Logging and eating enough
Undereating is the bigger risk
Draft · dietitian review pending
What actually happens
"Clean" days quietly land around 900 kcal.
The fix
A grain base plus weighed oil, not more vegetables.
The numbers
- Energy on a "clean" day
- around 900 kcal
After a heart scare, everything you read is about cutting. Less salt, less fat, less sugar. So I cut. And I got good at it.
Too good. My "clean" days quietly landed around 900 kcal. It didn't feel like a diet. It felt like eating well. That's what makes it a trap.
Eating too little isn't a purer version of eating well. A body that's recovering, and showing up for rehab, needs fuel.
The fix surprised me. It wasn't more vegetables. They fill you up and barely move the total. It was a grain base under the meal and a weighed amount of olive oil on top. Rice, barley or pasta under the chicken. A measured pour over it. Suddenly the day added up.
If your own days look this clean, it's worth adding them up once. How much is enough for you is a question for your own care team. Just don't assume less is always better.