I was curious about how many calories I ate the other day after I noticed an article that mentioned the average American often consumes between 5000-6000 calories during a holiday meal. 5000-6000 calories!? For the average person that’s more than double their recommended intake for an entire day. And normally most folks don’t exercise on those holiday days, so the impact is even more drastic.

Do you know the nutritional value of what you eat every day?

From my research and conversations I have regularly, most of us don’t.

So I used my trusty Fitday calorie counter and nutrition software that calculates the nutritional information and in the foods you eat and gives you the breakdown of calories, proteins, fats and carbs you’ve eaten that day. It told me I had eaten 1879 calories that day, with 17% from fat, 10% from protein and 73% from carbohydrates, a little less than normal. Here’s a snapshot of the summary:

So what did I eat to reach almost 2000 calories this day? Here’s a snapshot:

If the image isn’t clear, here’s what I had this day:

• 2 mango and banana smoothies with dates and oranges
• Large herb salad with parsley, cilantro, kale, spinach, green onions, avocado, raw honey & tomatoes
• Large bowl of applesauce with dates, sea salt and a touch of raw coconut oil
• all home made, fresh and organic

And that’s it! Doesn’t seem like about 2000 calories, does it?

The software also keeps track of your weight, activity, goals, metabolism, calendar and gives you nice reports that can help you stay on track, especially when you’re on a weight loss plan. There is also a web-based version, and I use both, but find the FitDay software version faster, easier to use and has many more features and reports that I like.

Do I use this every day?

No, and I you don’t have to either. (unless you’d like to of course)

Here’s what I do, and recommend. Use it daily for a few weeks or more to find out the calorie and fat breakdowns in the foods you regularly eat. Play around with several variations of your daily diet to see how you can change it to reach your goals.

Calorie requirements vary from person to person, although on average they should run between 2000 and 2500 a day. You’ll want to keep your fat percentage intake between 10-20% of your daily caloric intake and your proteins around 10%. The balance of between 70-80% would be your carbohydrates. Not processed, complex carbs like pasta, breads, pastries or muffins, but simple carbs like fresh fruits and vegetables. This has been found to be the optimal all around ratio for your best health and optimal weight. Of course, you’ll find variations, but in my research and personal experience, it works very well.

After you get used to seeing the nutrition values of what you eat and what changes you’d like to make, you can go back regularly and run the statistics to see if you’re on track. You may want to use it every day to keep a journal of your progress as well, it’s a great way to keep yourself motivated and realistic.

It’s amazing what happens when you see the values of what you eat, make changes and how you feel afterwards because you literally are what you eat. It’s almost magical… you gain more energy, get clearer, happier and just feel better overall.

You can find the Fitday software here

To your best health!

Mark Idzik

Related:

> Calorie Counter

> How Many Meals To Good (or Bad) Health?

> 37 Free (Natural) Weight Loss Tips

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The largest study on the differences between conventional and organically grown produce has reported that organically grown fruits and vegetables are more nutritious and can extend a person’s lifetime.

The findings also showed that fruits and vegetables grown organically have up to 40% more antioxidants which they believe can reduce the risk of disease and increase lifespan. They also found they had higher mineral content, including iron and zinc.

The $25 million study conducted in England also found that milk produced organically had up to 90% more antioxidants than conventional. The differences were so dramatic in all cases they studied the researchers indicated that even if some didn’t meet the required daily ‘five a day’, referring to 5 servings of fruits and vegetables, if they ate organic, they would satisfy the requirement with just 4 servings a day due to the increased nutritional content.

Read more about the study at the Times of London.

Of course, common sense will tell us that if you grow food in mineral depleted soil and spray it with chemicals it will have lower nutritional value. This is the first large study that confirms the difference.

However, be careful where you buy your organic produce. Because of the dramatic growth in the organic business, retailers like Walmart are sourcing many organic foods overseas from countries like China and Brazil and carrying organic milk from farms that have been criticized for not keeping the the established organic standards. Organic may not always be organic as the demand for products has tested the organic standards as conventional producers want to get into the business.

In addition to looking for fresh produce grown mainly in the states, look for locally grown produce. Most local farms today practice more natural farming methods, and don’t hesitate to ask how they grow. It’s you’re health! You can find a list of farmers markets at LocalHarvest.org

And finally, in my opinion, organic produce just plain tastes better. After you switch to organic over conventional, within a short period of time the natural tastes will come alive and you’ll notice the difference.

To your best health!

Learn more about the natural, delicious and organic convenient foods available. Great way to switch to organic for lunch, snacks (kids love them), soups and more including natural and organic personal care products. My family and I use and highly recommend them.

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