Ditte Lyfeldt

Calorie Intake Paper

Health Education - PCC
February 13, 2016

FOOD DIARY
Using MyPlate calorie tracker by Livestrong.com
NAME: Ditte Lyfeldt
DAILY CALORIE GOAL: 2048 Cal. According to MyPlate mobile app.
DAILY EXERCISE: Daily walks, roughly 3 mph, 2-4 miles burning at least
160-320 calories per walk. Walking up hills, pushing stroller or carrying baby
not taken into account!
Day

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Snack

Total

Friday, Feb 5th

Oatmeal w/
toasted
almonds,
flaxseeds,
coconut and
honey

Kale,
garbanzo
bean, coconut
milk curry
over roasted
sweet potato
and quinoa

Tacos w/ tofu,
kale,
mushrooms,
corn, zucchini
topped with
salsa verde
and avocado

Dark
chocolate with
caramel

1826 Calories

(450 calories)

Tortilla chips

(280 calories)

Saturday, Feb
6th

Sunday, Feb
7th

Danish
pastries (2x)

Pepperoni
Pizza

(528 calories)

(416 calories)

Bagel w/
jalapeno
cream cheese

Chicken tacos
Tuna pasta
salad

(555 calories)
Tacos w/
breaded fish
and same
filling as
above
(444 calories)
Pepperoni
Pizza

Samoas
(cookies)
Cashew nuts
with sea salt
(542 calories)
Tortilla chips

1673 Calories

Salsa Verde
(285 calories)
Cup cakes

2105 Calories

(320 calories)
(939 calories)

(259 calories)
Monday, Feb
8th

Hard boiled
eggs
(117 calories)

(587 calories)
Tortilla chips
with radishes
and avocado
dip
(398 calories)

bowl w/
kale, quinoa,
curried lentils,
raw carrots,
roasted yams
and tahini

Girl scout
cookies

2023 Calories

Potato chips
Coconut milk
ice cream

(487 calories)
Tuesday, Feb
9th

Bagel w/
jalapeno
cream cheese

Lentil soup
Breaded fish
w/ avocado

Pepperoni
Pizza
(930 calories)

(1021
calories)
Almonds
Larabar lemon
bar

2028 Calories

(259 calories)
Wednesday,
Feb 10th

Oatmeal w/
apple, honey,
banana,
coconut,
flaxseeds and
almonds

(455 calories)
Stir fry w/
tofu, zucchini
and fennel

Carnitas Taco
w/ guacamole

Bagel w/
cream cheese
apple
Almonds
(261 calories)

Avocado
(204 calories)

(908 calories)

Kale salad
with grilled
chicken
breast,
avocado,
sunflower
seeds and
lemon/olive oil
dressing

Red Thai Curry

(homemade)
with chicken
breast,
zucchini,
green beans,
mushrooms,
red pepper,
broccoli and
light coconut
milk served
with brown
rice

(425 calories)

2076 Calories

Larabar lemon
Tortilla chips
and salsa

(339 calories)
Thursday, Feb
11th

(384 calories)
Banana

(689 calories)

Almonds
Coconut milk
ice cream
(626 calories)
Apple with
peanut or
almond butter
(289 calories)

1954 Calories

String cheese
(80 calories)
4 squares of
85% dark
chocolate
(210 calories)
(Total is 579
calories)

Tracking calories for my food intake over the course of a week gave me
really good insight into my food habits both good and bad. As a stay-athome mom with a small baby it can be difficult to always eat healthy. I often
only have a small window of time during the day to eat lunch or cook dinner,
which sometimes results in easy and less healthy food choices. Even though
I have a fairly good understanding about what is healthy and what is not, I
sometimes forget that things add up. I may not think that having a slice of
pizza is that big of a deal, but if I combine that with other high calorie snacks
it is easy to go above the daily calorie allowance. I was shocked when I
realized how many calories three small Dominos pizza slices were combined,
especially considering that I didnt feel very full after eating them. That is the

problem with eating too many empty carbs you either dont feel full or you
become hungry soon after.
Having ice cream in the fridge or other sweet treats stored away, when
you are home all day is also not a great idea. I realize now that they have
become easy go-to foods when my energy is low and I dont have time to
cook. Luckily its a bad habit that can be avoided by not keeping snacks high
in sugar at home and instead enjoy them for special occasions when you are
out. Instead I should always keep healthy snacks, such as fruit, nuts, low fat
string cheese or hummus with veggies readily available.
However, apart from a few bad habits I think my overall food intake is
fairly healthy. I have made a point recently to cook more at home and ensure
I get plenty of vegetables with every meal. Ive always loved to cook
elaborate meals, but since having a baby I have had to think of faster and
easier meals. It was a challenge at first, but I am keeping track of successful
easy meals that I come up with, if I ever need inspiration. My overall goal
going forward is to keep up what I am currently doing, which is: cook most
meals at home, include veggies with every meal, substitute meat with nonanimal proteins when possible, drink more water, eat good fats and calcium
rich foods (while still limiting dairy for my babys sensitivitys sake).
SAMPLE MENU
The following sample menu is not only nutritious and fairly low in calories; it
is also filling and delicious!

Breakfast: Oatmeal with apple, banana, honey (1 teaspoon) and toasted

almond flakes, flax seed and shredded (unsweetened) coconut - (339
calories)
Lunch: Kale salad with grilled chicken breast, avocado, sunflower seeds and
lemon/olive oil dressing - (425 calories).
Dinner: Red Thai Curry with chicken breast, zucchini, green beans,
mushrooms, red pepper, broccoli and light coconut milk served with brown
rice - (689 calories)
Snacks: Apple with peanut or almond butter (289 calories), string cheese
(80 calories), 2 squares of 85% dark chocolate (105 calories) - (snacks
combined 474 calories)
Total calories: 1927
NUTRITION GOALS
1. Eat a healthy and filling breakfast every morning! Eating breakfast
gives your body a healthy start to the day by kick-starting the
metabolism and providing energy to your brain and body. I have a
tendency to either forget breakfast, only eat very little or eat too many
empty carbs resulting in hunger soon after.
2. Reduce the amount of pizza and tacos that I eat! Instead of turning to
pizza or Mexican food (easily close to 1000 calories per meal) when I
dont want to cook at home, I could substitute with other easy to-go
food options such as Vietnamese Pho (around 400 calories) or a
sofritas burrito bowl from Chipotle (around 500 calories without
cheese and sour crme).
3. Drink more water! The app I used to track my food intake also allowed
me to track the amount of water I drink every day. On average I only
drank about 4 glasses of water, which is too little especially when I am

breastfeeding. I want to try and reach at least 8 glasses of water every

day (or 2 Liters). To achieve this I will use a Liter bottle to track my
intake.