I'm working on cutting right now (I weigh 230 and want to be ~220 by the end of August). I lost 8 lbs the past 4 weeks, then this week (week 5) I gained 2 lbs upto 232. I lift and do cardio everyday, but my question is with my diet, since I think I have been eating clean. Here is basically what I eat in a given day.

Eggs and Egg Beaters
Wheat Toast (2 slices)
Jelly
Milk (2 glasses)
Cottage Cheese
Salad
FF Dressing
Croutons
Tuna (1-2 6.5 oz cans)
Turkey
2% fat cheese
peanuts
pork chops or chicken or lean ground beef
Baked Beans (Bush's)
Peanut butter crackers
Protein bar and drink

What I eat does not exceed 2300-2400 cals a day. Does anyone see anything here I should drop? Or maybe watch my comsumption? If not then I guess Ill have to go light on total cals.Thanks.

D

You might be underestimating the number of calories you are consuming each day. Diet looks pretty good except for the jelly (unless it doesn't contain refined sugar), croutons, maybe the crackers. I think baked beans have a ton of brown sugar.

Make sure the milk is low or non-fat; so too the cottage cheese.
Drop some of the processed carbs and up the veg (i know you mentioned salad but you should get more veg if you can). Drop the full fat dressing & get some light Italian Dressing perhaps. Make sure that the tuna is water-packed, not in oil.
Check that the peanuts you buy don't contain excessive amounts of sodium (salt). Get rid of the protein bars if you can & find a better alternative such as a protein shake or preferably another whole-food meal.

Don't consume any starchy carbs later in the day if you can help it and instead have fibrous vegetables :tu: .

Hope this helps!

Edit: I don't see any good fats (EFA's), get yourself some extra virgin olive oil and some flaxseed oil (some recommend Udo's Oil blend but i've never tried it). Also, as Mooshie mentioned above, check the nutritional contents of the Jelly and adjust accordingly!

Thanks for the replies.
I drink about 2 glasses of milk a day. One is 2% and one is skim.

-I buy large curd cottage cheese, small is lower in fat. Ill change that.

-Maybe I can get rid of the Peanut Butter crackers.

-The protein bars I eat are Detour brand and have about 2 g of sugar. I also drink a protein shake before bed.

-The peanuts I buy are in the shell, but salted. I'll get regular ones next time (how does sodium slow the fat loss process?)

-The tuna I eat is off the salad bar, here at college. I'm guess its not in oil as its kind of dry and doesnt have an oily taste. I use Fat Free dressing.

-Im sure the jelly isn't low sugar, as it too is off the salad bar. Would butter be better for it? Peanut Butter (not natty...again, off the sb).

Thanks again.


D

Thanks for the replies.
:tu:
I drink about 2 glasses of milk a day. One is 2% and one is skim.
If you want to be pedantic then be sure to drink the milk earlier in the day because of the lactose, but that really is splitting hairs.
Maybe I can get rid of the Peanut Butter crackers.
Without seeing the nutritional content i can't really advice you too much, but they are processed so you can do better.
I also drink a protein shake before bed.
This is fine (if it doesn't effect your sleep) but have some of the flax oil i recommended with it (maybe not in it because i think it tastes horrible and might ruin the shake).
(how does sodium slow the fat loss process?)
It's not that sodium slows the fat burning process, it's that it causes water retention which in turn can eventualy lead to high blood pressure; having said that, it is prudent to have a little salt everyday in order for your cellular metabolism to function correctly (about 1mg i think); you will get this from the rest of your food anyway so just try not to consume additional amounts whenever possible.
I use Fat Free dressing.
F.F = Fat Free!?!...my mistake :o (I'm from Europe ;) ).
-Im sure the jelly isn't low sugar, as it too is off the salad bar. Would butter be better for it? Peanut Butter (not natty...again, off the sb).
I'm not sure what your peanut butter is like over there in the U.S but often, unless it's natural, it can contain hydrogenated fat oils which are very bad; however, i would aim to keep my blood sugar and insulin levels under control if i was you so personally i'd go for the peanut butter rather then the insulin/sugar spike (jelly). Having said that, maybe it's much to do about nothing, perhaps you should just pick whichever one you like best and go with it :tu: .

Thanks. I think I will cut out the PB crackers, eat fewer peanuts, and put PB rather than jelly on my toast. Thanks for all the help.

D

No problem bud :tu:

-The protein bars I eat are Detour brand and have about 2 g of sugar. I also drink a protein shake before bed.


they are tasty :drool: :drool:

Detour got in a lot of trouble for their labels being extremely incorrect. I cannot remember if it was sugar or fat content, maybe even protein.

I'd have to do a search, it's been a while.

http://www.labelclaimstesting.com/?pageID=4&mp=9&

Actually that's not too bad. I thought it was much more than that. 8g/sugar more than they said on this lab test...

Still I would assume they fixed everything since then (this test was back in 2003).

Here's another thread on Detour's labels (also back in 2003):

http://bbs.clubplanet.com/archive/index.php/t-170301.html

Here's another thread on Detour's labels (also back in 2003):

http://bbs.clubplanet.com/archive/index.php/t-170301.html

Hey thanks for those links. They weren't off by too much though. I eat one Detour bar a day (the small ones. they are about 1.5 oz and come in a pack of 6 at wal-mart). I'm going to throw in another protein shake too. This came from Wal Mart also. Its ready to drink and comes in like a thick silver bag (6 servings). Its called EAS Andvant Edge Carb Control. 1 serving has 100 cals, 3g of fat, 4 carbs, 0 sugars, and 15 g of protein. I also bought protein powder real chaep from there, with the same nutrition facts as the GNC brand, but half the price. Wal-Mart is my new GNC.


D