Some help to improve nutritional value in my diet :) ?..

snowlily
snowlily Posts: 6
edited September 21 in Food and Nutrition
Hi there,

I am new on here I am wondering if anyone could please give me some feedback or recs for changes to my current eating plan?

I eat 1200 cals a day and do not exercise besides from walking around the city on my lunch break.

Current Plan:

B:
Smoothy; 1/2banana, 1/4cup frozen berries & 1 full cream milk

L:
Salad; mixed lettuce, 5 cherry toms, cucumber & 2 vegie sausages

D:
Steak porterhouse or chicken breast & steamed carrot, brocoli & sweet pot

S: Apple, Mandarin or Kiwi fruit

Replies

  • nikki91950
    nikki91950 Posts: 647
    Please tell me you're not eating these same things every day...
  • imagymrat
    imagymrat Posts: 862 Member
    I don't think the breakfast has much in it, you should be trying to get in fibre, protein and carbs...like oatmeal, scrambled egg whites and a banana, this will fill you up a heck of alot more then the smoothy and fruit. I'd also replace full milk with skim, snacks are all fruit based as well...play with them a bit, tuna, PB, hummus, yogurt, cottage cheese...don't be afraid of carbs, eat em earlier in the day if they're a problem food for you, why not add a pasta or rice dish with some lean protein in there along with your salad. Your dinner is ok, but a porterhouse packs a wallop of fat..i'd be looking for a leaner meat. Just my two cents.
  • 4lafz
    4lafz Posts: 1,078 Member
    Does not look like enough to me - especially protein. I would change the steak to turkey, pork and FISH! Also - perhaps your main meal could be lunch - more time to work it off. Would add some exercise - get a video and do it at home. That way you could have more flexibility on what you eat. Not sure how much you have to lose but my plan is change the way I am eating and exercising FOREVER and I could not live on what you put here!
  • jtotheno
    jtotheno Posts: 123 Member
    I took the liberty of pasting my food intake from yesterday (Today's wasn't great.). I mainly did this to show you how much more than you I am eating, and take a look at the fiber and protein totals. That's what I strive for each day, and usually they are higher, because I eat a lot of beans (in salad's, soups, etc) This is actually not a great example day, because I did have an ice cream bar (the quick add 170). Also, I am nursing so I do have my calories set a bit higher. But if you took out the icream bar and the 200 calories subtracted from the nursing, this would still be around a 1200 calorie intake for the day. You aren't eating enough or often enough. So stuff that you are eating is far too high in calories. Hope this helped :) My diary is public too, feel free to browse.

    Breakfast
    Egg - Scrambled - Large, 1 egg
    Grapefruit - Pink Grapefruit , 1/2 raw
    Egg Creations - Southwestern, 1/4 cup (63 g)
    Non Name - Reduced Salt 50% Bacon, 0.25 slices
    Pc Blue Menu - Whole Grain Chipotle & Red Pepper Tortillas, 1 Small

    Snack
    Triscuit - Thin Crisps Parmesan Garlic, 16 crackers(21g)
    Summer Fresh - Spicy Hummus, 1.5 tbsp
    Yoplait Source 0 - Vanilla Yogurt., 0.666 cup (100G)

    Lunch
    Carrots - Cooked, boiled, drained, without salt, 0.5 cup slices
    Generic - Beef Stew Meat, 1 oz
    Baby Potatoes - Baby Potatoes, 10 potatoes
    Green Giant - Canned Cut Green Beans, 1/2 cup (120ml)
    Cabbage - Boiled, 0.5 cup

    Snack
    Breastfeeding - Nursing Mother, 5 oz -100
    Quaker Rice Cakes - White Cheddar, 1 cake
    Curves - 100 Calorie Chocolate Peanut Chewy Bar, 1 bar

    Supper
    Breastfeeding - Nursing Mother, 5 oz -100
    Cabbage - Boiled, 0.5 cup
    Green Giant - Canned Cut Green Beans, 1/2 cup (120ml)
    Baby Potatoes - Baby Potatoes, 5 potatoes
    Generic - Beef Stew Meat, 1 oz
    Carrots - Cooked, boiled, drained, without salt, 0.5 cup slices
    Quick Added Calories, 170 calories


    After 8
    Banana - 7-8in, 1 raw
    Milk - Nonfat (fat free or skim), 1 cup
    Strawberries - Raw, 1 cup, halves

    Totals :
    Calories : 1,426
    Protein :67
    Fiber :32
    Fat :21
    Carbs :208
    Sugar :47
  • bjberry
    bjberry Posts: 665 Member
    All of the above suggestions are very good, but...
    Are you on a gluten-free diet? That might explain the no-grains aspect of your list.
    - If you are NOT allergic to grains, then adding them would be good. Whole grain carbs are good for various vitamins and for pushing foods through your digestive system.

