Analysis

The week got lighter and gained protein

Dad's day averages 1,281 calories against 1,448 the week before — down 166 — while protein rises from 112.5g to 102g. Ruby's week is within a few calories of his; the two schedules are identical every day but Saturday.

Protein density goes from 7.8g per 100 calories to 8.0. That is the number that actually moved, and it moved because the bone broth and the two biggest lunches were replaced by a 42.7g yogurt bowl and a 41.2g egg sandwich.

Protein

102g a day is about 1.24g per kilogram at 181 lb. The range usually cited for holding muscle while losing fat sits around 1.6 to 2.4g per kilogram and drifts up with age, so this is closer to that band than last week but still under it.

The two day patterns are not alike. Oat days come to 98.2g and egg-sandwich days to 133.2g — a 65-calorie and 35g protein swing depending on which day it is. The average is fine; the alternation is real.

Fiber

26g a day, about 20g per 1,000 calories against a reference near 14. The burrito carries 15g of it in one meal.

One caution on reading the carbohydrate column anywhere on this site: this plan logs some values as Cronometer net carbs, so they are not comparable to the August figures. Protein, calories and fiber are unaffected.

What a deficit this size is

Resting burn for a 54-year-old at 181 lb comes to roughly 1,647 calories. This plan provides 1,281, so the food alone sits about 366 below resting before a step is walked — roughly 166 deeper than last week.

That is a real deficit and it will do what deficits do. It is also large enough to be worth mentioning to a doctor rather than to a website. The numbers moves the levers.

What these totals leave out

Everything not in a container. The same refrigerator holds wine, beer and a store-bought salad nobody labeled. Coffee is uncounted, so is anything eaten out — though this is the first plan to write a known gap down in advance, holding a portion back for Dad's dinner with Mom rather than discovering it on the Friday.