What I Eat in a Day

As promised, I’m going to be doing a series of posts on my fitness journey and figured that what I eat in a day would be the perfect place to start. I summed up my fitness journey pretty quickly on my Instastories a week ago, but will reiterate here why what you’re eating is the most important aspect of it. It took me a very long time to understand food. I was always a skinny girl who could eat a disturbing amount of wings and fries and would order a double cheeseburger anywhere they were served. I was “skinny”, so it was fine, right? When I decided to begin consistently working out two years ago, I thought I could hit three miles on the treadmill, then go on about my day with the same bad eating habits. When I finally wanted to clean up my diet, I started buying what I thought was healthy, like pre-packed green juices, and pre-packaged breakfast bars so that I could add breakfast into my routine. I had it all wrong, for a very long time. Now I’m currently what I personally feel is the healthiest I’ve ever been and have a good grasp on my eating to get the results that benefit my body best. Here’s a look into what I typically eat throughout my day –

8 oz. of Water

Upon waking up. Yep, even before coffee. I will warm up at least 8 oz of water and squeeze half of a lemon into it. If you don’t like the taste of lemon water, just make sure you’re hydrating as soon as you wake up. If you’re wondering why I squeeze a lemon into the warm water, it’s because I want to take advantage of the many benefits such as boosting my immune system, maintaining my bodies natural pH balance, and helps with digestive health. Make sure you’re drinking plenty of water throughout the day. You should be needing to pee at least once every 90 minutes.

A Protein Shake

To me, this counts as a meal. Within 30 minutes of completing my morning workout, I come home and make a protein shake with unsweetened almond milk and protein powder in a Bottle Blender. My current favorite is Protein World’s Slender Blend in vanilla, but I will rotate it with Garden of Life Fit Protein if I’m trying to slim down, or Garden of Life Meal Replacement Protein if I’m trying to maintain or even gain muscle. Chug that and go. We run through Bottle Blender’s like crazy in our house since we use them for pre-workout and protein shakes, so I suggest this 3-pack for everyone.

Coffee

Once I get into the office, I make a cup of generic breakfast blend coffee. I add about two table spoons of sugar-free creamer and put a dash of cinnamon on top. My concern is always avoiding sugar, not necessarily calories, but if my at-home coffee is more than 30 calories, I’m not drinking it. Coffee can be an over-the-top item, which is why many professionals suggest drinking it black or cutting it from your diet entirely if you’re wanting to lose weight, but I’m not interested in going without coffee ever. I aim for dairy-free, low calorie, sugar-free creamer options and add no additional sugar. Try and save your coffee for after you eat. Caffeine suppresses your appetite and is more likely to make you skip breakfast if you’re not used to eating it, which is the opposite of what you want to do!

Breakfast

I went 26, almost 27 years of my life without eating breakfast. It wasn’t a “thing” in our home on the weekends outside of cereal or frozen pancakes, and as an adult it was something I could definitely do without. When I did start to eat breakfast, I’d pick up a sausage biscuits + hashbrowns from McDonalds, or a bagel with cream cheese if I was on campus. Eating breakfast was a good thing, except for the fact that I wasn’t considering the nutritional value in what I was choosing. For breakfast, I rotate a few things and typically wait until well into the morning (9:30-10:30 am) to eat, since my protein shake leaves me full for a few hours. You can jump straight into breakfast if you don’t have a protein shake, just make sure you EAT BREAKFAST. I’ll make a variation of these egg bite omelettes and have two with a slice or two of Ezekiel Bread, or whole wheat toast. I’ll make peanut butter oatmeal other days, where I mix a serving size of cooked oatmeal with a scoop of protein powder and top it with a spoonful of peanut butter, a dash of cinnamon and two sliced strawberries for some extra micro-nutrients. This will leave me full for hourssss. Avocado toast is super popular, but I may only have it once a week. Although healthy fats, avocados are packed with them and can be high in calories. On the weekends when I have a little more time, I’ll make protein pancakes with a handful of oats, a banana, a scoop of protein powder & one egg.  I blend all ingredients with a little almond milk and they typically make enough for 4-5 small pancakes. For an easier option, I love these Kodiak Cakes plain or with added chocolate chips or blueberries. They allow you to make so many other protein powered snacks like muffins and brownies. Skinny Taste is my favorite account to follow for healthier recipes that are still delicious, and she has a TON of breakfast ideas to work with. The most important part of breakfast is eating REAL food, not something frozen you microwave or unwrap.

Lunch

I pack my lunch to work almost everyday and all of my meals are a mix of a lean protein, a veggie and a complex carb. For example, I’ll make turkey meatloaf with mashed red potatoes and broccoli, or a burrito bowl with this chicken and black bean crockpot recipe, over brown rice, topped with pico and avocado. Lunch can be simple, but delicious enough for me to eat for a few days. Some of my other favorites are quinoa fried rice with extra veggies and added shrimp, or honey teriyaki salmon with jasmine or cauliflower rice. I aim to have veggies with three of my daily meals and will load up soups, rice mixtures and anything else I can with veggies. Find a way to add them in, especially green veggies.

Snacks

Now that I know better, I’m forced to do better. Snacking for me used to be a highlight where I’d grab a bag of chips, a rice krispy treat, double stuf Oreo’s and cheez-its. Now, I can’t believe I used to eat like that! A small meal (still real food, not necessarily a “treat”) is what I prefer. I no longer keep a drawer full of chips, cookies and chocolates (yes, I’m shaming you). Now, I keep almonds, peanut butter and rice cakes on hand. My afternoon snack while I’m still at work is generally some fruit, an apple or mixed berries, and greek yogurt or a serving of tuna. I’ll also pack a few slices of organic deli turkey (slice yours fresh, because packed deli meat can be over the top with sodium) and a cheese stick, or I’ll buy hummus to go with cucumbers and a few pretzels. Here’s a long list of snack ideas to help you out.

Dinner

Dinner and lunch are typically interchangeable meals for me, consisting of the same portions of lean proteins, veggies & a complex carb. There are certain things I can’t eat reheated, like chicken breast, so I typically make that fresh for dinner. Easy ideas are loaded sweet potatoes, or skinny enchiladas verdes paired with a tomato, cucumber and lime salad. I also hardly ever take salads for lunch, so I can get creative at home with those if that’s what I’ll have for dinner. Nate and I easily eat these salmon patties over lettuce with sweet potato a few times a month.

What I eat in a day is generally five smaller meals, as opposed to the three main meals some of you may be used to. I hope this was helpful! If you have any specific questions regarding my routine, planning or food choices, please feel free to leave them in the comments so that I can get them answered! I know you all found my grocery store haul pretty helpful this past Sunday, so if you have any particular fitness post ideas you’d want me to elaborate on, let me know.