What needs to change in my diet?

[wimclend]

Greetings all,

I am looking for some help in critiquing my diet -- I think I am eating pretty well for the most part, but I'm sure some things aren't right or could be better.

For reference, I am a 23 year old male, just shy of 6 ft 1 inch, as of Monday the scale said 211.2. I am trying to cut down my body fat and get rid of the rather large belly I developed from 10+ years of obesity (May '06 I weighed ~315 lbs). Last summer I dropped down to ~230, and then got down to ~215 where i've been stuck +/- a few pounds for several months. I lost a lot of weight fast, and still have a good portion of fat on me, especially around the middle.

Here is my breakdown:

~6am -- Breakfast
-1 Egg, ~1/3 cup Egg whites
-toasted Weight Watcher English Muffin, 2 tbsp of Natural Peanut Butter

I believe it comes out to ~442 cal, 23.6g fat, 31 carbs, 7g fiber, 27.7g protein

~6:45-7:30am -- workout (MWF = weights, T,Th,Sat Cardio)

~9am -- post workout meal -- at work
-1 Cup skim milk + 1 scoop Whey protein powder
-Oatmeal + 2 tbsp Natural peanut butter

I believe comes out to ~570 calories, 20.5g fat, 50 carbs, 42g protein

~12pm -- Lunch -- at work (this meal varies)
-Tuna Salad (2 90 cal packs of tuna, 1 TB light mayo, 1 TB mustard, 3 TB no sugar relish)
-Steamed Vegetable (1-2 servings of a Steamfresh vegetable)

I believe comes out to ~285 calories, 6.5g fat, 14g carb, 43g protein

~3pm -- Snack (?) -- at work (always the same)
-Tuna Salad (2 90 cal packs of tuna, 1 TB light mayo, 1 TB mustard, 3 TB no sugar relish)
-Steamed Vegetable (1-2 servings of a Steamfresh vegetable)

I believe comes out to ~285 calories, 6.5g fat, 14g carb, 43g protein

~6-6:30pm -- Dinner -- this varies a lot, and I unfortunately dont' have any nutrition breakdown.

Typically it is either Stir Fry (lean beef or chicken breast and no rice), or a Lean meat + vegetables and/or Salad. Lately i've also been making pasta, but i dont think this is a good idea (I try to keep some for lunch the next day) -- its a Whole Grain Penne Pesto w/ chicken breast

~8-8:30pm -- Usually I have a little fat free cottage cheese before going to bed.

EDIT: I forgot to add, while at work (and at home), I drink lots and lots of water. I'm not sure how much, but today i'm marking down every glass I am drinking so I can get an idea.


Here are my concerns that jump out at me:

1) I have a feeling i'm eating too much peanut butter/fat. Is this so? What can/should I replace it with?
2) When is it ok to eat pasta, how much of it, and how often? The pasta I make only uses whole grain/wheat pasta, and lately has only been pesto sauces. I add chicken for protein, and try to throw in some vegetables too.


I believe I am eating approximately 2000-2200 calories per day right now, and trying to lose 1.5-2 lbs per week if I can thru eating right and exercise 6 days per week. This is my second week eating like this, and the first week I was able to drop 1.5-2 lbs; so far so good I suppose.


I apologize for the novel-long post; if you made it this far, thank you :)

Anyone have any advice for me?

Thanks,

wimclend

[Sportsmedjosh]

wimclend - Welcome to the site, I'm glad your hear and can't wait to hear when you reach your goal. Soup usually comes on late at night. He deals in more on the nutrition aspect than I do. So I'll let him post first, I'll check back tomorrow see what he says. I'll chim in a little bit about some other things you can possibly do.

[Dalton]

I've bolded my comments....

Originally Posted by wimclend

Greetings all,

I am looking for some help in critiquing my diet -- I think I am eating pretty well for the most part, but I'm sure some things aren't right or could be better.

For reference, I am a 23 year old male, just shy of 6 ft 1 inch, as of Monday the scale said 211.2. I am trying to cut down my body fat and get rid of the rather large belly I developed from 10+ years of obesity (May '06 I weighed ~315 lbs). Last summer I dropped down to ~230, and then got down to ~215 where i've been stuck +/- a few pounds for several months. I lost a lot of weight fast, and still have a good portion of fat on me, especially around the middle.

