Please help me evaluate my daily food!

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  • I have problems staying within my suggested ranges for calories, fat, etc. Any suggestions on how I can improve would be greatly appreciated.

    Here's a cut and paste from my food diary...the numbers are 1) calories, 2) carbs 3) fat and 4) protein

    Breakfast:

    Egg, fresh, 1 large 75 1 5 6
    English muffins, Thomas' English Muffin, 1 serving 120 25 1 4
    International Delight Fat Free French Vanilla Coffee Creamer, 3 tbsp 90 21 0 0



    Lunch
    Great Value Fat Free Turkey Breast, 5 serving 100 0 0 25
    Wonder 100% Whole Wheat bread, 2 slices, 1 serving 130 20 2 5
    Kraft miracle whip regular, 1 tbsp 40 2 4 0
    Dannon Light 'n Fit Carb & Sugar Control Yogurt--Vanilla Creme, 1 serving 60 3 3 5


    Dinner:

    Pork Shoulder (pork butt, picnic roast), 3 oz 269 0 20 20
    BBQ Sauce, KC Master Piece, 2 tbsp 60 15 0 0
    Sweet potato, cooked, baked in skin, without salt, 1 large 162 37 0 4
    Broccoli, frozen, 0.5 package (10 oz) 41 8 0 4


    Snacks:

    Kashi Chewy Granola Bar - Honey Almond Flax, 1 serving 140 21 5 5
    Smucker's Natural Creamy Peanut Butter, 2 tbsp 210 6 16 8
    Great Value Brand Wheat Cracker--15 crackers, 1 serving 150 19 7 2
    Cheddar Cheese, 1 oz 114 0 9 7
    Apples, fresh, 1 small (2-1/2" dia) (approx 4 per lb) 63 16 0 0

    CALORIES CARBS FAT PROTEIN
    1,824 194 73 95
    Suggested daily ranges
    1450 - 1800 163 - 292 32 - 70 36 - 158
  • As far as your meals go you seem to be really healthy and right on track. I added it up and they total 1147. Maybe do something different with your snacks??

    Cut out the cheddar cheese?? and have either the peanut butter and crackers or the kashi chewy granola but not both?? Cutting out the cheese and the PB and crackers takes you down to the 1300's. You still get a snack just not as much. One in the morning and one in the afternoon will still give you five eating/meals.

    But to me the meals and snacks overall are healthy. I try to stay away from cheese personally because it causes me to balloon. I had it today but I try to stick with a once a week or twice a week addition.

    Just my thoughts.

    By the way ....YOU ARE DOING FABULOUS AND LOOK GREAT!!!!
  • Looks great to me. Better yet, are those foods that energize you and can live with?
  • Evaluating food is hard but it is good that you put it out there. Do you put your food into fitday or something where you can see a break down of percentages? It looks like 657 of your calories comes from fat (estimate) which isn't that bad for a total of 1824 calories.

    My question would be how sure of you are of your portions? The pork shoulder, the peanut butter, the miracle whip, etc? Underestimating portions is one way to miss calories counted.

    For wonder bread whole wheat - If you want to trim off a few calories, I know there are breads out there with 35-40 calories/slice for whole wheat breads.

    English muffins - could you substitute toast instead? I love english muffins so I would understand if you like them enough to enjoy a few extra calories for them.

    Coffee creamer - trim down to 2tbsp or 1tbsp? You might even want to try other substitutes. I don't drink coffee, but I buy unsweetened soy milk which has 90 calories per 1/2 cup. Again, I'd understand if it is a pleasure thing.

    Peanut butter - good for you but lots of fat. Maybe eating a little less than 2 tbsp? I generally eat 1 tbsp with a piece of fruit and I like it.

    Cheddar cheese - I love cheddar but again high in fat. How about a 2% cheddar cheese?

    The other thing you might want to do is check the ingredients of what you are eating. Miracle whip, the bbq sauce and the dairy creamer all have sugar added to them. You could try opting for substitutes when you go shopping.
  • I would try ...
    • swap out one or more of the snacks and add a vegetable or two
    • try half an English muffin at breakfast
    • use light mayo or even mustard on the lunchtime sandwich

    But yeah, 1800 calories (or 24 calories above that) isn't anything to be worried about, I'm guessing.
  • I would remove the crackers, cheese, peanut butter and granola bar (calories 614) and add berries, low fat yogurt, and grapes (1/2 cup of each fruit plus the serving of yogurt will yield approximately 150 calories and a lot less fat). You could even go with more fruit and more variety of fruits.
  • It also depends on how long you have been doing this. If you have just started no matter who says otherwise, you are hungry and you have to work through it. It does get better if you stick with it. Try healthy fiber to start out your morning, ie oatmeal with a little sf syrup. That helps me.

    You have to work this out by trial and error. Everyone is different and reacts differently to certain foods.

