Weekend experiment*

On Friday night as I was waiting for the Man to come to bed I picked up one of the Women's Health magazines sitting on my bedside table. I was looking for some strength exercise inspiration. I did find some, but I also found a suggested eating plan for a day. When I worked it out it came to a total of just under 1400 calories. Significantly less than what I would usually eat.

In fact when I totaled my average for a weeks worth of food logged over at FitDay I averaged 1850 cals a day. Which according to the National Health and Medical Research Council's Nutrient Reference Values for Dietary energy is on track given my height, weight and day to day activities. My BMI puts me in the healthy weight category, but at the higher end. I'd like to be closer to the middle. At this stage I'm maintaining my weight, but I could definitely stand to lose 4kgs.

So on Saturday I decided to cap my calories at 1400. The above is what 1342 calories looks like. I started with a small cup of coffee with low fat milk, raisin bread done as french toast with berries, yoghurt and cinnamon sugar. Lunch was Prawn gyoza, dipping sauce and green tea. Afternoon snack was a smoothie with mango puree, coconut water, berrries & protein powder, I met a friend for a glass of Rose (not a pot of mustard!) prior to the football and dinner was carrots, celery & a quarter of a cup of homemade hummus and a muesli bar. I was going for portability given we were at a game. Plus several cups of peppermint tea from the thermos to keep me warm.

Could I have made better food choices? Yes of course. My eating habits are far from perfect. While processed foods save time, they certainly add dietary energy. It's a constant balance. The suggested plan included almost no processed foods. I need to take a leaf out of that book!

Did I have any energy? I did a 20 minute strength session in the morning. The day was spent pottering around the house until the Man decided to go for a run and I accompanied him on the bike. Hardly strenuous. Add to that a 50 minute walk. I had more energy than I thought I would.

Was I hungry? When I crawled into bed at 11:00pm I was, half an hour earlier and I would have been fine. Breakfast and lunch were satisfying, my danger zone is from 4pm until dinner time. The smoothie did the trick. Would I be happy to have carrots, celery and hummus for dinner every night? Hell no, but the muesli bar did pack a calorie punch for something so small.

Would I do it again? I'm keen to reduce my food intake on rest/low activity days. However I think 1500 calories would be a better fit. I need to look at reducing my fat intake while increasing carbohydrates and proteins. Again, reducing processed foods and adding in more vegetables & fruits should help with this. Planning and forethought is required, but I definitely think it's worth it.

* Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, registered dietitian or nutritionist, just a girl trying to work out what's best for her body.