz grilled salmon, 1/3 avocado, 16 fl oz water

Calories:  319
Fat / Saturated Fat:  20g / 3g
Cholesterol:  54mg
Sodium:  134mg
Potassium:  867mg
Carbs:  12g
Fiber:  7g
Sugar:  1g
Protein:  28g








Meal 5
1/2 serving organic beef jerky, 1 whole apple, a ThinkThin Mixed Nuts bar, a cup of herbal tea and 16 fl oz water

Calories:  318
Fat / Saturated Fat:  13g / 2g
Cholesterol:  0mg
Sodium:  182mg
Potassium:  458mg
Carbs:  38g
Fiber:  6g
Sugar:  22g
Protein:  17g








 Meal 6 -- Pre-evening workout meal
1 scoop Chocolate Shakeology* mixed with 20 oz. ice water (*Please see footnote at the base of this entry)

Calories: 160
Fat / Saturated Fat:  2g / 1g
Cholesterol:  1mg
Sodium:  150mg
Potassium:  180mg
Carbs:  17g
Fiber:  6g
Sugar:  6g
Protein:  17g








Meal  7
1 Trader Joe's All-Natural Apple Chicken Sausage, 2 medium steamed zucchini's, 3 dried apricot halves (not shown in picture...dessert, yum!) and 12 fl oz water

Calories:227
Fat / Saturated Fat:  6g / 2g
Cholesterol:  50mg
Sodium:  300mg
Potassium:  522mg
Carbs:  27g
Fiber:  5g
Sugar:  14g
Protein:  19.4g




TOTAL INTAKE:
Total Calories:  1807 (100%)
Total Fat / Saturated Fat:  73g (121%) / 12g (88%)
Total Cholesterol:  292mg (97%)
Total Sodium:  1,917mg (96%)
Total Potassium:  3,187mg (68%)
Total Carbs:  171g (109%)
Total Fiber:  38g (128%)
Total Sugar:  68g (136%)
Total Protein:  136g (87%)

 *A final note I wanted to touch upon:  I am a huge promoter of all-natural, simple, clean, no-nonsense/fads/gimmicks diet and training.  I support the idea that you do not need anything fancy or special -- and that ranges from diet programs to gym memberships -- in order to get phenomenal results.  What you need is to research, improvise, and be knowledgeable about which exercises do what (and proper technique), and which foods do what (and proper intake).  It takes time and research, but you know the old adage -- Fish for a man, feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, feed him for life.  Learn how to fish, I say; don't pay some commercial company to tell you what to do without even knowing what it is (or isn't!) doing for you!

But all of that said, I do buy Shakeology.  I've been drinking it for months.  I personally hate the flavor now (but only because I mix it just with water -- if you mix it with other things like bananas and peanut butter, it's fabulous!  But if I'm gonna let myself have a banana and peanut butter, I want to enjoy them individually... not mixed into a shake with their unique tastes and textures concealed).  I am sure there are other fabulous protein powders out there, but Shakeology has a great mixture of probiotics, prebiotics and digestive enzymes which ease my stomach issues caused by IBS.  The product is gentle on my system and I seem a lot more regular than when clean-eating alone.  I wanted to have a protein shake as one of my daily meals, and so I have opted for Shakeology.  I will be trying SunWarrior soon, which has a delicious vegan vanilla flavor, but that's super expensive also.  Protein powders aren't for everybody, and please don't feel like you need to buy one in order to be successful (especially just in the beginning).