Thank you Caroline!

I was lucky enough to have a chance to meet with a Registered Dietitian today!  I've been wondering about my nutrition ever since college but especially since I chose to start eating vegetarian.  Caroline was very generous with her time both assessing my current diet, making recommendations and taking questions.  I'm very thankful for her assistance.  And now for the good stuff:

During a quick meet and greet last week, Caroline provided me a sheet to record what I ate and drank over the next few days.  I was conscious to not change my diet just for this experiment, therefore my food and drink intake was typical and recorded honestly.  When I arrived today I provided Caroline my daily diet for the past 3 days.  My own personal assessment was that I did a decent job of recording portions and times.  I'll do much better next time being more specific and thorough.  Once she started recording the calories, fat, carbs, protien and fluid the learning process began!  The whole experience brought me back to my gradeschool days.  I had a knowledgeable teacher in front of me working through equations while I took mental notes as she tossed out occasional affirmations and critiques along the way.  I found myself smiling quite a bit as she simply looked at my food intake and made predictions and judgements (nice ones) about my lifestyle, cooking freqency and food preferences.  It struck me a bit like a counseling meeting, which is sort of was.  It seems as though you can learn quite a bit about somebody from how and what they eat!  Caroline was incredibly thorough in her analysis of my diet.  I feel like nothing was missed, it was really refreshing to work with a professional on this topic.  Her conclusions were mixed, which I expected.  In hindsight I wish I had made some predictions about her conclusions.  A few of them I would have been right about, others, I was waaay off base.  Here was what I took away from the meeting:

• I'm getting enough protein, actually a bit too much, apparently a typical effect of a vegetarian overcompensating for lack of meat in the diet.  I learned today that the average American gets about twice as much protein as they need... fun fact.
• I'm not getting nearly enough fruits.  This is one that I expected, something to work on.
• I'm not getting nearly enough vegetables.  This is one I didn't expect
• My total calorie intake is 5,429 for the day, not too shabby.  Those "daily averages" for most people is 2,000
• I'm getting enough carbohydrates.  I would have guessed this to be correct.
• I'm nowhere near my ideal fluid intake.  I never saw this coming.  I might have guessed I'm a little low but I'm one of those people who carries a water bottle everywhere I go.  I need to step up my game bigtime.
• I'm getting enough fat in my foods.  I never really thought this would be an issue.
• Like many Americans, I need more whole grains and less white flour.  Another one I might have guessed.
• I really need to  eat a meal before morning practice.  I'm pretty bad about this one and it will be a tough transition to plan and make time for a meal before an early workout.  I never really thought this would be much of an issue, I always assumed my dinner would carry me though a morning practice... this is incorrect for my needs.
• My meal timing is not too bad.  I nearly split my caloric intake 50/50 through the day.  Apparently most other swimmers weight it towards the end of the day due to scheduling and practice schedules.
• I need to always keep food in my car or locker to refuel after a workout.  I always knew this was a good idea but I've never made it a reality other than the last few weeks.

I really appreciate Caroline's time and expertise.  It was an honor to work with her.  I hope I have a chance to follow up with her and do another assessment of my diet after I make some changes (and eat some baked potato's).  Thanks Caroline!