Anyone a nutritionist?

MorpheusDream

Can anyone tell me if my diet is healthy? About a month ago I completely changed my diet, I figured I enjoy some healthy food anyway so I'll just eat more of that and cut out the processed food. I have done very little reading on nutrition so forgive me if I am wrong, I'm just looking for advice.

In the mornings, every morning, I eat a paninni from the shop below my flat. It always contains roast chicken breast and red cheddar cheese, the vegetables vary between red onion, tomatoes, mixed peppers, sun-dried tomatoes (stored in oil I think) in various combinations.

The rest of the day I eat fruit (apples, bananas, oranges) and a mixture of different nuts and seeds I mix up myself, whenever I feel hungry.

I drink tea with milk and blackcurrant mi-wadi cordial through out the day.

Sometimes I eat porridge during the day with honey, but not very often.

What nutrients might I be missing, and what should I add to my diet to get them?

I realise this is not a very varied diet but I am a little OCD and like routine. I just want to know what I should add to it.

Bombbastic22

Well, I have done a lot of reading about it at different times and a lot of it can be very contradictory.

1. Nuts and seeds are apparently one of the healthiest things you can chow down on and are serious store houses of all sorts of goodies, apparently they contain everything you need to live - however they are not necessarily well absorbed.

2. A panini from a shop is no harm really though a lot of this stuff is very processed so probably not as good as if you made it yourself.

3. You could probably benefit from a bit of fish as it is rich in minerals.

4. Liver once a week is loaded with good stuff though not the tastiest - full of iron and b vitamins which are good for energy, it's really cheap too.

5. A glass of carrot/ginger/apple juice would really kick start your day and give you bags of energy, a spoon of linseed oil in it will lubricate your whole body - I do it everday and it's pretty awesome.

6. The sugar in mi-wadi is bad! May taste great but it would leach a lot of your nutrients making you feel tired and weakening your body - you could try making fresh ginger and lemon tea - a slice of lemon and a few slices of ginger root. It is great for the immunity, warming the blood and keeping away colds, has a general feel good factor too, without the caffeine of tea which is apparently not great...but hey you can't give up everything..

Torakx

Forgive me if im wrong but it seems you dont have a dinner listed.
Do you eat dinner and are you trying to lose weight or just eat a bit healthier?
The nuts and seeds are a great idea.I munch on these all during the day and night.Great source of fats and protein.
If you dont have dinner i would be thinking you might not be eating enough.
But we will see what others say.
About the mi-wadi drinks, i would personally be more fearful of aspartame than sugar,google it to see what im talking about(propoganda maybe but i wont chance it),but i realise this fear is from an alternative view and might not agree with the official W.H.O reccomendations on that substance.

That tea sounds nice.I find drinking lots of water alot easier now that i put some slices of lemon in the glass.
Also when i get very hungry which is alot of the time,i tend to make sure i get enough protein and fill up on salad.
Its hilarious to see any of my meals, a full sized plate of salad and another plate to hold the protein lol
Annoying to eat from two plates!

Bombbastic22

Torakx wrote: »

Forgive me if im wrong but it seems you dont have a dinner listed.
Do you eat dinner and are you trying to lose weight or just eat a bit healthier?
The nuts and seeds are a great idea.I munch on these all during the day and night.Great source of fats and protein.
If you dont have dinner i would be thinking you might not be eating enough.
But we will see what others say.
About the mi-wadi drinks, i would personally be more fearful of aspartame than sugar,google it to see what im talking about(propoganda maybe but i wont chance it),but i realise this fear is from an alternative view and might not agree with the official W.H.O reccomendations on that substance.

That tea sounds nice.I find drinking lots of water alot easier now that i put some slices of lemon in the glass.
Also when i get very hungry which is alot of the time,i tend to make sure i get enough protein and fill up on salad.
Its hilarious to see any of my meals, a full sized plate of salad and another plate to hold the protein lol
Annoying to eat from two plates!

True. Aspartame is reputedly worse or at least as bad and I in fact know a certain someone who takes a lot of sugar in tea and after switching to artificial sweetners, seemed to have an increased instance of migranes.

Ya, actually what about the dinner dude? And the carbs, what about the carbs? You're eating some good stuff but sounds like you may be going to the loo all day if you live solely on nuts, apples, oranges etc....

