I was browsing my blog roll today, and saw that Ag posted her May Performance Review. I was thinking of doing an overview for May last night, but was wishy-washy and then I got distracted and forgot to re-consider. However, after looking over her’s which I enjoyed, I decided to go ahead and post my CRON-O-Meter monthly review.

But, I soon noticed some OCD type of issues building in my mind. The problem? I have not done monthly review since I start using CRON-O-Meter. I looked over my numbers, and I really like being to compare the months – especially since I was eating a little differently eat month. So, I decided if I am going to post one review for May, I am going to have to put up a review for each month starting at the beginning of February 2010. I am starting with May in this post, and will post a separate post for each month over the span of my waking hours today. 

I am going to breakdown the food I ate each month into categories, and discuss my successes, disappointments, and (starting with May) my goals for the next month.

May 2010 Eating Overview:::


Food Staples (Recipes and Individual Foods):
Oatmeal and Berries
Carrot and Green Juice
Vegan Minestrone
Vegan Curries
Brazil Nuts
Nutritional Yeast
Lite English Muffins (5g Fiber each)
Ground Cayenne Pepper
Unsweetened Almond Milk
Appetite Control Shake (Vegan and w/ Egg)
Flax Oil, Coconut Oil, Walnut Oil
Pistachios
Hummus Wraps
Vegan Asian “Stir-Fry”

Common & Planned Snacks:
Berry Muffins
Kalamata Olive Rolls
Rosemary & Olive Oil Rolls (not as often)
Cornmeal Muffins II + Smart Balance


Common Snitches & Treats:
Rice Crackers
Hummus
QB’s Falafels


Strange, Rare Deviations:
Red, White, Blue Bread from Wegman’s (1 day)
Sweet Potato Chips (2 days)
Asiago Crackers (1 day)
Raw Raspberry & Cacao Bar (1 day)
1/2 Cookie (from the work free snacks)
Indian Snacks (3 days)
Challah Bread (2 days)
1/2 Bagel (1 Day)

Personal Analysis:
I found this exercise to be a great way to analyze what my food has looking like over the last month. Taking time to not only look at the average numbers, but also what I ate really helps me see the big picture. Before I put up my CRON-O-Meter, I want to go over areas I want to improve upon.

First, all the foods in the deviation list came from eating while out and about. I ended up selecting less than ideal food because I let my hunger get the better of me. To help remedy this problem, I can either bring food with me if I know we are going out for several hours, or I can consciously select better foods despite my hunger and despite QB’s selection. Most of those items came from a selection of QBs, but I could have easily picked something different.

The foods in the snitch list need to be improved upon. I make the falafels with eggs and oil, so they are very calorie dense. I would like them without those ingredients, so maybe I need to make me a version, or I can find a different snack item I can grab. The rice crackers are really empty calories, and I didn’t realize just how many days I grabbed a few. Those need to be replaced.

The common snacks, while not the most ideal, are not a problem as long as I ensure I have all my nutrition for the day first. I should play around in the kitchen some just to see what I can come up with. And, maybe I should make myself some vegan muffins to keep on hand. I eat QB’s since that is what is there, but if I had my own, I wouldn’t eat his.

The main food list is pretty self explanatory. Once I finish doing this for Feb-April, you will be able to look at how my eating has changed from month to month.

As far as the overall CRON-O-Meter, the average calories were a bit high in May for my likes. The average was raised by a few of those single days I deviated while out and about. So, obviously I need to plan better for situations like that. It’s much easier for those days to seem insignificant in my mind when I don’t look over the WHOLE month. So, from now on, monthly reviews will be the norm as they help me keep the big picture in mind. It’s so easy to get focused on the day to day CRONing, but the big picture is the whole idea of it all.

===========================================
Nutrition Summary
May 1, 2010 to May 31, 2010
Daily Averages over 31 days
Report generated by CRON-o-Meter v0.9.7
===========================================

General (93%)
===========================================
Energy               |  1522.2 kcal   114%
Protein              |    61.9 g      109%
Carbs                |   239.4 g      123%
  Fiber              |    54.9 g      220%
  Starch             |    10.9 g       72%
  Sugars             |    38.6 g       77%
Fat                  |    46.8 g      100%

Vitamins (100%)
===========================================
Vitamin A            | 68224.9 IU    1364%
  Lutein+Zeaxanthin  | 31334.9 µg     627%
Folate               |   725.5 µg     403%
B1 (Thiamine)        |     2.8 mg     251%
B2 (Riboflavin)      |    19.1 mg    1471%
B3 (Niacin)          |    18.4 mg     123%
B5 (Pantothenic Acid)|    27.3 mg     545%
B6 (Pyridoxine)      |    35.6 mg    2227%
B12 (Cyanocobalamin) |    51.0 µg    2549%
Vitamin C            |   412.8 mg     688%
Vitamin D            |  3590.8 IU    1795%
Vitamin E            |    19.6 mg     164%
Vitamin K            |  1552.7 µg    1725%

Minerals (100%)
===========================================
Calcium              |  1411.6 mg     141%
Copper               |     2.5 mg     123%
Iron                 |    22.7 mg     151%
Magnesium            |   983.3 mg     307%
Manganese            |     9.8 mg     245%
Phosphorus           |  1215.0 mg     174%
Potassium            |  3827.1 mg     109%
Selenium             |   133.7 µg     243%
Sodium               |  1531.1 mg     306%
Zinc                 |    15.9 mg     132%

Amino Acids (100%)
===========================================
CYS                  |     1.0 g      437%
ILE                  |     2.1 g      181%
LEU                  |     3.5 g      157%
LYS                  |     2.4 g      143%
MET                  |     0.9 g      144%
PHE                  |     2.3 g      246%
THR                  |     2.2 g      258%
TRP                  |     0.6 g      259%
TYR                  |     1.5 g      322%
VAL                  |     2.5 g      148%

Lipids (61%)
===========================================
Saturated            |    10.1 g       50%
Monounsaturated      |    10.4 g       42%
Polyunsaturated      |    15.6 g       62%
  Omega-3            |     5.2 g      476%
  Omega-6            |     9.7 g       88%
Cholesterol          |    75.7 mg      25%