Nutritional imbalance (too many carbs, not enough proteins)
Looking at my FitDay entries, I noticed that my average intakes are quite unbalanced. I think I need to decrease my carb intake and up my protein intake. I just don't see how to do it practically.
These were my daily averages over the past month (not really "dieting", just trying to eliminate junk and snacks:
Okay, I know the alcohol level wasn't good, that's going down!
Are the other levels acceptable, or should I be radically changing something? If so, what???
I usually eat:
Breakfast: cereals + milk
Lunch: wholemeal bread + ham or cheese + salad/raw vegetables
Snack: yogurt + fruit
Dinner: Meat or fish (a lot of fish) + vegetables (2 to 3 portions) + potatoes or rice (1 to 2 portions) (and the occasional pasta dish).
Anyone who can help me understand what I should be doing differently (if I should) I'd really appreciate
I agree with you, that you need to up your protein and lower your carbs a bit. I would also say that you probably need to try to up your fiber, which can seem at odds with trying to lower your carbs. Personally, I would get rid of the rice or potato every night (to lower your carbs) and save it for an occasional meal. Of the meals that you listed, I think your breakfast may be a place to make a change. I'm not sure what kinds of cereals are available in Belgium, but perhaps something with more fiber (Fiber One or Kashi products for example) and more protein (Kashi for example). Also there is a great protein pancake recipe on the board that has over 22 grams of protein per serving. Another good source of protein is egg white, so perhaps an egg white omelet on occasion. Nut butters are a pretty good source of protein also, so perhaps a sliced apple with a tablespoon of peanut butter for a morning snack, or with your breakfast. Also even with whole grain breads, some have more fiber than others, so I would check for the ones with the highest fiber content.
I don't think 45% from carbs is too bad, ditch the alcohol and try to eat more protein. Personally I am for: 25% healthy fats, 45% carbs, 30% protein. Nearly all my carb choices are high quality though - whole grain, sweet potato, beans, etc.
If you're eating potatoes/rice for dinner, go for sweet potatoes, brown rice or try a cool new whole grain (quinoa, whole wheat couscous, barley, whole grain pasta, bulgar), etc.
For breakfast, look at eggs or cottage cheese or a wrap with turkey sausage/roasted veggies or something to bump up the protein a little.
Your saturated fats are a little high, skipping the cheese (or opting for a low fat, or a smaller portion of a stronger cheese - like feta) might be a good option!
I'd say up your fiber and cut back on the alcohol and fats a bit. I don't see anything wrong with your carb percentage! Just try and make sure most of your carbs come from whole (or close to) sources (brown rice, whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta, other grains, etc.)
I agree that your carbs are fine. You get your energy from carbs so about 50% of your calories should be in complex carbohydrates. Your fats aren't too out of line either. I usually try to stay between 20-30%.
Like I said, I've decreased alcohol a lot (I drink about 3 to 4 glasses of wine a week now, as opposed to a couple of glasses a day before).
I'm going to concentrate on replacing the carbs by their unrefined alternative (I'm good with brown bread, but love my white rice and pasta...) and cut out full fat cheese (good point there, Glory).
Tammy, I think you're right about breakfast being my weak point, but I really hate eating in the morning and a bowl of cereal is just about all I can manage. Anything savory just makes me gag! I'll look into the cereals you mentioned and see what exists here
Thanks for reassuring me I'm not completely unbalanced!
If you want to trade around some protein AND fiber, legumes and beans are a great bet. You can easily add black beans to salsas, sauces and the like. I hate beans, but I eat lentils at least three times a week. I shoot for 30g fiber each day.
Also, I don't buy cereal that has less than 5g fiber in it. Kashi Good Friends Cinna crunch is good, IMO. My husband think it tastes like bark.
You said you hate breakfast. How do you feel about smoothies in the morning?
See, I was never fed any form of legumes while growing up (except for the traditional baked beans ) so I just don't think to integrate them in my daily diet and wouldn't have a clue how to use them. Apart from chick peas - which I love - because I love couscous and put plenty in the vegetable sauce. I wouldn't know how to prepare any other legumes. I have to look into that.
Smoothies - what exactly are in them? Is it just a whole bunch of pureed fruit? I can definitely handle that
I had no idea about beans until my friends were veg. Here is a great resource for recipes. You can see if any appeal: http://vegweb.com/
Smoothies are perfect for hiding things in. In addition to the fruit, you can add some low-fat or fat-free yogurt, so you get protein. Most berries have a lot of fiber, so the smoothie is good for that too. You can add psyllium husk or ground flax to boost the fiber too. If you google smoothie recipes, I think you will find a way to up your protein and fiber and still get through breakfast!
I do fitday too. And I did the exact same thing. I looked back at earlier attempts to revamp my diet and failed. This time I looked at my distribution of fat/carbs/proteins. Overall you look pretty good. Eliminate one fatty snack per day and add a high protein bar (watch the sugars content) and that should tip your fats down and increase your proteins by 10-15 grams. I also added nuts instead of a fruit snack and dinners with a protein, not just a plate of carbs. Hope this helps...
Nutritional imbalance (too many carbs, not enough proteins)
) so I just don't think to integrate them in my daily diet and wouldn't have a clue how to use them. Apart from chick peas - which I love - because I love couscous and put plenty in the vegetable sauce. I wouldn't know how to prepare any other legumes. I have to look into that.