    Keep your fat calories at no more than 25% of your caloric count.

    Good luck!

    Faye
  • I buy the light whole grain English Muffins from Thomas -- Aunt Millie also makes a whole grain muffin. Each are 100 calories, though they vary in fiber. Took some getting used to, but now I really like them!

    I would try to add more fruits (esp berries) and vegetables...

    You're doing well with the food... I'd ask: What do you want to focus on changing next? I know I'm trying to get in more protein and will be trying yogurts with more live cultures. I think of it as tweaking something that's working for me pretty well! What do yo want to tweak? What do you think you need?
  • You have trouble staying in your suggested ranges in what way? Calorie wise it seems like you are getting the right amount of calories at your size, some people even lose at 2000 calories a day. If you are looking to decrease the amount of fat, you could subsitute the cheese and peanut butter or at least one for something else. And increasing fiber by subsituting whole wheat items for the regular white items you are eating now would help you feel fuller and be healthier, but other than all the suggestions already made, it's hard to know what you want suggested without knowing what exactly it is that you are wanting to change. Like Wyllen said what is it you are wanting to improve on in your diet, or what areas are you having trouble with exactly?
  • Hi , 2 cents worth, now that summer is here and all the veggie stands are out there, i have been hitting all the fresh veggies available. Good luck your plan looks great already
    Anna
  • Have you tried switching to egg substitute? 1/4 cup (about the amount of one egg) has 30 calories and no cholesterol, but all the protein of a traditional egg.
  • More fiber, Jen. It will keep you fuller for longer. Check the fiber on the Wonder Bread & switch out the English muffin for an English muffin w/more fiber. Thomas' makes them. You can also get white bread with fiber now, Sara Lee makes it. It tastes virtually the same.

    Also read the label on the Miracle Whip, and maybe switch it out for light or for mustard. Miracle Whip not only has sugar, it has two kinds of sugar. Corn syrup & sugar.

    And of course more fruit/veg, but isn't that all of us?
  • Jen -

    I am curious what calorie range you are shooting for. At your weight, I think 1800 is great. Unless of course you are not losing on it.

    I think it looks pretty good. Do you feel satisfied on it??
  • Wow! I am overwhelmed by the generous response of everyone! I'll try to answer your questions:

    Dolly: After seeing the calorie count on just one ounce of regular cheddar, I definitely want to switch to reduced fat! I really enjoy a bit of cheese with my fruit. Maybe I should switch to Laughing Cow...PS: Thanks for the compliment.

    Burgie: For the most part, these are all foods I can live with. I'm not forcing myself to eat anything that is on that sample menu.

    Nelie: Some of my portions are exact (based on the package), and some are guesses (like the Miracle whip). I need to get a set of measuring spoons for the office here so I can properly measure things.....as far as my coffee goes, I only have one cup in the morning, and it HAS to be creamed in some form. There is a powdered creamer in the breakroom that is 10 cals per teaspoon--maybe I could try that with some splenda?.....Thanks for all the substitution suggestions too...


    Phantastica: I never thought about subbing mustard for mayo....great idea!

    Alinnell: Good suggestion about subbing fruit for the other stuff. Don't know why I didn't think about that! Someone else has suggested throwing in more veggies there too.

    gma2one: I've dieted off and on forEVER!! I just recently used a liquid diet and dropped about 10 lbs, but I got bored with it and started going off program and not feeling about it. It got me to thinking that I am going to have to learn to get a healthy lifestyle involving food, so may as well start from the beginning. I think I am finally getting the fact that for me, slower loss is more permanent.

    Wyllen (who looks FAB, by the way!): Hmmm....what do I want to work on next? Good question. I've been intrigued by the Super Foods thread on here.....I think I will work on getting in as many Super Foods a day as possible.

    Melody: The ranges I speak of are probivided by the food diary I use. It is based on my height, weight, age and physical activity.

    flawlesscube: Thanks for the compliment and the suggestion! I live in Florida, so some of the produce down here is not as good as other places, especially tomatoes and watermelon. (Makes me miss Indiana!)

    Thistoo: Egg whites! Great idea....I think you can buy them in a pourable carton now right?

    SAPF: Fibre....how can I get more without taking a supplement? And thanks for the produce suggestion

    Sandi: I feel fairly satisfied on it....until nighttime. That is when I think head hunger takes over, and I end up prowling in the kitchen. NOT a good thing!

    Thanks to all of you for taking the time to answer my post!
  • Jen- Egg whites in the pourable carton are excellent. 8 servings per container and 35 calories per serving. Great way to get your protien and very filling. It worked really well for me when I was losing. I've since tweaked my breakfast, but I still eat them regularly.

    Also, I'm insanely pressed for time in the a.m. and they microwave very well (well, in comparison to regular eggs with yolks).