Looking for feedback on my current diet

[kairyudo]

Hi all, would love to get some feedback on my current diet. I eat fairly healthy but have recently gotten back into tracking my intake a with MFP and my Perfect Portions food scale. I'm 5'9, ~150lbs and do CrossFit 5-6 times a week. My current goal is to stay somewhere under 1700 cals/day. This is a rough example of what I've been eating over the past few weeks and it just feels like SO much food. Am I crazy? What can I improve? How do I get in more protein?

Would love to get some feedback and suggestions about how you ladies do it!

7:00 AM: Work out time (usually CrossFit, sometimes spin)

9:30 AM: Protein shake and coffee (protein powder + 1 cup of spinach + water + ice + a few pieces of frozen fruit) @ 210 cals

11:00 AM: 2 hardboiled eggs, broccoli + snap peas @ 235 cals

1:00 PM: Lunch (usually salad or veg with some sort of lean protein + carbs) @ ~ 450cals

3:00 PM: Medium sized pear or apple ~120 cals

6:00 PM: Snack (usually 2 lean turkey pepperoni) @ 100 cals

7:00 PM: Dinner (this week it's kodiak cakes + protein powder drizzle) @ 363 cals

8:30 PM: Greek yogurt + berries @ 150 cals

 

[iconoclast]

@kairyudo This is diet food.

People who say that 1700 or even 2000 calories is “soooo much food” have a dieters mentality and eat the food people who diet eat. This was me for months, couldn’t figure it out? But if it was “soooo much food” really nobody would ever get overweight.

You’re constantly eating because none of the things you eat are particularly high in calories.

All your meals except the salad and maybe the Kodiak cakes seem like a series of snacks. You don’t appear to eat any carbs except fruit and super low cal veggies, and also not a huge amount of fats. Eat a small coconut milk-based curry with a small side of basmati rice. Boom, 600-800kcal in one meal. Not unhealthy to do if home cooked, but a crazy simple way to eat a lot of calories for low volume. You can make a huge batch at the start of the week and seperate it out like meal prep.

Very few people who don’t have a dieting/fitness mentality in some capacity eat this way. They eat solid meals. They get plenty of calories (probably too many). It’s not hard. If you want to eat more, stop thinking with a diet mentality.

 

[james296]

@kairyudo

• Try pumpkin seeds. They're delicious, help with crunchy/salty cravings (if you get the salted variety), and pack in a good amount of protein. Snack on them alone, or add to yogurt or a salad.
  
• If you like peanut butter, the PBFit powder is delicious, lower in fat and calories than conventional peanut butter, but still a good source of protein.
• Try egg-white wraps. Basically just cook some egg whites in a small pan...slightly overcook them so them get really firm. Then, use the cooked egg white circle as a wrap for salad. Think of it as a tortilla or sandwich wrap alternative. Lots of protein, low calorie, and yummy. You can even season it to compliment the flavor of whatever you're wrapping inside of it.
• Also consider trying some higher protein fruit in place of your regular fruit portions. I happen to love prunes, but most people don't. However, guava (can be hard to find depending on where you live) and apricots are delicious and relatively high in protein as far as fruit goes.

Be careful that you're not going too low on your calories. I'm 5'10", ~130 lbs...1700 calories would be pretty decent cut for me. And, don't mind your coworkers...my coworkers make jokes about me eating all the time (which I am) and I just laugh-it-off or ignore them. Active bodies need adequate fuel (nutrition)...hunger is a sign that things are working as they should. As long as you're staying active and not eating junk, you'll be fine.

 

[kairyudo]

@james296 Thank you so much for this! All of these are really great ideas.

 

[jerryrichardson]

@kairyudo Easy ways to increase protein: add a hb egg white to your 11 a.m. snack; increased your lean protein portion size at lunch (instead of 112g chicken, make it 140g, or throw 56g of lunchmeat and a chopped egg white on your salad).

 

[dawn16]

@kairyudo I would say add more meat is an easy fix for protein. Ground turkey and turkey burgers are great because they can be widely used and paired. Or ground chicken for that matter.

I like to cook up veggie noodles (the string cut veggies) with ground turkey or put a turkey burger on top for either dinner or lunch.

I don't think that's too much food considering your height and activity level and current weight. Is there something that is making you feel this way?

 

[kairyudo]

@dawn16 I just kind of feel like I'm constantly eating to try and hit my macros. I also work in an office surrounded by people with very different eating habits than I have, so I get a lot of the "Do you ever stop eating?" comments when I'm enjoying my multiple snacks throughout the day.

 

[dawn16]

@kairyudo Could you maybe cut back the snacks and do larger meals that hit your macros and will keep you full during the hours you aren't eating?
I understand the office comments though because I work at one as well and get similar comments or people making comments about my "healthy" meals or if I turn down sweets. I've come to the point where I'm just like "eh fuck them, I'm doing this for myself and creating a healthy lifestyle."

 

[naturemade]

@kairyudo What are your goals? You are a healthy weight, but eating 1,700 calories at your height and with that workout routine, you'll be losing weight.

How much fat are you getting with this plan? I would try for at least 40g per day.

 

[kairyudo]

@naturemade I'm not looking for rapid weight loss at the moment, just looking to lean out and cut some fat at a slow and steady pace. I'm currently getting around 40-50g of fat per day.

 

[naturemade]

@kairyudo That sounds good to me, then.

 

[flajerz]

@kairyudo 1700 for your height/weight/activity level sounds really low. How have you been feeling? Adding some nuts to your snack of a fruit can add some protein.

 

[kairyudo]

@flajerz I think eating more is still something I need to mentally wrap my mind around. As someone who used to be ~30lbs heavier than I am now (mind you this was 3+ years ago), I think I still struggle with the concept that more calories can actually = fat loss.

 

[jessicastone]

@flajerz 5-6x/week CrossFit could bring up that TDEE quite a bit depending on how intense the workouts are. I’d try varying things a bit to see how you feel. Add in some jerky or cottage cheese to your snacks to get more calories/protein and see how you feel for a few days.

 

[kairyudo]

@jessicastone I would say my workouts are more on the intense side, I try to push myself as much as I can for the hour I'm at the gym.

I always forget about cottage cheese, but I love it!

 

[julie1031]

@flajerz I’m 5‘9 and my TDEE is around 1900-2200. 1700 is a good amount of calories if you want to cut. I cut a little further and aim for 1500 because I’m very impatient. OP should be fine!