We know that economically, Mark’s diet is sound. He’s met his financial goals each day, resisting the urge to splurge, even just once! Now, to look at the nutritional side of his financial success. I used Super Tracker (https://www.supertracker.usda.gov/) once again to conduct a complete nutrient analysis of his intake. As a clinician, I like this program since it calculates both the macronutrient and micronutrient content of the diet. Mark’s been using Lose-it to track his calorie intake, exercise, and weight with success as well.
Macroscopically, Mark has met his nutritional needs when it comes to the major nutrients (carbohydrates, protein, and fat). His carbohydrate intake was more than adequate at ~190 grams per day, and averaged 50% of his caloric intake which is appropriate. Protein intake was roughly 68 grams and it rounded out to be about 18% of his calories, while fat consisted of 32%. As Mark previously mentioned, his total calories consumed during week two averaged out to almost 1700 per day, a bit short of meeting his needs for weight maintenance, but adequate for the purposes of his desired weight loss. Now, on to the micronutrients.
During week one, Mark fell short of meeting his calcium and vitamin D needs. So, one of my goals has been to help him find affordable foods rich in these two micronutrients. While this may sound like an easy venture, on $3 a day, I have learned it can present some challenges. Dairy products are great sources of both, but they come at a cost. One cup of milk equates to approximately $.20, which is expensive if you only have $3 for your whole day’s worth of meals. Yogurt is even more expensive relative to the $3 diet at approximately $.37 for a reasonable serving of six ounces. This is why dairy foods fit into that category of “luxury” foods. Mark has been able to add an occasional serving of milk into his oatmeal in the morning, and an occasional yogurt as a snack, but it has taken some definite planning to not exceed his budget with dairy foods. This is one of those eye opening experiences for me professionally. I never thought twice about recommending milk or yogurt as calcium/vitamin D sources, regardless of the income level of my clients. I will forever be more cognizant of this as I counsel clients in the future.
So, you’re probably wondering how Mark did during his second week with his calcium and vitamin D intake. Well, week two was better, but still not quite where he needs to be. Calcium intake climbed by 10%, now meeting 75% of his needs, while vitamin D increased by 6%, now meeting 26% of his daily needs. This is definitely something we will continue working on, but I'm happy with the improvement. Mark’s Tums may have boosted his calcium intake enough to come closer to meeting his needs, but unfortunately, Tums doesn’t contain vitamin D, so the 26% is a true reflection of where he currently stands. Maybe those end of day snacks, when there’s money to spare, should include a dairy component.
Also of interest, Mark’s fiber intake plummeted a bit during week two, from 29 to 18 grams. Maybe this was due to the boost in overall carbohydrates (cornbread, white bread, ½ wheat ½ white pasta), but decrease in beans and greens (kale), along with the stray away from oatmeal every morning for breakfast. I do appreciate Mark’s desire for variety, so I completely understand his need to switch things up occasionally. Maybe we can bring back some of the higher fiber foods in future meals.
All in all, these small steps Mark has taken towards improving his health continue to impress, not only from a nutritional perspective, but rounding out the Triad, from a sleep and exercise viewpoint as well. No, it's not perfect, but it's darn close on just $3 a day.
Week three nutrition breakdown to follow soon……
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