Is this bad?

kingkong123
kingkong123 Posts: 184 Member
edited September 2024 in Food and Nutrition
I'm both on a tight budget and trying to lose fat/gain muscle. (6'0; 220 lbs.)

--running 3 miles a day about 3 or 4 days a week
--lifting weights 3 days a week (shoulders/triceips; back/biceps, chest/legs)

My diet pretty much consists of :

-Tuna (canned)
-Chicken breast
-Brown Rice
-Canned Vegetables
-Whole Wheat Bread
-Peanut Butter and Jelly
-Apples
-Whey Protein
-Water
-Wheat Pasta and Classico Sauces
-Bananas
-A ton of Frank's Red Hot

Will this hurt me in the long run? When I say my diet consists of, I mean this is all I eat. I'm eating around 1200 - 1500 calories a day.

I also drink a lot Friday and Saturday which I know is slowing down the process.

Replies

  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    You will not build an ounce of muscle only eating that few calories, gaining muscle is very hard for the body to do and you have to eat more calories than you burn to do this. If your goal on MFP is to loose weight, you will not gain any muscle mass if you are eating the allotted calories.
  • kingkong123
    kingkong123 Posts: 184 Member
    Thanks. Where should I get my intake up to?

    1800-2000?

    I guess with eating right and working out the fat will burn anyway. Not gonna lie...thinking about finally getting in shape for beach season which is why my calories were low. No quick fix I suppose.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    to gain muscle you have to eat more than your maintenance calories, you can try to change your MFP goal to gain 1/2 pound/week, That will probably give you 2600-3000 calories per day, the other option is loose the fat first, while working out and once you hit your goal weight increase your calories to gain 1/2 pound/week.
  • kingkong123
    kingkong123 Posts: 184 Member
    I think I'm going to use the latter. Both make sense, but I might as well cut down and rebuild when I have my cardio and stamina up--which will help with lifting.

    Thanks for the advice.
  • mvl1014
    mvl1014 Posts: 531
    Just to weigh-in, I don't have a different opinion. Erickirb is correct.
  • BrendaLee
    BrendaLee Posts: 4,463 Member
    No quick fix. I would suggest following MFP's guidelines to get down to the weight you want to be, and then work on building muscle as the two goals have different nutritional needs.
  • Nikiki
    Nikiki Posts: 993
    I would slowly increase your calories rather than imediately so your body can adjust bump it up to 1,800 for a week, then 2,000 and see how you feel, the specific foods you're eating are good though.
    A good, cheap & calorie dense breakfast is oatmeal, you can buy a huge container of it for only a couple dollars. Mix in an egg (raw- it'll cook enough in the heat of the oatmeal to be safe to eat) after its done cooking to up the protein count and keep you full for hours. I usually cook mine with a half milk/half water, chopped up banana & cinnamon, and then the egg. good stuff and has the protein & complex carbs you need when working out hard.
  • kellycrow
    kellycrow Posts: 140
    just my 2 cents...

    you need to eat more fresh veggies than canned... there is unnecessary salt in canned veggies... you will get so much more in terms of nutrients out of fresh veggies (and they taste better!!) ... eat what is local and in season to keep costs down...
  • kingkong123
    kingkong123 Posts: 184 Member
    All helpful feedback. Mucho thanks.
  • Honey7o2
    Honey7o2 Posts: 31
    To touch on the veggies again. Try getting the bags of frozen. I always get those when my budget is tight. It doesn't go bad nearly as fast so I'm not wasting money if I don't eat them right away. Also, they might not be as fantastic as fresh but nowhere near as bad as canned. They're super easy to steam as well.
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