Here is my breakdown:

~6am -- Breakfast
-1 Egg, ~1/3 cup Egg whites
-toasted Weight Watcher English Muffin, 2 tbsp of Natural Peanut Butter
Lose the english muffin and switch to whole wheat toast. Try to stay away from any sort of processed bread like english muffins, regular muffins, bagels, etc

I believe it comes out to ~442 cal, 23.6g fat, 31 carbs, 7g fiber, 27.7g protein

~6:45-7:30am -- workout (MWF = weights, T,Th,Sat Cardio)
You need a post-workout shake within 30 minutes of your workout to replenish your body or else you are hurting your progress. At least a couple scoops of protein in water

~9am -- post workout meal -- at work
-1 Cup skim milk + 1 scoop Whey protein powder
-Oatmeal + 2 tbsp Natural peanut butter
Generally, you want your post workout nutrition to be absorbed as fast as possible. Fat slows this process down so I'd switch the PB out and if you must, use it somewhere else in your day

I believe comes out to ~570 calories, 20.5g fat, 50 carbs, 42g protein

~12pm -- Lunch -- at work (this meal varies)
-Tuna Salad (2 90 cal packs of tuna, 1 TB light mayo, 1 TB mustard, 3 TB no sugar relish)
-Steamed Vegetable (1-2 servings of a Steamfresh vegetable)

OK, i dont do mayo of any form myself, but ok i guess

I believe comes out to ~285 calories, 6.5g fat, 14g carb, 43g protein

~3pm -- Snack (?) -- at work (always the same)
-Tuna Salad (2 90 cal packs of tuna, 1 TB light mayo, 1 TB mustard, 3 TB no sugar relish)
-Steamed Vegetable (1-2 servings of a Steamfresh vegetable)
same as above
I believe comes out to ~285 calories, 6.5g fat, 14g carb, 43g protein

~6-6:30pm -- Dinner -- this varies a lot, and I unfortunately dont' have any nutrition breakdown.

Typically it is either Stir Fry (lean beef or chicken breast and no rice), or a Lean meat + vegetables and/or Salad. Lately i've also been making pasta, but i dont think this is a good idea (I try to keep some for lunch the next day) -- its a Whole Grain Penne Pesto w/ chicken breast

getting a little late for pasta, i try not to eat too many carbs beyond 6pm unless im going to the gym. Lean meats and veggies here at most

~8-8:30pm -- Usually I have a little fat free cottage cheese before going to bed.
Good

EDIT: I forgot to add, while at work (and at home), I drink lots and lots of water. I'm not sure how much, but today i'm marking down every glass I am drinking so I can get an idea.


Here are my concerns that jump out at me:

1) I have a feeling i'm eating too much peanut butter/fat. Is this so? What can/should I replace it with? I had that feeling too. I aim for a 40/40/20 split of carbs/protein/fats %-wise in my diet. I didnt do the math, but I think you are taking in a little too much fats in your diet. Mono/poly fats are good, but they are still fats.
2) When is it ok to eat pasta, how much of it, and how often? The pasta I make only uses whole grain/wheat pasta, and lately has only been pesto sauces. I add chicken for protein, and try to throw in some vegetables too.
Pasta obviously has a lot of carbs, not something I would eat late in the day. I dont know the nutritional breakdown of a pesto sauce but I usually eat pasta only on the weekends for lunch because I know I usually have the whole rest of the day and a gym visit to burn off all those carbs. I use a basic tomato sauce and follow the serving suggestions for both


I believe I am eating approximately 2000-2200 calories per day right now, and trying to lose 1.5-2 lbs per week if I can thru eating right and exercise 6 days per week. This is my second week eating like this, and the first week I was able to drop 1.5-2 lbs; so far so good I suppose.


I apologize for the novel-long post; if you made it this far, thank you :)

Anyone have any advice for me?

Thanks,

wimclend

Good luck to you, sounds like you've made a lot of progress so far, but as your weight drops, you are going to have to get stricter and stricter with your methods to make further progress. The way the world works I guess :)