Four of the ten foods that are recommended on the MIND diet are ones I have tended to limit due to their calorie content:
- Whole Grains
- Beans
- Nuts
- Wine
Now, I am trying to eat more of them to meet the MIND diet requirements. However, that increase is wreaking havoc with my attempt to lose weight. I am trying to eat about 1000 calories per day. If I eat more than 1200 calories, I gain weight.
So, I decided to see how many calories those 4 recommended foods are costing me:
| recommended per week |
average cal/ serving |
average cal/ per week |
based on these foods and serving sizes | |
| Wine | 7 | 120 | 840 | Franzia Moscato 5 oz |
| Beans | 4 | 55 | 220 | 1/4 cup black beans |
| Nuts | 5 | 191 | 955 | 1/4 cup walnuts |
| Whole grains | 21 | 90 | 1890 | oroweat whole grain bread |
| weekly total= | 3905 | |||
| average total per day: |
||||
| 557.86 |
This analysis shows that these 4 foods constitute over half of my desired calorie limit every day. That doesn’t leave many calories for other foods. Let’s see how much they add up to.
This is based on what I think I should be eating. The additional fruit and the low-fat dairy are not mentioned on the MIND diet, but they are in other health-related articles. I hate to give them up. The MIND diet does not mention an amount of olive oil, just that it should be the primary oil used. I think 1/2 TBSP per day is about a minimum for salad dressing and spreads. Note that I am including only 3 oz of meat, fish, and poultry. I think I am getting pretty close to a “plant-based” diet. Maybe that is the plan.
| my target per week |
average cal/ serving |
average cal/ per week |
based on: | |
| Green leafy vegetables | 7 | 10 | 70 | red leaf lettuce |
| Other vegetables | 7 | 30 | 210 | average of gr beans and peas |
| 2 Fruit, including berries | 14 | 60 | 840 | average of strawberries & orange |
| olive oil 1/2 TBSP | 7 | 50 | 350 | 1/2 TBSP olive oil |
| 2 low-fat dairy | 14 | 90 | 1260 | 8 oz 1% milk & 1 light yogurt |
| 3 oz beef, chicken, fish | 7 | 150 | 1050 | average of lean beef, chicken, salmon, etc. |
| weekly total= | 3780 | |||
| average total per day: |
||||
| 540 |
That about tells the story. 558 + 540 = 1098 calories. No wonder I can’t hit all these and my desired calorie intake of 1000 calories. I think I am going to have to adjust either number of servings or serving size. The MIND diet is presented as “one size fits all” and doesn’t really give serving sizes. I have been trying to figure out what average serving sizes are, but I think I need to focus on serving size for someone my size and age.
I am also going to figure out the most low-calorie foods that meet the MIND diet recommendations. There is a big difference between the 90 calorie Oroweat bread that I listed and 1 cup of breakfast cereal with the same amount of whole grains.
I know that activity level is a factor here also and important for preventing/stalling Alzheimers. I have been trying to hit 5,000 steps per day with 30 minutes of active exercise. I think before I cut back on the recommended foods that I will increase my goal to 7,500 steps per day.