Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Lo Calorie eating and nutrient needs

Less Calories
I am a low calorie eater. I do it for several reasons, all of them to benefit my over-all health. Most importantly, right now, is to lose weight. I needed to lose 100 pounds. I have lost 80 pounds in 14 months and need to lose 20 more.
After I am 127 I will increase my calories by 10%, making my total calories 10% less than the USDA recommends for my age and height as well as activity level. Keeping the calories less will insure that I will not regain and that I will have optimal health. That is my goal, I hope to be able to keep it long term. Ten percent less is not very much each day. I believe the most important is to know how many calories I am eating each day and what is in them. I need to know if I am getting the proper amount of nutrients out of my food choices.

Time to Learn
I have decided to learn more about the nutrients in fruits and veggies. I found this great site from the CDC.


Foods
I checked to see how many fruits and veg I need in a day. I have been getting very close to that for some time. Problem is when I check the nutrients for my daily intake I am not getting enough potassium, calcium, and vitamin D.
I don't want to eat more fruits because of the high carbs and calories. I could eat more veggies but can't seem to always do that. I don't eat a raw diet and won't eat hi fat, hi calorie nuts, rice or potatoes, and I refuse to eat any dairy products so I would need to get it completely from fruits and vegetables.
The only thing I could come up with is to supplement it . I already have been taking calcium and Vitamin D.

Benefits
The benefits from taking a supplement for potassium is really good. It keeps the muscles strong and controls blood pressure and water balance in the cells.
It protects against heart disease, hypoglycemia, diabetes, obesity and kidney disease. It keeps muscles strong, bowels regular and works to eliminate irritability, confusion and stress.
If the sodium intake is high the potassium will be low. I do add salt to everything I cook. I don't know if I have a high salt diet, I do like salt.

Requirements

The daily requirement for me is 4700mg with a maximum of 23,500. (These figures vary, I would do more research before taking a supplement).
I will track my food intake to see how much potassium it has them supplement to bring it up to but not over the daily requirement. I know that too much can be toxic, so I will monitor it.

I can add supplements to the cronOmeter to be sure I am getting 100% of the daily requirements of all the nutrients.
I am looking forward to taking this supplement.

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