T Nation

Please Critique My Diet

Bodybuilding
#1

I have read just about everything on T-Nation when it comes to diet. I have some questions and was wondering if you guys/gals could help?

First my stats
I am 38-year-old male I weigh in at 216lbs I am 6ft. tall and have a body fat of about 26.5%(as per my scale)

I would like to lose fat and gain muscle. I am currently following the super hero workout plan.

My diet is as follows

Breakfast- 3 egg white and 1 whole egg 2 pcs of Canadian bacon.

Snack - 1/2 peanut butter on whole wheat bread and about 4 oz. of skim milk

Lunch - can of tuna (6oz.) on whole-wheat pita tomato slices and some lite mayo

Snack - handful of mixed nuts may be a piece of cheese

Dinner - 4-6 oz. of steak sliced on whole wheat wrap with low fat cheese and low fat sour cream, sliced tomatoes

Snack - handful of nuts or 1/2 peanut butter on whole wheat bread and about 4 oz. of skim milk

The only meal I change up is my dinner I sometimes have 15 shrimp and small potato with low fat sour cream or a chicken breast.
I drink mainly water or diet sprite.

I am worried I am not eating enough for fat loss. Would the addition of a salad help? I was thinking of changing my snacks to protein shakes made with skim milk would this help?
I cannot take any fat loss pills I have a bad reaction to them.
Thanks in advance for any help.

#2

[quote]fuel123 wrote:
I have read just about everything on T-Nation when it comes to diet. I have some questions and was wondering if you guys/gals could help?

First my stats
I am 38-year-old male I weigh in at 216lbs I am 6ft. tall and have a body fat of about 26.5%(as per my scale)

I would like to lose fat and gain muscle. I am currently following the super hero workout plan.

My diet is as follows

Breakfast- 3 egg white and 1 whole egg 2 pcs of Canadian bacon.

Snack - 1/2 peanut butter on whole wheat bread and about 4 oz. of skim milk

Lunch - can of tuna (6oz.) on whole-wheat pita tomato slices and some lite mayo

Snack - handful of mixed nuts may be a piece of cheese

Dinner - 4-6 oz. of steak sliced on whole wheat wrap with low fat cheese and low fat sour cream, sliced tomatoes

Snack - handful of nuts or 1/2 peanut butter on whole wheat bread and about 4 oz. of skim milk

The only meal I change up is my dinner I sometimes have 15 shrimp and small potato with low fat sour cream or a chicken breast.
I drink mainly water or diet sprite.

I am worried I am not eating enough for fat loss. Would the addition of a salad help? I was thinking of changing my snacks to protein shakes made with skim milk would this help?
I cannot take any fat loss pills I have a bad reaction to them.
Thanks in advance for any help.
[/quote]

I forgot to add that I am taking fish oil 3 times a day I am also taking creatine 2 times on workouts and 1 time on off days

#3

are you eating tuna every day ??

be careful. they say not to eat more than 2 cans per week. you have to watch the mercury levels. there is tuna out there that is lower in mercury but i wouldnt eat more than 2 cans per week like they say. look into finding low-mercury tuna. i think farmed tuna has less. i dont know what it would do in men (im no doctor) but i know it’s really bad for pregnant women. just keep the mercury down ! lol

good luck with the diet and workouts ! :slight_smile:

#4

could use some revision…

I would add some ww toast with breakfast, and a shake also, with just a scoop of protien. You definitley want some carbs with breakfast, and more calories in general. Your snacks look ok, but 4oz of milk is like half a glass bro? a full glass of skim is not gonna kill you :wink: Add a bannana to lunch.

As far as veggies go, I only see tomato. I had a hard time getting them in as well, so I wont flame you. Start out by making sure you get them with dinner at least, come hell or high water. Go grab a handful of random frozen veggie packs, and make one each night, broccoli, snap peas, etc. That is the easiest way to start incorporating them IMO.

