Are we eating healthy.. need advice on nutrition

matt035

me and my misses have been on a diet for 2 week, This is typically what i eat in a day, its been working ive lost so far 8 pounds and i know maybe somethings in there arent the best for you but thats what i need help on, also ive come from eating somewhere around at a guess 3000 - 5000 calories a day of junk food to this.

what i need help with is are the amount im taking in, for example it says my gola is 89g sugar but ive only had 39 is that bad do i need to make it higher ? and that goes for everyhtnig else, the only problem i see(and this is why i need help) the sodium levels are to high, which is mainly because of the gravy i have, but i need to have gravy with it or else its just to dry and plain for me, any advice would be great, what other food could we have, also is eating to much protein bad,

Some information that might help:

Current weigh is 266 pounds
Exercise i walk 3 - 4 miles everyday in about an hour at a speed of 3.5MPH
soon planning on weight lifting aswell

Emmy4444

I think you might find that switching from frozen to fresh will make huge improvements to your nutrition. My partner and I decided to stop buying frozen and it changed everything we consume.

For example, instead of buying fries maybe you could buy potatoes and roast them with a bit of salt and safflower oil. Or instead of frozen veggies, roast some broccoli or prepare a fresh salad. The price difference is minimal and you will not lose out on so many of the really good nutrients you don't get from pre-cooked or frozen foods. And trust me when I say it's not actually that hard or time consuming to cook for yourself every day once you get into the habit.

Yes, eating too much protein isn't good, the same way eating too many carbs or fats isn't good. Have you looked into iifym.com? Fats, carbs and protein are your 3 macronutrients that should be balanced and tracked according to your goals, the same way you track your calories.

You definitely don't need to eat more sugar in your day to reach a goal amount. It looks like the sugar you're eating is coming from pre-packaged foods and not fresh fruits. That's not the right kind of sugar to be consuming so try to take that into account. Sugar and sodium are micronutrients. They are like subcategories of your macros. While some are essential, others are not.

When it comes to the gravy and flavour you mentioned, once you switch to fresh foods you'll start tasting them more. Your tastebuds are likely dulled presently by pre-packaged stuff. Something else you could try is a Cajun spice mix for that extra kick you're looking for.

Disclaimer: I'm definitely not a nutritionist, these are just all things that I've learned from my own weight loss.

Best of luck and get into your lifting program asap for best results!

RodaRose

Congrats on your weight loss. This is a good day. Keep eating the frozen veggies -- they usually have more nutrition than fresh veggies. You sugar levels do not matter. Ignore those numbers. The sodium numbers do not matter either. Keep paying attention to the calories and you will do fine.

lindsey0724

I agree with Emmy4444, eating too much of anything isn't necessarily good, although you're only 17g over on protein and most of it comes from lean protein in your diet (chicken, lamb, tuna, etc.) so that's alright. Definitely watch your sugar intake - "goal" is a mis-leading word in this case, and for men, it is typically recommended to not eat over 40g. Most of what you have here is added sugar, the fructose from fruits and stuff like that is natural so it is processed differently within the body. But added sugar can be sneaky in foods, so I recommend reading labels to see if they've snuck it in something, because that will definitely hinder weight loss efforts. I've found it usually is higher in low-fat foods because they're compensating for the lower fat levels.

I would also second the recommendation to switch to fresh instead of frozen or pre-packaged meals, especially for stuff like gravy, potatoes, etc. - packaged stuff tends to have a ton of sodium, chemicals, and other things that you don't even realize. Try making your own, too, so you have control over how much salt goes into a food, or you can season it to your liking. Foods you make on your own tend to have more flavor anyway. Although I usually use frozen veggies just for the convenience, since food goes bad so quickly sometimes.

Other than that, I think you have the right idea. Keep at it, read labels, keep track of your macros, and you'll do great!