Comment on my daily eating routine please

Cinarocket

Hello,

I've been trying to alter my eating habits that used to be really bad (I mostly didn't care) and play basketball on top of that to try to reach my goal of losing 20 lbs.

The only thing is that up until very recently I was totally unaware of what's good and what's bad but now that summer is here and school is yet to start I've been trying constantly to eat better (trust me I was really bad at picking my food) and play sports like every single day for 2 months.

So far I have lost some but it's quite a small sample and I'm not exactly sure how much has to do with the sports or the eating. I'm not a big believer in forcing myself to eat things I don't like just for the sake of a diet so my eating is far from perfect but I'm not asking for the perfect diet rather that you correct whatever may be really bad in my eating habits.

So i'm gonna post exactly what I ate today which happens to be very typical of what I've been doing all summer and you can tell me what i'm doing wrong. (I know i could ask you to look at my diary but I wouldn't want you to comment based on a day that is far from the norm and most of the stuff is in french)

Wake up at 12.00pm (yea I know it's late but it's holiday and i'm 22)

Right after waking up I have breakfast :

Some energy biscuits poured in a glass of milk (Total 276 kcal)

2pm I have a quick lunch (nothing too big usually) :

A chicken sandwich with cheese and peppers (around 400kcal)

3pm : I have an apple

4pm : I go play basketball for a couple hours during which I drink a small energy drink (50kcal) and eat a small chocolate bar (89kcal)

Get back home near 8pm and cook dinner (i'm really hungry) :

I have 150g of pastas with 200g of chicken breast and peppers (total of ~700kcal)
Can find a picture here : http://i.gyazo.com/c48092a22df49ef86321bea700ef5571.png

By nightime not long before sleep I have my "dessert" (around 11pm or so) :

I eat a mix of fruits for around 150kcal.

I drink maybe 2 liters through the day and no soda.
Not every day are like this but I'd say that's a pretty typical 2000kcal day for me I hope i'm doing it right but if i'm not please tell me

StaciMarie1974

You're looking to lose 20 pounds, and have lost some (you don't indicate how much) but seem to think you could/should lose faster. This is what I got from reading your post. Not sure what you've lost but also not sure what you expect to lose, average, weekly. With 20 pounds the reasonable expectation would be .5-1 pound per week.

Eating ~2000 per day is probably reasonable, though you didn't post your full stats so I'm just guessing based on the assumption that you're male, young, and only slightly overweight.

Do you use a food scale for solids, measuring cups/spoons for liquids? If not, then you are probably consuming more than you think. On the other hand, if you're presently losing at the rate of .5-1 per week then you may just need to be more patient.

As to 'how' you eat - its calories in vs calories out. Would not hurt to eat more vegetables - they have nutrients you need. If you don't have a staple of items you 'like' try having them in different ways. Baked, in a smoothie, etc.

juggernaut1974

I know it's tedious and boring...but to be most successful, you really need to crunch some numbers.

You're halfway there in that you've counted calories (although as the poster above said, ensure you're measuring and weighing your food to ensure your count is accurate).

The other half of the equation is to use one of the online calculators (scooby's or iifym) to estimate your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) based on your height, age, current weight, and activity level. Your result will of course be an estimate, but for most people it's pretty good.

Now, armed with that information, as long as you ensure your calorie intake (again, measured as accurately as possible) is less than your TDEE, you should lose weight. Most people suggest using a number somewhere in the range of 80-90% of your TDEE as a good calorie intake goal.

A couple other things:

To begin with, it's going to be a lot of trial and error. Like I said, the online calculators are only an estimate of your TDEE based on an average of the population...your numbers may vary, so if you find you're losing too fast or too slowly, you should adjust your calorie intake every few weeks as necessary.

While calories are king as far as weight loss - be sure too you're paying attention to your macros (protein, carbs, fat) and to a lesser extent your micro-nutrients (vitamins, etc). Everyone has their own ideas and goals as far as the appropriate macro break-downs, so I'd do a bit of reading online to figure out what you want yours to be. You may need to adjust your diet accordingly.

Finally - while basketball is a good cardio activity, I'd highly recommend adding some lifting to your weekly routine too. It will help you maintain as much lean muscle mass as possible (and consequently, lose a higher proportion of fat) as you drop weight.