Cronometer "Suggest Foods" tab

[nmonaco]

A feature on the Cronometer I am just discovering - where it suggests foods based ...well here is what it says...

 

"The Nutrient Oracle recommendation engine searches a curated list of common foods for items that best satisfy the constraints of your remaining nutrition targets for the day.
It suggests foods that will complete your nutrient targets the most, as well as matching your macronutrient goals as best it can."

 

A pretty cool new-ish feature. 

 

Here's an interesting discovery for me - since I started using it I noticed it was suggesting a lot of cheeses - this pointed me to the fat area and I saw that I have been under consuming both Omega 3 and 6 fats - but mostly Omega 6 (Which I thought was supposed to be not so good for your health).

So I have added raw, grass fed cheeses and sunflower seeds for Omega 6 and this upped my daily calories to about 1600 - 1700 which has gotten my Targets up to 97% (with only the Vit D supplement). Pretty good but...

I grew a bit concerned now about weight gain (fat gain) so I increased my workout weights, hoping to utilize on the added calories. Of course i slightly injured my elbow joint.

 

Is it necessary to increase the weight training to adjust to the increased calories or could I just continue my usual weight training? And how important is Omega 6? Can that stay low as long as I am getting my fill of Omega 3?

 

Here's something else - I find it also suggesting herbs, fresh and dried...like basil, rosemary, etc.  I like herbs but is it possible to eat enough of them to make a nutritional difference? When I click to add the herbs on the app the target percent does not change.

[mccoy]

Is it necessary to increase the weight training to adjust to the increased calories or could I just continue my usual weight training? And how important is Omega 6? Can that stay low as long as I am getting my fill of Omega 3?

 

Here's something else - I find it also suggesting herbs, fresh and dried...like basil, rosemary, etc.  I like herbs but is it possible to eat enough of them to make a nutritional difference? When I click to add the herbs on the app the target percent does not change.

 

nmonaco,

of course if you have an energy target the in-out balance must be preserved and more calories ingested should be counteracted by more exercise carreid out. I would rigorously avoid whatever leads to potential injury. That's the worst scenario since if you develop aches you have to stop training or decrease substantially the training volume. In your case though some light cardio should do. Or perhaps some cold exposure, although I have not the faintest idea on how many calories it could burn. A question for the CE thread.

Re. omega-6, once you reach the 100% RDA in cronometer you are good to go, that's the benchmark, no more is needed. At the same time, perfectionists would ensure that the n-6 to n-3 ratio is small enough, from 1 to 3 or 4 max. These are the constraints. Less than RDA is risky, depending on your metabolism. Qualitatively, cosnidering that you are a good absorber, you might hypothetically go down perhaps to 75% RDA, lower than that may turn out to be detrimental on the long run.

 

You might also try some optimization, that is increasing the omega-3s while trying and keep the calories low. Fatty fish is probably the best for non-vegetarians, I find it strange that the oracle suggests cheese. Actually, the list of top 10 omega-3 foods has lots of fish in it and no cheese. I'd choose the food highest in omega-3s and proteins and lowest in calories.

 

https://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/high-omega-3-foods.php

 

Re. Herbs: they are probably eaten in so tiny amounts that they make no diff. Their value is probably in their specific phytochemicals, which are able to trigger beneficial metabolic pathways thru the mechanism of xenohormesis.

[nmonaco]

Thank you mccoy - and thanks for the link.

I have been hitting around 75-85% omega 6 and easily 100+% Omega 3 daily. (all that spinach!) 

I am not feeling as lean as I was when I was strictly 1500kcal a day with low Omega 6 (like 30%) with high Omega 3.

I will keep tinkering - thanks again for the shared knowledge