New here, looking for feedback on my meal regime

knytestorme
knytestorme Posts: 8 Member
edited January 9 in Food and Nutrition
Hi all, just starting to get involved in the community and taking my weightloss and health seriously finally. I used to weight train a lot until a back injury and have a pretty solid understanding of nutrition I think (feel free to point out places I am wrong) so have come up with the meal plan I'm going to link and would like some feedback on places that could be improved or changed.

As an upfront I'll say that comments about not eating the same thing everyday etc aren't really needed as I understand long-term this will get stale but it's being used initially to get me used to just eating more than 1 or 2 meals a day and not having to procrastinate working out what I want to eat until I give up and grab take-away.

I'm looking to lose 1-2kg a week, MFP set me at 1970 calories a day but I figure that doing 2 x 60 minute cardio's a day (~550cal per 60 minute burn) and full-body lifting 3 time a week that taking a few more calories a day in wouldn't hurt since even at 2300 it drops down to 1200ish net. I had oats in the smoothie as well but they added 150cal and ~27g carbs so figured I could drop them out and not really be losing anything since I was looking for a 40/40/20 P/C/F split.

My other main issue is whether I should add in vitamin supplements (eg zing, calcium, vit d) and a few fish oil tabs per day just for some extra omega-3.

Current version of the "diet" is at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0ApvWDmUawLJodFpEbVQzMjRSaGJlaC1OeDJvRkExRFE

Replies

  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
    If it fits your goals, then stick with it. It looks pretty nice to me.
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
    And I eat the same things all the time, too. There's nothing at all wrong with that. :flowerforyou:
  • knytestorme
    knytestorme Posts: 8 Member
    Thanks for the feedback Lyadeia. After just looking at sodium intake in it I'm going to drop the tuna from it, without those I am at 2000mg a day but with them I go up near 3000mg which doesn't seem like a good enough tradeoff
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
    When I typically have more sodium that I think I should, I try to drink more water than usual. I wish I knew exactly where I heard that tip from...cause otherwise it just sounds like anecdotal evidence that I made up, lol.
  • knytestorme
    knytestorme Posts: 8 Member
    Well I really need to get my sodium under check anyway due to hypertension and a rare kalimic condition where too much throws my potassium levels right down and I suffer full muscle fatigue to the point I'm essentially paralysed.....so yeah, dropping it seems good :D
  • EmmaB332
    EmmaB332 Posts: 39 Member
    Hi there! I took a quick look at your diet plan and your profile and one thing I just wanted to mention is that psyllium (Metamucil) should be taken at least two hours away from any oral medications you may be taking for your type 2 diabetes or hypertension. Also, given that you do have those medical concerns, you should probably at least give your doctor a call regarding your diet and exercise plans if you haven't already.

    I would agree with you that the sodium in the tuna would not be a good idea for you on a daily basis, especially if you already have hypertension. Maybe have tuna occasionally if you really enjoy it. If you're looking for a high protein snack, I've been able to find low sodium turkey slices in the grocery store (read the nutrition labels - don't trust that the kind marketed as "low sodium" is actually the lowest) or greek yogurt is very high in protein and doesn't have much sodium.

    As for adding vitamin supplementation, I would advise adding a multivitamin. With a monotonous and restricted diet, if you're deficient in any nutrient, you'll miss it everyday so adding a multivitamin would be smart in your case. If you live in a an area further from the equator that doesn't get a lot of sunshine, you could add a vitamin D as well, it certainly won't hurt. I don't think you'd need any further calcium given that you plan to intake milk, yogurt, and spinach on a daily basis.

    Your concern/non-concern about repetition in your diet could be helped with having lots of herbs and spices on hand. You can experiment with a lot of different flavors on chicken, vegetables, and brown rice. I'd suggest picking up a bunch of spices, dried herbs, and/or salt-free seasoning blends (Mrs. Dash, etc.) that you can use to add variety to your meals without adding any calories. Also, if you like spicy things, never forget the power of sriracha sauce.

    Hope that helps and congrats on getting serious about your health!
  • knytestorme
    knytestorme Posts: 8 Member
    Hmm, thanks for that Emma, I never realised that regarding the psyllium so might have to remove that from the smoothie as I take my blood pressure medicine with it of a morning.

    And yes, I am trying to find a dietitian around here that is versed in diabetes treatments just so I can have that facted in when they go over what I'm doing to look for micro deficiencies.

    The tuna isn't a big loss, it was there initially as a replacement for the almonds to try and lower the amount of fat but I think without them in it my fat count per day would be too low so I don't mind swapping them back in.
  • cielbee
    cielbee Posts: 62
    And if you want to put your tuna back in occasionally, try buying one without added salt. I know Trader Joe's carries it and probably Whole Foods.
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