Please critique my calorie-controlled diet as to how I could make it healthier or more nutritious

[BadSkiingMum]

Hi, I’m trying to lose a little bit of weight and boost my general health - I am 5 ft 8 and currently about 12 stone 8 with a BMI of 26.8.

I am working to a goal of 1800 calories and generally managing to hit 1650-1700. This might not seem a hugely impressive deficit but I was often eating 2500+ before with quite a bit of UPF. My maintenance calories are 2150. I am maintaining my weight and easily wearing a pair of summer trousers that were getting a bit tight last year.

I would like any views on how I can make my diet more nutritious, so more essential nutrients. I see lots of recommendations around ‘Eat X for antioxidants’ or ‘Eat Y for this essential fatty acid’ but it’s a case of translating that into real life.

My meals:

Breakfast - all weighed
Porridge oats soaked in hot water
Greek yogurt 100g
raisins
mixed seeds
coffee with milk x 2

Snacks - examples
piece of rye bread with butter
Water biscuit, Ryvita, oatcakes or rice cakes
One fig
Cashew nuts
Apple or mango pieces

Lunch
Vegetable soup
Ryvita with 30g cheese and 5g butter
piece of fruit

Sometimes I have eggs or salad for lunch but that ends up being higher calorie overall.

Supper - examples
Lentil chilli with rice and salad
Sausages (good quality) with roasted vegetables and broccoli or peas
Salmon en croute with vegetables or quinoa and green salad
Fruit or yogurt

On days when I am doing it properly I weigh absolutely everything and log it on my app. But, I have to be a little careful as I had a couple of episodes of disordered eating in the past and can feel myself getting a little fixated on the scales - the food scales that is!

Any comments or suggestions? As above, I’m more interested in healthy additions or substitutions rather than further calorie restriction. Thanks.

I don't weigh food any more. I found that if I go under 2000 cal I stop losing weight and if I pay attention to what I am eating it seems to naturally sit at 2000 cal and I lose weight on it. I am 5 7 and was 12 st 10 and ended up at about 10 st 10 (slightly more just at the mo).

Every meal: try to eat protein and fresh fruit and/or veg and some healthy fats. That's it. Also every snack.

So your breakfast: I would go fresh berries rather than raisins (or frozen) or something I did this morning is make a smoothie with beetroot, raspberries, a few dates and some greek yoghurt and use that to mix into mixed grains and chia seeds to make "overnight oats"

Snacks: avoid if you can altogether (eat more at meals so you aren't hungry) but if you must include carbs, fats, proteins and fruit or veg. So apple with peanut butter; oatcakes with cottage cheese and tomatoes etc.

The rest of your meals look OK. I make big salads for my lunch (eating one at the moment that is cooked quinoa dressed with olive oil and lime juice and soy and honey with chopped carrot and cabbage and spring onion (done in a food mixer) and topped with peanuts. It's DELICIOUS. And it keeps for four or five days in the fridge.

Make sure you are getting enough fibre -- it's game changing for appetite regulation. I don't look at calories any more, but I do try to get 40g of fibre a day and 80 or more of protein a day.

Good luck!

Swap the Greek yogurt for a protein one. Porridge in hot water sounds a bit boring, you can get sugar free syrups or forgo the coffee and put your milk in your porridge.

your dinners are great, but your lunches and breakfasts need more protein to keep you full. Eggs are a great source of protein- you don’t have to fry them. Calories aren’t your enemy if you use them right. Ryvita with cheese won’t keep you full for long. I’m not sure how salad can work out as more calories than cheese and butter on ryvita.

I think weighing every single thing is not really a good idea when you have been prone to disordered eating and you don’t have that much weight to lose. Try eating until you’re satisfied but not too full instead.

Not going to pretend I did this myself, I put it through ChatGPT and this was the output, Gen AI is shit at lots of things but it’s actually pretty good for diet and exercise ideas.

Breakfast Optimizers

You already have a great base here.

Suggestions:

• Add a few blueberries or raspberries to your porridge a few times a week – they’re low-cal and rich in antioxidants (esp. anthocyanins).
• Swap raisins for chopped dried apricots occasionally – better potassium, iron, and vitamin A.
• Try flaxseed instead of some mixed seeds (or in addition) – for omega-3 ALA and lignans (a great phytochemical).
• Consider fortified plant-based milk or occasional sprinkle of wheat germ if you’re looking to boost B-vitamins and folate.

Snack Improvements

You’ve got the right idea with fruit, nuts, and wholegrain crackers. These are easy wins with a little tweaking.

Suggestions:

• Add hummus or a bean dip (1–2 tbsp) to go with oatcakes or veg sticks. This adds fiber, iron, magnesium, and protein.
• Swap water biscuits or rice cakes sometimes for wholegrain crackers with seeds (e.g. pumpkin or sunflower)—slightly more calories, but much better micronutrient density.
• Boiled egg or small tin of sardines/mackerel once a week: rich in choline, vitamin D, and omega-3s.

Lunch Upgrades

Soups and Ryvita are fine, but they can sometimes lack iron, zinc, and B12—especially if vegetarian.

Suggestions:

• Add a spoon of hemp seeds or nutritional yeast to your soup or salad – this gives extra B vitamins, zinc, and complete plant protein.
• Try dark leafy greens (spinach, watercress, rocket) in your salad or soup. These are easy to batch prep and rich in folate, calcium, and iron.
• Add fermented foods like a forkful of sauerkraut or kimchi a couple of times a week. Great for gut health and some B-vitamins.

Evening Meal Tweaks

You’re doing very well here with lentils, oily fish, veg, and variety.

Suggestions:

• For lentil chilli, add sweet potato, red peppers, or frozen spinach for an antioxidant and fiber bump.
• Try cooking with extra virgin olive oil or adding it after cooking — provides polyphenols and heart-healthy fats.
• Rotate in tofu stir-fry or chickpea curry—plant proteins with iron, zinc, and calcium (esp. if tofu is calcium-set).

A jacket potato is better for you than rice. A bigger piece of salmon without the pastry is more nutritious. Grilled chicken is better than sausages.

I think protein seems very low. I would ditch the dried fruit / mango. Aim for 100g of protein a day.

Thanks, some really useful thoughts. I’ll respond in more detail tomorrow.