my broke a@@ diet. what should i add?

[lockjaw211]

well im a broke ass. so i have a broke ass diet. i will list what my 6 meals a day look like and you tell me what i should add or subtract. i try to drink 3 liters of water but thats tough. i usually get down 2. also i eat some walnuts in between meals. i take gnc vitamin. im not a nutritionist but i train alot so i try to eat good. o yea i weigh about 175. 6'0" if that helps out any advice will be great.thank you

breakfast= 1 cup oatmeal (not cooked i just chase it with orange juice or milk)
1 banana

2nd meal= 1 cup brown rice , banana , glass of milk

lunch= chix breast , can delmonte spinach, glass of milk, carrots

4th meal= wheat pasta. apple , glass of milk, broccoli

5th meal= eggs with ragu sauce, tomato juice , banana

6th meal= usually one of the above meals again

 

[Richard Emling]

what are your training goals it will help define your diet

 

[lockjaw211]

my goals are to have energy and stamina in matches (bjj for now). im not looking to put on size or bulk. just want to be healthy and have a good diet.

 

[Vovchanchyn Fan]

broke or not, you're probably eating better (nutrition wise) than a lot of people.

the only feedback I can see is that you might be short a bit on your omega-3's. You'll get some from the walnuts, but since its not clear how many walnuts you are snacking on, a fish or krill oil supplement might be a good idea. Other (cheaper) option is to make sure the eggs you are getting are omega-3 enhanced (they feed the chickens flax seed or something...the container will be labeled Omega-3 enhanced) and that will accomplish the same thing.

 

[KOU In3]

Add in a couple of cans of tuna. It's very cheap and will help up your low protein intake.

Depending on your caloric goals, PB&J's are a very cheap source of decent calories.

Your diet is focused primarily on clean carbs currently. It's not bad in and of itself. But I would add some protein to it personally.

 

[bacon]

Unless you have a potassium deficiency, you don't need 3 bananas a day. One is enough. Banana's (large ones) have about 110 calories or more in them.

Other than that...
Tuna
Frozen Veggies
Oranges

someone already said it, but you eat better than 90% of the population.

 

[Vovchanchyn Fan]

Add in a couple of cans of tuna. It's very cheap and will help up your low protein intake.

Tuna is great protein, but I stopped eating it due to the mercury concerns...I thought I saw something noting that you should only eat 1 -2 servings of tuna per week in order to avoid excessive mercury exposure?

 

[Nate Pringle]

Natural Peanut butter and a solid protein source will help you out too. Try chicken breasts or tuna. Ground turkey would be good with your pasta. Add some egg whites to your morning meal - keeping a little protein in each meal will make you feel more full and will aid in your muscle recovery aftera hard rolling session. Ive also heard about the mercury/ tuna issue. Ive read that white tuna has less mercury in it but its more expensive than the other type so cost may be an issue. personally i eat a can day and hope its not going to kill me in the long run haha.

 

[lockjaw211]

thanks for the help and suggestions. i stopped eating tuna because i heard about the mercury content to. maybe i will have two meals with chix breasts to add more protein. i want to add some kind of beans to maybe that will aid in protein.

 

[lockjaw211]

o yea, about the protein , i thought each of my meals had at least 30 grams per meal wich would be 150 grams. should i be shooting for 170 grams or more than that?

 

[KOU In3]

Ive read that white tuna has less mercury in it but its more expensive than the other type so cost may be an issue.

Actually the 'chunk light' tuna (0.12 ppm) is the cheapest and also the lowest in mercury content of the tunas. Compare to canned albacore at 0.35 ppm or tuna steaks at 0.38 ppm. the e.p.a. on tuna


albacore ("white") tuna has more mercury than canned light tuna

Mercury content is a concern in lots of the fish we eat unfortunately. Generally larger (and hence older with more lifetime exposure) fish are going to have a higher mercury content. As will fish that eat other fish. Shrimp and salmon are going to have similair mercury contents to canned tuna.

Five of the most commonly eaten fish that are low in mercury are shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock, and catfish.

For more info on actual mercury content of various fish go here. There is also a mercury calculator to see how far your weekly intake exceeds that reccomended by the EPA (mine is at about 170% but I'm not convinced that it'll be the first thing to kill me.)