Successfully restricted calories consumed while keeping up mineral and vitamin intake without supplements and without “missing out” on fine food – just keeping track of how much you are eating and especially what.

As a result I’ve lost a nice sustainable bit of weight (my break-even point is at 2700-2800 kcal or so) and have been in a great mood throughout April. Worked out around an hour at least five days each week, trying to dedicate days to strength, endurance and flexibility.

And look at the awesome report this free software gives you! I guess I need to work on my fiber and water intake but overall I am really happy with the results. Over the past few months I have lost some 15 Kg, I’ve quit smoking a month and a half ago, and I am still losing weight.

Nutrition Summary
1 april 2009 to 30 april 2009
Daily Averages over 30 days
Report generated by CRON-o-Meter v0.9.5

General

Energy	2477,1 kcal	96%
Protein	93,6 g	97%
Carbs	314,1 g	80%
Fiber	27,4 g	86%
Fat	77,6 g	90%
Water	2958,1 g	80%

Vitamins

Vitamin A	10772,6 IU	359%
Folate	639,3 µg	213%
B1 (Thiamine)	2,9 mg	241%
B2 (Riboflavin)	4,0 mg	310%
B3 (Niacin)	31,2 mg	195%
B5 (Pantothenic Acid)	10,3 mg	206%
B6 (Pyridoxine)	6,3 mg	483%
B12 (Cyanocobalamin)	13,6 µg	568%
Vitamin C	232,2 mg	258%
Vitamin D	205,9 IU
Vitamin E	24,5 mg	207%
Vitamin K	156,9 µg	131%

Minerals

Calcium	1130,7 mg	113%
Copper	1,7 mg	186%
Iron	17,1 mg	190%
Magnesium	398,6 mg	133%
Manganese	6,7 mg	291%
Phosphorus	1440,7 mg	206%
Potassium	3729,3 mg	107%
Selenium	120,9 µg	121%
Sodium	2564,6 mg	171%
Zinc	14,1 mg	128%

Lipids

Saturated	20,7 g	103%
Omega-3	1,3 g	80%
Omega-6	8,7 g	51%
Cholesterol	160,8 mg	54%

I don’t know, I think this calorie tracking is not for everyone but for me it has been invaluable – seeing how different foods fill different needs has given me a great handle on weight control and even (to an extent) mood control – a well-fed body which gets some workout is a happy body. And I must say this software has an extensive food database and is easy to use.

_{Note: I’ve found that recommended daily allowances/recommendation vary a bit by country and even institution. The ones from my country are different from the US FDA and different again from the EU ones. Weird. The ones indicated here (the last row in the tables expresses % of daily allowance/recommendation) are based on what works for me.}