Need help setting up a diet!

[blobula]

Hey everyone! Great info on this site!

I'm needing some major help in getting a good diet and nutrition plan for me. I'm , 5' 6", about 135 pounds. I have a slender build and fairly fit as well. I do jog and work out, but not on a day to day basis. I'd like to start working on getting muscle definition and strength. From doing some reading it looks like diet is very important in maintaining a good build and becoming better fit.

Basically I don't really have a scheduled eating pattern. I'm single and sometimes eat early/late, make something for dinner, or grab something from a fast food place. I'm all over the board. If I do workout I will eat about 1 hour before doing anything, and will usually eat some fruit afterwards.

Here's a schedule, but I can't really go into much detail.

6:30am - wake up and go to work. 80% of the time I don't eat any breakfast. If I do it's yogurt or an egg sandwich from Burger King or McDonalds.
11:30am - go to lunch. Sometimes I have a turkey sandwich on wheat bread. If I go out with friends then it's usually some sort of chicken wrap, tacos, or salad.
5:30pm - dinner. This varies in what I eat.
8:00pm - Snack of some sort.

I think if I could get diet more healthier and have a good time line it would help me a LOT. Basically I'm just looking for ideas on what I should eat at different times during the day and what would help benefit me when working out. Also, are juices (apple, orange, etc.. or lemonade ok to drink)?

Thanks for any opinions. I'll be happy to provide any more info that might help.

[Boss Man]

6:30am - wake up and go to work. 80% of the time I don't eat any breakfast. If I do it's yogurt or an egg sandwich from Burger King or McDonalds. (Make time, you need breakfast. I would reccomend something simple, so have a bowl of whole-grain cereal, you could add the yoghurt here, and then scramble a couple of Egg whites, and a Yolk to boost up the Protein. Fast and easy.)
11:30am - go to lunch. Sometimes I have a turkey sandwich on wheat bread. If I go out with friends then it's usually some sort of chicken wrap, tacos, or salad. (Pretty good)

(2:30pm. Snack. Have something like an Apple, could add some Low Fat Cheese, or some Sliced Turkey meat as examples. Eat the Fruit about 10-15 minutes beforehand, to give it better digestion.)

5:30pm - dinner. This varies in what I eat. (Got to nail this down. Know what you're having, and give yourself perhaps 3-4 weekly options, to keep things simple, and so you don't just make any old thing, with no real structure)
8:00pm - Snack of some sort. (Again do that here. Don't be indecisive. Be bold in your approach, make some options and stick to them, otheriwse you might have days, when that snack is just any old thing you can find, because you don't have 3-4 clear structured snack options, and therefore don't buy food accordingly.)

[blobula]

Thanks bossman!

I guess question now would be what are considered healthy options for dinners? Tacos, sandwich, pasta, etc...?

In terms of snack foods would Fig Newtons, granola bars, chips and salsa be ok, or would that ruin any progress that might be made after a workout?

[Boss Man]

Screw the Chips and Salsa.

For dinners you can have stuff like this.

Chicken and small portion of Rice.

Chicken and Veg.

Turkey Instead of Chicken.

Fish and Rice.

Or Soybeans instead of Flesh Sources, with your Veg.

Beef and Rice.

Small portion of Pasta, with Chicken, or buy the Protein Enriched stuff.