Room for possible improvement on diet/excercise?

N00b2fitness

Hi folks, posting up for feedback, hoping that people may be able to validate my assumptions for better or for worse.

I'm a 30 year old male, about 5'9 and 84kg. I have come down in weight from a touch over 90kg while toning up slightly in the process. My ideal weight would be 77kg. I would still not be hugely lean at this weight but would be happy with this.

My work involves little to no activity (office work) but I've been eating healthily (as far as I can tell) for the past while in addition to going to the gym and running a bit outdoors, getting activity approx 2/3times per week. I've cut out alcohol from my diet completely.

I am quite motivated which allows me to follow a relatively strict diet but I still get to enjoy the odd treat without pushing my daily calorie intake over 2100 kCal on any given day.

Based on using Fitday, I am averaging around 1,741 kCals per day. I have been entering my food religiously and erriing on the side of overestimating the portions and calories in each meal. The breakdown according to fitday is Fat (34%) Carbs (38%) Protein (28%) Alcohol (0%).

Excercise wise, I am averaging 2 to 3 times a week... doing some squatting (40kg), Deadlifting (80kg), Benching (40kg), Bent over rows (40kg) stuff like that in addition to cardio warm ups (Rower 2km ¬40rpm) and other days running (anything from 7 miles to 5 miles all under 1 hour).

Does this seem optimal for my goals or should I try to make some changes to my diet (eat more/less) / eat more or less of a certain type... protein/carbs) or should I look to increase the regularity or intensity of my workouts?

I have attached a graph from fitday for January so far. Does my diet seem balanced for my size/weight in your opinions?

EileenG

Can you post a link to what you are actually eating? 28% protein seems very low for 1700 cals.

N00b2fitness

EileenG wrote: »

Can you post a link to what you are actually eating? 28% protein seems very low for 1700 cals.

Sure - attached a typical day snapshot, although on that particular day I got 2100 Kcals in.

Typical diet would consist of the following with the odd yoghurt or treat thrown in here or there maybe 2 times per week...

• Porridge made with water, teaspoon honey
• Soup & Salad with chicken breast
• Fish/chicken/lean meat with 2 veg, potato
• 3 large pieces of fruit

Perhaps I should look at getting more fish/chicken into my diet?

N00b2fitness

I should add... I do make an extra effort to get more Protein in on the days where I go to the gymand know I will have a bad dose of DOMS. I'll snack on some nuts and have an extra glass of milk or two but normally I would at the very least have some chicken or fish of some description.

I think tells me what I need to know actually... maybe any shortage of Protein in my diet tells me I need to go to the gym and kick my own ass more often! :eek:

EileenG

Looking at that, you've got a lot of carbs, and are low enough on fat and protein, both more essential than carbs.

I'd throw a couple of eggs into your breakfast, and replace some of the fruit with more vegetables or a handful of nuts. As a general rule, the lower your calories are, the more important it is to make sure you are getting plenty of protein. I would definitely replace some of the carbs with extra protein.

N00b2fitness

EileenG wrote: »

Looking at that, you've got a lot of carbs, and are low enough on fat and protein, both more essential than carbs.

I'd throw a couple of eggs into your breakfast, and replace some of the fruit with more vegetables or a handful of nuts. As a general rule, the lower your calories are, the more important it is to make sure you are getting plenty of protein. I would definitely replace some of the carbs with extra protein.

Yes I suspected as much re: the carbs. It's funny because I rarely eat anything breaddy... ok on that day I had a tuna wrap but that was an exception. Looking at the foods I have been eating I wouldn't have thought there was much in the way of carbs in there but it's clear as day.

I use fruit a lot as an in between meal snack. Helps fill me up. Would replacing these with nuts not either push my calorie intake up a lot or leave me feeling hungry? Either way, I'll give it a go... many thanks for the feedback.

If anyone else has any suggestions, even on the training front, please let me know.

EileenG

You need to use portion control with nuts, but they provide quality protein and fats and are very handy to carry around.

Replace some of the fruit and potatoes with veg and you'll free up calories. And

cozmik

N00b2fitness wrote: »

I've cut out alcohol from my diet completely.

There's no need to do that. Drinking alcohol in moderation is good for your health.