Diet Spreadsheets and Food Logging

Logging what I eat each day has helped me to keep track of where I am in the day and to make informed decisions about dietary choices. I can also see what effect a prospective choice will have on my daily goals, It lets me know whether that treat I am considering will throw me off track or not. I use a spreadsheet that I created using Microsoft Excel.

When I started, I just kept track of Calories, fat, sodium, fiber, and protein using the “Food Facts” listed on most food products. As I learned more, I added sugars, fiber, saturated fat, and cholesterol, and had the spreadsheet calculate calories from each. It also calculates the percentage of calories from each, and lets me know how far I have to go before I reach my goal maximums. My daily goals are: no more than 1400 Calories, no more than 1500 mg sodium, less than 300 mg cholesterol, less than 20% of calories from fat and less than 10% from saturated fat, and 30-38 grams fiber. The spreadsheet makes it fairly easy to keep track of all this.

USDA SR19

The United States Department of Agriculture maintains a website where you can access the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference. It contains the composition of 7,293 raw, processed, and prepared foods by up to 140 nutrients. The latest release is 19 and it is updated in August of each year so, the SR 19 was released in August 2006. The database is available either online, or by download in Microsoft Access or ASCII format. The older version SR 17 is available for free download from NutriBase as the NutriBase Navigator. This offline software product allows you to search the database and select which nutrients are of interest and should be displayed.

Once you have searched either database or located food facts from food packages, it is easy to transfer the information to your spreadsheet. When you eat the food again, it’s easy to copy and paste from prior entries.

Recipes from Scratch

Obviously, recipes you cook at home from scratch aren’t found in the SR 19, or on any food facts. When I cook from scratch, I list the ingredients and their nutrients on the spreadsheet, total them and either weigh or measure the final products. I then decide what a serving size should be and the spreadsheet calculates the number of servings and divides the nutrients by this number. This allows me to perform a what-if analysis so I can see the effect of adding or changing one or more ingredients. I can immediately see the effect on each serving of adding a half teaspoon of salt to a recipe, for example. If I decide to eat a smaller portion, the spreadsheet calculates the revised nutrient make up for the new serving size and I can transfer these values to the daily log.

I’ve been told it takes a somewhat obsessive person to log and track their diet to this extent, but, it works for me. I like making informed dietary decisions and see the effect of my decisions.

Here is my recap from yesterday.

Daily Dietary Recap-3/1/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1052.86	80.77 g	149.52 g	977.81 mg	12.74 g	10.89%

Low Fat Mushroom Omelet

This morning I diverted from my normal breakfast of cold cereal, Kashi GoLean Crunch with plain yoghurt, wild blueberries, and non-fat milk, or oatmeal with flax meal and raisins, in favor of a mushroom omelet. I had some nice mushrooms and some EggBeaters, so I chopped two large mushrooms and sautéed them in a skillet sprayed with olive oil spray, then added a half cup scrambled eggbeaters and topped it all with a tablespoon of Frieda’s Mild Salsa. When I logged the meal on my diet spreadsheet, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the whole meal tallied only 70 Calories, with 102 grams of protein, 4.27 g carbohydrates, .18 g fat, and 271 mg sodium.

On those mornings I have a taste for an omelet, I sometimes chop onions, mushrooms, red or green bell peppers, and sometimes a seeded jalapeño pepper. I frequently top it with either fat-free cheddar or mozzarella cheese. I always sauté in pan spray without additional oil. I sauté the vegetables separately and cook the yolkless eggs at low heat so I can turn it once without it breaking up. I then add the veggies and cheese and fold it over. This is a substantial, but low Calorie, salt, and fat meal

I have a fondness for mushrooms of all types and find that they add real flavor without adding much in the way of calories, fat, or salt. I sometimes slice them long ways and put them on the grill with boneless skinless chicken breasts. Sometimes for an evening meal, I will grill a four ounce patty of extra lean ground beef (96/4) and top it with grilled or sautéed mushrooms, peppers, and onions-lots of flavor for very few calories. And, I am getting servings of vegetables. I even have a neighbor who prepares his own inoculants and logs, growing his own shiitakes, my favorite.

I’ve found that mustard is the most forgiving condiment when it comes to calories, fat, sodium, and flavor-lots of flavor at very little cost. The Griffin’s prepared mustard I use has only 35 mg of sodium per teaspoon and no fat. The label lists 0 Calories, 0 grams fat, and 0 grams carbohydrate, so I checked the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Nutrient Database http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/ and found that they list 3 Calories, .22 g protein, .27 g Carbohydrate, of which .2 is fiber and .04 is sugars, and 57 mg sodium for the prepared mustard they tested-still quite a bargain.

I am leaving Saturday for a conference in New Orleans so I will be eating restaurant food for five days. I hope my new-found ability to estimate four ounce portions and choose food low in fat, calories, and sodium, will keep me on track. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Here is my recap for yesterday.

Daily Dietary Recap-2/28/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1357.17	86.77 g	239.19 g	1205.17 mg	10.25 g	6.80%