Weight-Loss Beginner- Diet Opinion/Advice

[t0t1]

hey everyone, just joined. i'm 17, about 5'8 and weigh 195. i'm not in the greatest shape and definitely consider myself over-weight. i have an exercise routine (which i posted in the exercise section of the forum) but i wanted to know what you guys thought of my diet.

it's basically 6 meals a day with about a 2-3 hour waiting period in between each one.
1) bowl of cereal (right now it's special k) with 1 % fat milk
2) 3 egg whites with 2 slices of turkey ham
3) snack- granola bar
4) snack- fruit
5) chicken breast sandwich with lettuce and mayo, on wheat bread

at around 7:00 pm i start doing exercise and 30 min after i'm done working out i have a yogurt. i also try to drink a lot of water throughout the day and saturday and sunday are my 'cheat days'. it's not a specific diet out of a magazine or anything, more like something a friend helped me put together since it's so simple and doesn't require a lot of cooking. i think it's about 1500 calories, somewhere in that range i'm guessing. what do you guys think?

i was also wondering, what foods do i need to absolutely avoid? even on my cheat days?

 

[maleficent]

I think you need to spend some time reading the stickied threads in the nutrition forum...

and get an account at to keep track of nutrients as well as learning how to measure portion sizes...

you want this to be able to stay with oyu for the rest of your life and right now you're too diet-y.. you are doomed to fail with that..

 

[jeffisbig]

It looks like too little food at a quick glance. I'd recommend pick up some calories in there, but drop teh mayo and substitute some mustard maybe. It can go good with chicken and its sooo light on calories.

 

[hurrrr]

it's basically 6 meals a day with about a 2-3 hour waiting period in between each one.
1) bowl of cereal (right now it's special k) with 1 % fat milk
2) 3 egg whites with 2 slices of turkey ham
3) snack- granola bar
4) snack- fruit
5) chicken breast sandwich with lettuce and mayo, on wheat bread

You must eat more. This is probably less than 1500, and as someone who exercises your maintenance calories will be at least 2800. It's not advisable to drop more than 500 calories below your maintenance, so if I were you I'd look to eat about 2500 a day to start with.

You'll start to lose weight on that and eventually your weight loss will slow. Only then go down to 2300. If your weight loss slows again, recalculate your daily requirement and adjust as appropriate.

1500 is excessively low for your body and lifestyle. It's counterproductive as well, since going that low will likely force your body into "starvation mode" where it will try to hold onto as much fat as possible by putting the brakes on your metabolism.

at around 7:00 pm i start doing exercise and 30 min after i'm done working out i have a yogurt. i also try to drink a lot of water throughout the day and saturday and sunday are my 'cheat days'. it's not a specific diet out of a magazine or anything, more like something a friend helped me put together since it's so simple and doesn't require a lot of cooking. i think it's about 1500 calories, somewhere in that range i'm guessing. what do you guys think?

It's great that you're drinking a lot of water. Try and learn some basic cooking, though

i was also wondering, what foods do i need to absolutely avoid? even on my cheat days?

There's nothing you really have to avoid at all costs, because even the worst food will do little harm if consumed in small quantities. However, as a rule I never drink non-diet soda of any kind. Coke etc are full of high fructose corn syrup/sugar which will eventually wreck your body, and your teeth. Sugary drinks are probably the worst non-toxic substance you could possibly consume.

And the following I avoid 99% of the time:

Chocolate/candy - for similar reasons as Coke. Generally I avoid sugary foods. Not a problem for me as I don't have a sweet tooth but YMMV.

White bread/pasta - I prefer the whole wheat variety, which doesn't spike your insulin to the same degree. I wish I could stomach brown rice

Fast food - eg Wendy's/BK/etc. I do find Wendy's Baconator mighty tasty but it's full of refined carbs and saturated fat.

Cookies etc - refined carbs and tons of sugar. No thanks.

Potato chips - refined carbs again.

So, in brief, I avoid sugar and refined carbs. Good luck!