Eat more for dinner also, more steak, more protien in general. I would ditch the bread in my pre bed snack if I were you, try to get with some cottage cheese, and if not, a slow burnign protien drink like Grow!, sold in the tnation store. I see no mention of pwo nutrition as well?

#5

[quote]SpankyDriscoll wrote:
are you eating tuna every day ??

be careful. they say not to eat more than 2 cans per week. you have to watch the mercury levels. there is tuna out there that is lower in mercury but i wouldnt eat more than 2 cans per week like they say. look into finding low-mercury tuna. i think farmed tuna has less. i dont know what it would do in men (im no doctor) but i know it’s really bad for pregnant women. just keep the mercury down ! lol

good luck with the diet and workouts ! :)[/quote]

Wow I knew it hurt pregnant women but didn’t realize it could be harmful to men. Thanks I will look into that.

Anyone else I could really use the help.

#6

[quote]Frank Castle wrote:
could use some revision…

I would add some ww toast with breakfast, and a shake also, with just a scoop of protien. You definitley want some carbs with breakfast, and more calories in general. Your snacks look ok, but 4oz of milk is like half a glass bro? a full glass of skim is not gonna kill you :wink: Add a bannana to lunch.

As far as veggies go, I only see tomato. I had a hard time getting them in as well, so I wont flame you. Start out by making sure you get them with dinner at least, come hell or high water. Go grab a handful of random frozen veggie packs, and make one each night, broccoli, snap peas, etc. That is the easiest way to start incorporating them IMO.

Eat more for dinner also, more steak, more protien in general. I would ditch the bread in my pre bed snack if I were you, try to get with some cottage cheese, and if not, a slow burnign protien drink like Grow!, sold in the tnation store. I see no mention of pwo nutrition as well?[/quote]

After my workout I take creatine and have my lunch should I have a shake then my lunch?

#7

[quote]fuel123 wrote:
SpankyDriscoll wrote:
are you eating tuna every day ??

be careful. they say not to eat more than 2 cans per week. you have to watch the mercury levels. there is tuna out there that is lower in mercury but i wouldnt eat more than 2 cans per week like they say. look into finding low-mercury tuna. i think farmed tuna has less. i dont know what it would do in men (im no doctor) but i know it’s really bad for pregnant women. just keep the mercury down ! lol

good luck with the diet and workouts ! :slight_smile:

Wow I knew it hurt pregnant women but didn’t realize it could be harmful to men. Thanks I will look into that.

Anyone else I could really use the help.

[/quote]

Honestly dude, I’ve done some research on the tuna thing since it’s one of the easiest, cheapest forms of protein on my island. As long as you stick to chunk light tuna, canned in water, my guess is that you could have as much as you darn well please. The mercury is a problem in things like albacore tuna and so on. So as long as it’s chunk light, I’d dig in.

The first thing I noticed as far as your eating habits is that you could use carbs in your breakfast. Wheat, whole grains…something to fuel your engine. It’s the meal where carbs are possibly the most important (PWO drink aside).

I’m relatively new at giving advice, but I figured I’d give helping another new guy a shot.

Cheers,
Johnny

#8

hmm ill have to look into it too. i eat flaked light in water. i wonder what the difference is. i HATE using chunk. it doesn’t spread well lol.

i should get back to eating tuna wraps.

as for the original poster, do you like stirfry? i have strips of chicken cut up and a big thing of red peppers, yellow peppers, carrots, and broccoli all cut up already so i can just start some rice goin and fry up chicken and veggies. easiest meal to make that is still rich in protein, vitamins, and complex carbs.

#9

I would eat more carbs in the morning and fewer at night. At supper time instead of putting food in a wrap you can try for example;

a steak with a large side of veggies.

I eat alot thus yesterday I ate almost a Kg of steak (thank God it was on sale! lol) and a big side of frozen veggies and a salad full of fresh veggies and I couldnt resist a small piece of garlic bread…Damn Im a carnivore… Good Luck.