Anyway, what you chow on is only half the battle, ya'll need some good cardio too.....no need for gyms either.....just a bike, a pair of legs and a couple of arms is all ya'll need. lol

rocky

Bombbastic22 wrote: »

True. Aspartame is reputedly worse or at least as bad and I in fact know a certain someone who takes a lot of sugar in tea and after switching to artificial sweetners, seemed to have an increased instance of migranes.

Sugar withdrawal symptoms by any chance?

Bombbastic22

rocky wrote: »

Sugar withdrawal symptoms by any chance?

Nope. This person just cut down on sugar, didn't eliminate it.

Though I gave up sugar for a few weeks once and sugar withdrawals are pretty nasty. It's crazy, you don't even realise how much pure sugar you're ingesting everyday. It's in all sorts of sauces, orange juice, breakfast cereals, etc etc. Just look at labels of stuff, you may be surprised at how much you consume everyday....and it drains you

Sugar withdrawals leave you confused and head achy and all sorts, did to me anyway. Then after a week or two I went to the cinema and chugged down one of those jumbo size cokes in the cinema and woke up feeling like total crap, had pins and needles in my fingers and everything. Worse than 10 pints. Doc said pins and needles in fingers were a symptom of diabetes but only a concern if it happened all the time and most probably happened cos I detoxed from itthen had a mega serious overload of it....seems to be true...

It is what they say - sweet poison.

picorette

Although most of what you mention is healthy, it does not seem substantial for a long term diet. Additionally, you do not mention your lifestyle. Do you have a desk job or more active employment? Do you exercise regularly? Do you drink much alcohol? Each of these would affect your dietary requirements.

If you do not exercise, then you should start, and you would require more carbohydrates for this. Porridge could be made a regular start to the day (you say you like routine). You should also consider additional protein, such as fish once or twice a week.

Finally, I would say that you can tell a lot yourself. How do you feel on this diet? Do you have much energy? Do you have any regular ailments, such as headaches? Do you have cravings for any particular food? Listen to your body and how it reacts, and you will be able to work towards a long term healthy diet.

MorpheusDream

First, thank you for the replies.

I realise I should add the following information.

No I am not trying to lose weight, I don't need to. I am trying to eat healthier is all, to see if it improves my sense of well being.

I do not excersise as such, but I walk a lot, my current daily average steps is 16224 according to my mobile phone's pedometer. I'm a student.

No I do not have a dinner listed, because I don't eat regular meals. I eat meals on occasions, like if I am invited to dinner or want to cook to impress, but it's not in my daily routine. I must be eating enough because I don't feel weak and I never go hungry.

I drink the "no added sugar" Mi-Wadi, but I realise just because they haven't added any doesn't mean it isn't full of it, I will have to check the label.

"carrot/ginger/apple" is that a mixture or a choice of?

Is smoked mackerel a good fish option? I could see myself eating a bit of that everyday.

**edit** I do drink alcohol, sometimes I could drink three times in one week and sometimes I could go a month and not drink at all. I don't think I want to deny myself anything I enjoy though, you only live once. I enjoy all the food I eat, I couldn't force myself to eat things that taste bad just because the food was healthy.

El_Dangeroso

Hi Morpheus, that is an odd diet.:) Do you not feel hungry in the slightest?

Nutrient wise, an egg or two, switch up the panini into a salad with potato every once in a while if possible, same ingredients and add olive oil to keep it the same cals.

Smoked mackerel is grand, can't stand the stuff meself! Try to eat a proper dinner rather than seeds and nuts. Nuts and seeds are good for a snack but their not really a substitute for a proper meal.

I know you like your routine, it makes life easier for sure, but do make an effort for a little bit of variety even if only 2-3 days a week, it really is the best insurance that you're getting enough nutrients.

MorpheusDream

Eggs! (smacks forehead).

Cheers guys, I reckon starting tomorrow I'll add fish, eggs and some kind of fruit juice in there,

I know it's odd, but it just makes more sense to me to eat when I feel hungry instead of eating set amounts at set times, with the exception of the morning obviously. I know it makes sense to fill up at the start of the day. I gave up a while ago trying to be "normal", much happier just doing what feels right.

Nothing like strangers on the internet to give you an outside perspective though!