When I first realized that I needed to modify my eating patterns, I threw the diet book out the window and started
from scratch. I had heard much about dieting over the years and wanted to understand why certain foods were
"acceptable" or "unacceptable" from a diet standpoint. That "why" would permit me to make rational decisions
about which foods I could actually eat. First let me clarify that my approach to micro-nutrients - vitamins and
minerals - is simply variety. I do not try to calculate how much vitamin A or Zinc is in my food. It is the
Macro-nutrients that need to be addressed. These are proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. The carbohydrates
include further subdivisions of dietary fibers and sugars. Sorry for the "Health 101" lesson but it is crucial to
my equations.

The "Nutrition Facts" label on most food containers make this information readily available. Information for
fresh foods I found online. I compiled it together on a spreadsheet for some 170 food items.
Nutrition Facts include the following:

Serving Size (g)
Calories
Fat (g)
Cholesterol (mg)
Sodium (mg)
Total Carbs (g)
Dietary Fiber (g)
Sugars (g)
Proteins (g)

These constituents represent just a portion of the overall components of a food item. For example Artichoke hearts:

Serving Size - 126 grams
Fat - 0 grams
Total Carbs - 8 grams
Protein - 3 grams

The total macro-nutrients add up to 11 grams out of the 126 gram total. The remaining 115 grams do not contain
any calories, do not produce energy, and cannot put on fat weight. However, they constitute a natural part of the
food (such as water and cellulose), which add texture, contribute to a feeling of fullness, and play a part in
digestion and elimination. I refer to this portion of the food as the inert ingredients as they are not
metabolized for energy. This does not mean that they do not serve a valuable function. The calculation for
Artichoke hearts inert ratio is (126-0-8-3)/126 or 91% inert for this particular brand.

Inert Ratio: (Serving size - Fat - Carbs - Protein) / Serving Size
[Make sure to use grams when performing these equations]

Inert Ratio: (126-0-28-3)/126 = 91%

That means that only 9% of what you have eaten is being utilized for energy or fat production. Lets contrast this
to - say - a fairly typical prepackaged breakfast cereal. (Trying to avoid brand names here.)

Serving Size - 32 grams
Fat - 1 grams
Total Carbs - 28 grams
Protein - 2 grams

Inert Ratio: (Serving size - Fat - Carbs - Protein) / Serving Size
Inert Ratio: (32-1-28-2)/32 = 3%

Only 3% is inert. So 97% of this item consumed (before milk is added) is being utilized to produce energy. Or if
the energy goes unused - fat. That means you can consume 30 times as much of artichoke hearts as you can of this
particular breakfast cereal for the same amount of energy produced, or weight gained.

So if you are seriously underweight, grab the breakfast cereal and go for it. But for me, hand over the Artichoke
hearts!

More to come...