Confused about food

Hello, I have read all kinds of information about diet.  You should eat 5 meals a day, only eat protein, don't eat this or that.  I am a very simple guy and I don't like to look at what I am eating, I don't care for  measuring or any of that stuff.  I just want to know what is considered a good diet plan to follow for a 5 to 6 meal day.  I know that I am eating stuff that I shouldn't and not getting enough water, and I will correct that part, but I am having trouble finding good answers to these simple questions.  What does a "good" breakfast consist of.  Is it one bowl of cereal, is it oatmeal, should I eat anything else with that?  What is a good snack?  Is it a piece of deli meat, is it yogurt, or both?  What is up with the protein shakes?  For dinner I will eat whatever my wife cooks, but she cooks to make sure that I am following a good diet.  We usually have veg., meat, and complex carbs.  My wife is Asian, so we have a lot of rice, but I make sure to eat a little, if I eat any at all.  Can you please help me or atleast direct me in a good direction to find out some more information.

I think you need to see a dietitian. Go talk to them and let them work out a plan based on the things you like and will eat. the alternative - take a community college course on nutrition. good luck!

Hi Rodney, You pose a good point that there is soooooooo much information out there about what to eat that it's confusing! The reason you're not finding answers to the seemingly simple question of "what's a good breakfast" or "what's a good snack," etc. is because the answer can be different for everyone. Suppose you have a higher calorie requirement than I do (because you might be an active man whereas I'm a small, moderately active woman) then the answer to the question "should you eat deli meat or yogurt or both for a snack?" would be different for you than for me. Make sense? I agree that working with a dietitian would be helpful for you. What you like to eat can be taken into consideration, along with your medical history in order to establish a good diet plan FOR YOU.  In the meantime, maybe reading about eating healthy and basic nutrition would help things make more sense.  I wrote a website with the intent to simply nutrition and inform people of how to make better choices.  The site is about nutrition, not weight loss surgery specifically, but see if anything here helps you. I hope so!! http://www.personal-nutrition-guide.com/healthy-eating.html Suzette