    Push water, it detoxes your system and helps remove excess water from your legs, etc.

    Have fun here! :drinker: (water, decaf tea, etc.)
  • snowlily
    snowlily Posts: 6
    Thanks for all your replies :)

    Basically I love my smoothy and cant give it up, its better than not ever ever eating breakfast like before I started having them also it is a breakfast that tastes so good to me that im excited about it. I dont have enough time for complicated things and most of the time if i eat something big like eggs & toast at 7am I feel sick. I prefer full cream milk for one it tastes better and two it isnt as processed as low fat milk which makes me skin break out. Oats are a good suggestion I am considering incorporating some in my smoothy but you need to soak oates first to get rid of the phytic acid because it can combine with minerals in intestinal track and inhibit their absorption, seems like too much of a hassle. On the weekends I prob will start having oats for breaky after they are soaked.

    I am not on a gluten-free diet, I just dont really like things like bread, pasta or rice. Its also very hard when you live a busy life style like mine, I leave for work at 7am and dont get home until 6:30. Steamed vegies are just easy and yummy and I think maybe then I should cut my porterhouse steak in half to cut out the some of the fat. I dont like tukey, pork or fish (sorry im a fuss pot i know) but I will start switching up the vegie sausages (which actually contain 16g of protein per) with hard boiled eggs or john west chili tuna.

    Also on the weekends I usually have a cheat meal something yummy like Tacos or butter chicken :)
  • recipe4success
    recipe4success Posts: 469 Member
    Oats are a good suggestion I am considering incorporating some in my smoothy but you need to soak oates first to get rid of the phytic acid because it can combine with minerals in intestinal track and inhibit their absorption, seems like too much of a hassle. On the weekends I prob will start having oats for breaky after they are soaked.

    Just some info for you:

    Oats are quite low in phytic acid, and there is really little benefit from soaking them. The amount of phytic acid which gets removed from soaking is negligible, and thus your mineral uptake does not change much regardless of whether you soak them or not.
  • snowlily
    snowlily Posts: 6
    thanks for the info, but where did you get this info from?
  • recipe4success
    recipe4success Posts: 469 Member
    thanks for the info, but where did you get this info from?

    From my classes at university (and now from in my head) :) If you really want a reference i could find you one.
  • snowlily
    snowlily Posts: 6
    Ok that is interesting, thanks I will have to do a bit more research on the topic. I thought my source was pretty trustworthy, but anyways its hard to know when info contradicts itself lol
  • Photoplex
    Photoplex Posts: 49 Member
    I prefer full cream milk for one it tastes better and two it isnt as processed as low fat milk which makes me skin break out.

    Scooping the top layer of fat off the milk is hardly "processed".
  • drohde12
    drohde12 Posts: 22
    Beans! You can add them to salads or have them as a side dish. Fairly low in calories, good fiber and carbohydrates. Other good sources of protein would be hard boiled eggs in your salad or having peanut butter with crackers, carrots, celery, or apples.
  • LotusF1ower
    LotusF1ower Posts: 1,259 Member
    Hi there,

    I am new on here I am wondering if anyone could please give me some feedback or recs for changes to my current eating plan?

    I eat 1200 cals a day and do not exercise besides from walking around the city on my lunch break.

    Current Plan:

    B:
    Smoothy; 1/2banana, 1/4cup frozen berries & 1 full cream milk

    L:
    Salad; mixed lettuce, 5 cherry toms, cucumber & 2 vegie sausages

    D:
    Steak porterhouse or chicken breast & steamed carrot, brocoli & sweet pot

    S: Apple, Mandarin or Kiwi fruit

    Hi! Welcome to MFP!

    Are you okay on that breakfast? Some people can't eat much at breakfast, but if you find you are getting hungry, try something protein based that will get you through to lunch.

    If you exercise you will use up more calories and be able to eat slightly more - if you wish - on those particular days.

    Your dinner sounds yummy actually, I fancy that right now, especially with a jacket potato thrown in.

    Good luck with your weight loss programme, feel free to add me if you want. x
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