#10

[quote]SpankyDriscoll wrote:
hmm ill have to look into it too. i eat flaked light in water. i wonder what the difference is. i HATE using chunk. it doesn’t spread well lol.

i should get back to eating tuna wraps.

as for the original poster, do you like stirfry? i have strips of chicken cut up and a big thing of red peppers, yellow peppers, carrots, and broccoli all cut up already so i can just start some rice goin and fry up chicken and veggies. easiest meal to make that is still rich in protein, vitamins, and complex carbs. [/quote]

Thanks but I am not really big fan of stir fry. But I do like to cook and do make wraps using whole wheat wraps.
My big concern was carbs I am trying to diet for fatloss but I was mainly eating meats fish etc and little breads or carbs other then potatoes and wraps and the occasional slice of wheat bread

#11

ok at your current weight you can eat a can of white albacore every 6 days.

or

a can of chunk light tuna in water every 2 days safely.

#12

I am a total fatty right now and I am trying to shift my eating habits from unhealthy to healthy and I know that I have read many times that your Diet Sprite is no good. Stick to water only and I think you can get max results.

Repeated advice man, fruit and veggies should be constant in your day of eating. Sneak them in as snacks or in your wrap.

Check out these 2 articles, they really seem to have some good info:

http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=460048

http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=460051

Outside of that you are doing really well. I have lost 20 lbs so far and look fwd to bringing my bodyfat % down. I am trying to not concentrate on pounds as much and pay attention to the body fat % instead.

Good luck!

#13

Read John Berardi’s articles on T-Nation. the man is a genious. He’s got many nutrition articles. If you dont feel like reading them all, check out “the essential Berardi”, a summary of all of his wisdom.

http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=460027

i’d also suggest following ‘the 7 habits of highly effective nutrition’ (also from the great JB):

  1. Eat every 2-3 hours, no matter what. You should eat between 5-8 meals per day.

  2. Eat complete (containing all the essential amino acids), lean protein with each meal.

  3. Eat fruits and/or vegetables with each food meal.

  4. Ensure that your carbohydrate intake comes from fruits and vegetables. Exception: workout and post-workout drinks and meals.

  5. Ensure that 25-35% of your energy intake comes from fat, with your fat intake split equally between saturates (e.g. animal fat), monounsaturates (e.g., olive oil), and polyunsaturates (e.g. flax oil, salmon oil).

  6. Drink only non-calorie containing beverages, the best choices being water and green tea.

  7. Eat mostly whole foods (except workout and post-workout drinks).
    So what about calories, or macronutrient ratios, or any number of other things that I?ve covered in other articles? The short answer is that if you aren?t already practicing the above-mentioned habits, and by practicing them I mean putting them to use over 90% of the time (i.e., no more than 4 meals out of an average 42 meals per week violate any of those rules), everything else is pretty pointless.

i’d highly recommend reading ALL his stuff, its excellent. i’m also looking to drop fat, i’ve been active for my whole life but was at about 20% bf at the beginning of may, i’m now at 14%, aiming for 10% by july. JB’s articles are very well written, scientifically backed, and entertaining.

#14

Your snacks combine fat and carbs which isn’t great
Eat most if not all your carbs around your workout or cardio.
You need carbs in your breakfast, oatmeal w/ frozen berries.
You want to lose fat, drop milk and cheese from your diet except maybe after workouts.
Use turkey bacon.
Eat meat (protein/fat) before bed.
good luck

#15

I suggest you drop the regular white potato and use sweet potatoes instead; much better for you vitamin-wise. Also – you could saute a mix of veggies with the type of seasoning you like (spicy or savory). I chop them up into smaller pieces and put them in a container in the fridge. In the morning you can toss a cup or so into your non-stick pan and heat them, then add your egg whites for a veggie omelette. You can take fresh salmon and grill it (marinade first if you like) and store that in the fridge to re-heat and eat or eat it cold in a salad. Just some options…