I'm new and I just recently began a radical change in my diet/nutrition three weeks ago.
I'm basically looking for opinions on the diet I've been following. I'm 23 and my starting weight was 340, and I'm at 321 as of today.
Since I work evenings, I typically wake up around 11am and around 12:30 or 1 pm and I usually have between 1.5- 2 servings of Fiber one cereal with 1% milk.
Around 4 pm I'll usually have a hot dog, a bowl of grapes, or tuna on wheat.
For dinner (around 7-9pm), I often have a footlong subway sandwhich, which is always ham, american cheese and a little light mayo on wheat. Other dinner items may be grilled chicken with mac and cheese, pasta with meatballs, or grilled chicken with beans and brown rice.
I often eat a snack around 12am, which is either tuna on wheat, baby carrots, a bowl of grapes, or a bowl of fiber one. I usually eat late because I often stay up until 3 or 4 am.
Sorry for the long post, but I was hoping to get some advice, on whether this seems to be a good diet for someone looking to lose alot of weight over the next year. I know I should cut out the late night snack, and I sometimes have problems with portion control, But I have completely cut out fried foods, pizza, soda, juice, ect. I only drink water and the new Powerade zero. I just want to make sure my food choices are giving me proper nutrition for weight loss. Thanks for any help!
Congratulations on making positive changes in your life
Breakfast sounds good. A fortified breakfast cereal is like dietary insurance--it helps make sure you are getting everything you need.
Lunch: You aren't eating enough lunch, which is probably why you are needing that bedtime snack. Try adding in a vegetable of some kind.
Dinner: Again, vegetables. If you're going to Subway, it's easy, just tell the sandwich kid to pile them on. They add very few calories, and they fill you up and have lots of vitamins and minerals. Generally I try to make sure that my dinner has at least 2 different veggies in it, one green and one in another color.
Ultimately, the goal isn't just to lose weight, it's to make permanent changes in your eating habits that will keep you healthy in the long run. Also, have you added exercise?
Last edited by janewhite1; 07-01-2010 at 07:10 AM.
I agree. Where are the vegetables? I would also NEVER recommend a hotdog in a healthy diet, but every once in awhile it won't kill you. I'm not sure what your portion sizes are (except the Subway sandwich and cereal) so I can't really say if you are eating enough. It doesn't sound like much food, but if you're eating a large plate of food at dinner, you're probably getting enough calories. I would just add veggies. A salad with lunch, and, as stated above, get all the veggies at Subway. They add a really nice crunchy texture to the sandwich that I love. I eat at Subway often, but I don't get the mayo or the cheese, just LOTS of veggies. You're doing great so far and it's a long road, just take it slow and steady and make changes as you're able to.
As far as subway goes, I really prefer just the meat and bread, although I understand I need the veggies. I think for now on I'll get them added on and just eat them seperately from the sub.
As far as lunch, I dont really consider it lunch, I try to make it more like a 3-4 meal a day strategy. I go breakfast of cereal, "lunch" around 4 of a tuna or w/e sub, dinner around 9 and a snack at 12. Tonight the snack was just around 15 grapes, which is what I prefer the snack to be.
As for exercise, I joined a gym. I try to go 5 days a week. I do around 30 mins of weight lifting, 30 mins of cardio and 10 mins of stretching. I also play basketball between 2-4 hours a week and roller hockey 2 hours on sunday mornings.
The one problem I have is alcohol, I have been trying to cut down. I used to drink 5 days a week, up to 1/5th of vodka each time since I'm a bigger guy. I'm down to 2 times a week drinking 12oz or less, which is roughly 750 cal.
Anyways, Thanks for the advice. Im going to start adding alot more veggies to my diet. I just wanted to ensure I am generally hitting all the major food groups/vitamins and minerals.
...... I was hoping to get some advice, on whether this seems to be a good diet for someone looking to lose alot of weight over the next year.
Take your time in losing weight. One to two pounds per week is about right. Your skin needs time to adjust to your new body size so you don't end up with a lot of lose skin. Also, losing too much fat too quickly could put an excessive amount toxins into your blood stream, and your liver can only handle so much.
Quote:
I sometimes have problems with portion control,....
You most likely wouldn't have that problem if you would make sure to eat enough whole foods that contain fiber. Fiber provides bulk to your stomach and that bulk sends a signal to the brain indicating fullness.
BREAKFAST: Fiber One cereal contains fiber but probably contains sweetener too. If that's the case you would be better off changing to oatmeal. Oatmeal contains good fiber and you can add a few grapes (or other fruit) and nuts.
LUNCH: Hot dogs should be added to your list of foods to eliminate. And wheat bread should be 100% WHOLE wheat. Tuna might be fine for once per week but it's not recommended for everyday, as it may contain contaminants such as mercury etc.. How about 4 ounces of skinless chicken breast instead? And a bowl of grapes sounds like a little too much. How about one cup of grapes? That would be two servings.
DINNER: The footlong at Subway, as you described it, is not helping you. Basically, a footlong at Subway is like eating 4 slices of white bread. Between the ham, cheese, mayo and bread, it is no doubt very high in sodium. If you don't have high blood pressure yet, you will eventually, especially if you're overweight. The vegetables they put into the footlong, in my opinion, seem like a lot because there's not much room for it. If you put those same vegetables in a bowl it would hardly fill a small cereal bowl. It's not a lot by my standards but it's better than nothing. You'd be better off to double the vegetables and throw away half of the bread.
It would be better to stick with things like grilled chicken, whole grain rice, beans and vegetables and just forget about Subway altogether.
Last edited by JohnR41; 07-07-2010 at 02:24 PM.
Reason: word change
Congratulations on making positive changes in your life
