Now that my riding schedule is pretty much set and starting to become routine, I'm looking more into what I'm eating again. I've started using fitday again, instead of going back to calorie-count. I think the graphs are a little more than just eye candy, and since I'm (presumably) eating less fast food, it shouldn't be too much of a problem. I nearly shat myself comparing the before and after.

March 31:

Food Name	Cals	Fat	Carb	Prot
Squid, breaded, fried	296	13	17	26
Rice, white, glutinous, raw	685	1	151	13
Cauliflower, raw	25	0	5	2
Bread, white	278	4	51	9
OSCAR MAYER, Turkey Breast (smoked, fat free)	31	0	1	6
Salami, beef	121	10	1	7
White potato, NFS	265	0	62	5
Ginger ale	166	0	42	0
White potato, french fries, from fresh, deep fried	154	8	20	2
Bread, pita, toasted	354	2	72	12
Chicken, broilers or fryers, breast, meat only, cooked, fried	322	8	1	58
	2696	45	424	139

Yesterday:

Food Name	Cals	Fat	Carb	Prot
Chicken, breast, with or without bone, stewed, skin not eaten	153	3	0	29
Bread, pita, toasted	236	1	48	8
tzatziki	54	0	9	4
Lettuce, raw	7	0	1	1
Tomatoes, raw	3	0	1	0
Olives, black	14	1	1	0
Olive oil	239	27	0	0
Wendy's chili	200	6	21	17
Wendy's spicy chicken	430	15	47	27
chick'n lick'n - patty only	101	1	5	18
homeburger bun	268	3	49	11
	1704	59	181	115

That's nearly half what I was eating before. The before was probably a bit more than I would usually have eaten, but it's not that far off. This was also after I had started watching what I was eating, believe it or not. I'm still eating as much (if not more) fast food, but I'm just making better choices. It's really not making that much of a difference. I'm feeling full all the time, so it doesn't feel like I'm missing anything. I'm surprised how well it's working lately.

Now that I'm doing better keeping the total amount of calories in check, it's time to change the types of calories I'm eating. I'd like to cut down on the fat a little, reduce carbs at night and up my fibre intake. Even if I'm not going to do anything about sodium and cholesterol yet I'm going to keep an eye on them. I think that should be all I need to worry about for now.

For the fat reduction I'm going to eliminate a few unnecessary things. Mayo is not as bad as I had expected for calories, but they almost all come from fat. It's overrated anyway. I'm going to try replacing it with mustard, which actually has some taste to it. Cheese on burgers and sandwiches is unnecessary. I barely know it's there, so why bother? Today's Louisiana Chicken from Mr. Sub was pretty good today, but once I added the cheese that added another 25% to the calorie count, most of which are from fat. Not necessary.

For fibre it's a bit harder. I've never been a fan of fibrous (is that right?) foods. But after reading as much as I have, they really can't be all that bad. Starting the day with some Raisin Bran is a no brainer. Plus I hate drinking milk, so at least I get some there. Whole wheat bread doesn't seem like it's all that much better for you, unless you're looking at the fibre content. I suppose I can try it out sometime. Maybe on a sub it might not be too bad. Lentils are supposed to be amazing. I used to eat them as a kid, but I never really liked them all that much. But they look like they're damn good for you. I think I'd rather fill up on something like that, knowing that I can eat as much of it as I'd like than starve on some crappy food.

It's really not that hard eating better if you know what things are worth. Compare five chicken burgers on whole wheat from Lick's to one Burger King combo. It's an easy decision.