Please evaluate my diet - Diet & Nutrition Message Board

meco1999 · 09-22-2003, 01:39 AM

Would you please evaluate the healthfulness of my diet (and rate it from 1-10) and suggest ways I could improve? I'm a male by the way.
This is a typical day's diet for me:

Breakfast - Whole-grain cereal with nonfat milk, banana, small box of raisins, glass of orange juice.

Lunch - Peanut butter and jelly sandwich on 100% whole wheat bread (some days a tuna sandwich with low fat mayo on whole wheat), a couple of handfuls of cheese puffs (gotta have those), a can of soda (not diet).

Dinner - Bean burrito, can of soda (not diet)

Snack - Glass of nonfat milk, banana

I'm especially looking for ways to get as much potassium and magnesium as possible in as few calories as possible (I'm trying to lower my blood pressure). This diet usually gets me about 3600 mg a day of potassium and 350 mg a day magnesium, and it's about 2000 calories.

Also, what's the healthiest cereal overall in nutrients provided?

zip2play · 09-22-2003, 06:31 AM

meco,

A lot of the merit of any diet depends on the needs of the dieter. People losing weight must eat differently from people maintaining, or looking for muscle gain while weightlifting.

Off the top of my head, I'd say that the FIRST thing to check for healthiness is the peanut butter. If it's freshly ground with no additives but salt, wonderful.
If it's processed with any PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED oils or "HARDENED" oils, it's got too many trans-fats to be a healthy food.

It looks like your potassium is very nice, especially because of the two bananas.

Cereals are not usually eaten for their "nutitional value" but rather for taste and fiber. Try to get the best of both of these in your cereal (at a reasonable cost) and you've won the cereal game. Vitamin "enriched" cereals are usually a waste of money (and wind up tasting like a chewed vitamin pill...uggo.)
Avoid any sugar encrusted cereal like it was poison...it IS.

Big complaint is the sugar water called soda that you have daily, that's really the WORST thing in your diet (assuming no chemical plant peanut butter.) You're better off with a diet soda or even a glass of wine.

[This message has been edited by zip2play (edited 09-22-2003).]

girlygirly · 09-22-2003, 09:11 AM

I would give your diet a 3. You have alot of processed foods in your diet. Lowfat mayo more than likely have additives and soybean oil that is processed at very high temps, I am mystified at how it isn't condsidered a trans fat. Lowfat mayo is usually a man-made food. Cheese-puffs, again man-made full of chemicals ( is there really cheese in cheese-puffs?), where is the nutrition? Soda is full of sugar a big no-no if you are trying to eat "healthy". I have the same question about the peanut butter. What about the jelly is it made with high fructose corn syrup? What kind of bread are you eating store bought that is laced with vitamins, try eating whole grain breads that are free from additives they are even more nutritious.Personally I would not even bother with the milk if it isn't raw. I'm trying to figure out if you are a vegetarian since you aren't eating any meat or eggs, but I'm puzzeled if you are because of the lack of other fruits and veggies.

segdoh · 09-22-2003, 09:56 AM

It doesn't look very nutritious to me. I'd score it a 1 out of 10. You are eating a lot of sugar for one thing so I don't see how this could be helping with reducing BP.

Rogue · 09-22-2003, 03:30 PM

I'd also give you a low score - maybe a 3.

What jumps out at me is the lack of fresh vegetables and the cans of non diet soda.

Replace the glass of orange juice with an actual orange (it has less calories and sugar.)

Eat a sandwich that contains some kind of fruit or veg - tuna sandwich with lettuce and tomatoes.

I'm sure you don't eat a bean burrito every night but as an example it is no good. You need more vegetables in your diet. Rather eat a piece of meat (lean red, chicken or fish) with potatoes and at least 2 servings of veg. Potatoes have a lot of potassium, don't they?