Proper eating

[Geo51]

I am a 5'11" 185 Lb man. I work out 3 times a week with weights and 2 days cardio. I am 52 and thin. My eating habits suck. I can tell because I run out of energy fast. I workout at around 5:30PM. At 6AM I have a protein shake with 1% milk, a cup of blueberries, a banana, and about a table spoon of peanut butter. I also have two cups of coffee. I get to work at 7:30am. I eat a handful of almonds and walnuts around 9am and a bottle of water. At 10am I have a kashi bar. At noon I have a tuna sandwich, and a yogurt. At around 2PM I have a handful of nuts and or a kashi bar. At 4PM I have an apple with peanut butter. I try to drink a lot of water during the day but most of the time it is only 3 - 9oz bottles. I go to the gym at 5:30 and warm up. As I said less then halfway through my work out I feel weak and tired. I drink a bottle of water during the workout and then again on the way home. I eat another apple on the way home. When I get home I have another protein shake like I had in the morning. About an hour later I eat dinner sometimes. If I eat dinner, I have a piece of meat or chicken and a baked potato, maybe some broccoli or green beans. I also have another water or a glass of diet 7-UP. Between 8 and 9PM I am hungry again. I eat wheat crackers and sharp cheese or low fat potato chips. At around 9 I have about a cup and a half of low fat ice cream. At 10PM I am in bed. I don't want to get big, I just want to be firm and have a little muscle. I used to be fat. I grew up a fat kid and have always been chubby. I have finally lost the weight but I find I am still always yo yo dieting. I am a junk food junkie and it is very hard for me to leave it alone. I am doing well along side how I used to eat. I am a picky eater. I don't like fish if it taste or smells like fish. I don't like many vegetables. Please help! Any advice would be appreciated. I want to be healthy strong and in the best shape I can be in as I grow older. Thanks George
You can e-mail me at Geoeverett@verizon if you want. Thanks again!

[EricaJuneBaby]

Looks to me like you need to start adding some real food into your diet and stop with the little snacks here and there, kashi bars and handfuls of nuts and apples and protein shakes are fine but seems to me you're replacing real food with them. Where's your breakfast? What about eggs? Oatmeal? something hearty to make you full and give you energy? You're a man and as a man burn a lot more calories then women but you kind of eat like a woman on a diet..
If you're trying to build muscle you need to stop worrying about getting fat (and I know that's hard having been overweight myself) eat slightly above your daily caloric needs.. try dailyburn.com or something like that to find out..
Picky eaters can be changed, btw, you're not doomed to be one, introduce new foods in your diet every week even if it's scary at first, look up a recipe to cook it, if it doesn't work try another recipe. You can make anything taste 10 different ways with creativity. When I met my hubby he ate like a child, everything boring and plain, slowly over the years I've got him eating almost everything I give him and likes it! (except tofu lol!)
GET liking vegetables, they are soo important for your long term health. You don't need to eat fish either, there's plenty of other proteins.

[Geo51]

Thanks for your advice. Sorry I am just getting to it. You have me pegged well. I will try to do as you have said. Again Thank you for taking the time to help!

Looks to me like you need to start adding some real food into your diet and stop with the little snacks here and there, kashi bars and handfuls of nuts and apples and protein shakes are fine but seems to me you're replacing real food with them. Where's your breakfast? What about eggs? Oatmeal? something hearty to make you full and give you energy? You're a man and as a man burn a lot more calories then women but you kind of eat like a woman on a diet..
If you're trying to build muscle you need to stop worrying about getting fat (and I know that's hard having been overweight myself) eat slightly above your daily caloric needs.. try dailyburn.com or something like that to find out..
Picky eaters can be changed, btw, you're not doomed to be one, introduce new foods in your diet every week even if it's scary at first, look up a recipe to cook it, if it doesn't work try another recipe. You can make anything taste 10 different ways with creativity. When I met my hubby he ate like a child, everything boring and plain, slowly over the years I've got him eating almost everything I give him and likes it! (except tofu lol!)
GET liking vegetables, they are soo important for your long term health. You don't need to eat fish either, there's plenty of other proteins.