I have an extremely self-controlled food intake regimen (since without that I am a hazard to myself) which has evolved over the past 6 months. I am okay with my food being pretty much the same stuff each day. The weekends offer any needed variation. I pack all the food at the beginning of the day and make occasional adjustments based on the following numbers (via Livestrong’s MyPlate feature) and what I am trying to achieve. “Food as fuel”, as they say, not so much about savoring flavors here. If I crave something I take note and try to work it in.

Here’s a recent report after I entered in a day’s food. This represents a repeating daily intake.

Protein / Carb / Fat chart

I think the “normal” split is like 60-30-10 (carb-protein-fat). The high protein is from my 6 protein shakes, since I am trying to build muscle. It is probably working; I need to start measuring my arms and whatnot. I have 2 workouts a day (morning weights, cardio nights), so there is protein before and after each of those, then 2 in the middle of the day. I could probably safely cut a protein shake and add a carb to balance a little better, but still fighting fat in my mid section. And when I say fighting… I mean it. My abs are getting hard from 100 crunches/day, it’s just that darn 3/8″ layer of fat still hiding them.

Daily recommendation comparison

First line is actual quantity, second line is recommended quantity (for my adjusted needs, not everyone is 2000/cals day of course), third line is actual percentage based on the top 2 lines.

I am really happy with my “sugars” number – that is super easy to get into the 400% range. That’s why I cut out fruit, mostly, in favor of occasional berries.

I cranked up my fiber to clean up the result of what I am blaming on dietary imbalance.

My muscle build v. fat burn conundrum

I burn 800 cals/day with the workouts. That still puts me in diet mode, 600 cals below maintenance. As far as gaining muscle weight, I realize I need to get my calories closer to 3000/day, but have trouble doing that because the remaining fat still bothers me so much. The muscle gains are currently more about “definition” than “size” being that my calories are thus limited.

Are you tracking yours?

If you don’t already have a way to track your numbers, I heartily recommend Livestrong’s.

How do you track your meals? Put it in the comments!