diet

What I eat in a Day (Cutting)

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Hey guys, so I just started cutting about a month ago and I thought I’d share what I eat in a day. Please keep in mind that every body is different and our caloric needs vary depending on gender, height, weight, and activity level, which means you shouldn’t determine your nutrition on what I eat. This is just to give you some inspiration and to share my progress. Also, let me know down in the comments if you’d like to know how I’ve been dealing with the cut. Keep in mind, I only eat this way during the week, I allow myself more flexibility on the weekends.

With this cut I’ve aimed to up my protein and healthy fats while slightly lowering my carbs. My calories have dropped compared to my bulking phase but it won’t remain like this for long; I will gradually increase my calories to maintenance level with time.

Healthy Breakfast For fat loss

BREAKFAST

Definitely still my favourite meal of the day! I usually have breakfast around 10am, consisting of two eggs with gluten free toast and almond butter every morning. I usually train right after breakfast so this is a filling meal and it’s balanced with protein, carbs and healthy fats, giving me the energy I need for weight training. I also had coffee with almond milk right after.

Healthy Lunch Ideas

LUNCH

Lunch hits at about 2pm for me and I keep it pretty simple with chicken and veg, I always love to add the carbs smart 1000 island dressing, which is a low calorie dressing. I’ve also been sticking to chicken breast most of the time as it’s more lean than dark chicken meat and I make sure I have a healthy serving of greens. I also have my second cup of coffee after this because I love it!

SNACK

My snacks vary each day but on that day I had a few almonds and blueberries, sometimes I have apple slices with almond butter instead, but again I kept it simple with protein, fats, and carbs. I also have a bowl of popcorn from time to time if I’m craving something salty. I snack around 3-4 pm.

Healthy Dinner Ideas

DINNER

My last meal of the day right before 6pm, I had beef stir fry with chickpeas. I always use lean grass-fed beef, it’s great protein along with the chickpeas. Again I’m addicted to this banting dressing! I also had a piece of Sweet Switch 70% Dark chocolate after dinner; it’s dairy and sugar free! I usually have tea after, I’ve been loving this Chocolate Roobois Blend, or if I’m being reckless I have coffee, but I’m still working on stopping that. (Just keeping it real nobody’s perfect).

Check out my last what I eat in a day Bulking edition right here!!!

Thank you for reading this post! I hope you enjoyed it, if you did please like and comment. Follow for more posts like this one, xoxo.

Healthy Food Staples

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Healthy Grocery Staples

When trying to eat healthily, it’s easy to get confused by the variety of products on the market. Many foods are marketed as being ‘healthy’ but are often not; brands use words such as ‘low fat’, ‘low carb’, ‘high in protein’ and ‘low calorie’ to entice us into buying their products. However, these foods are often filled with several unhealthy ingredients. For example; protein bars are marketed as a healthy, ‘high protein’ snack, but are filled with sugar. This is why it’s important to always read the ingredients.

It will get easier to choose which foods are best for you with time, but to make it simpler, here are some whole-food staples that are widely available and versatile. These are gluten and dairy-free but I’ve also listed foods (italicized) which I don’t include in my nutrition due to allergies.

CARBS

  • Oats
  • Quinoa
  • Sweet Potatoes
  • GF bread
  • Potato Gnocchi
  • Veggie Pasta

PROTEIN

  • Chicken Breast
  • Lean Beef
  • Eggs
  • Fish
  • Chickpeas

FRUITS & VEGGIES

  • Bananas
  • Berries
  • Spinach/Kale
  • Broccoli
  • Lettuce
  • Bell peppers

OTHER

  • Olive oil
  • Coconut oil
  • Cinnamon powder
  • Organic Honey
  • Unsweetened plant-based milk

I hope this post is useful in helping you tackle the basics of eating balanced, please follow and let me know what you think. Thank you for reading, xoxo.

Green Juice Recipe for Detox

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I haven’t always been a fan of green juices, mostly because it’s an acquired taste, but lately I’ve been giving it a try because I feel like my digestive system needed a boost. The best thing about a detox juice is that it has all the benefits blended into one. It’s simple and quick, but my issue has always been the high folate levels in green juices; folate is found in spinach and avocado, and it doesn’t always agree with me.

So the recipe below is a green juice for beginners, you don’t just jump onto the green juice frenzy, you ease into it.

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Ingredients:

  • 1 small green apple
  • 50 grams of sliced cucumber (or a handful)
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 tbsp matcha powder (unsweetened)
  • 1-2 cups of water

Tip: pass the juice through a strainer.

Other Ingredients you can add or substitute with:

  • ginger
  • mint
  • spinach
  • parsley
  • apple cider vinegar
  • avocado

 

The possibilities of a green juice are endless and effective if you need a cleanse for either weight loss or detox. The juice is one I make in the morning and before breakfast, I don’t usually have it every day, but if you’re trying out a detox week then this would be a good idea.

I hope you try it out and if you do please leave me a comment. Follow for more posts like this one and thank you for reading, xoxo.

1 Week Detox Guide

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Lately I’ve been feeling out of sorts, my afternoon dip has worsened, I find it hard to concentrate and I feel sick after meals. Especially after my birthday weekend, with all the cake and indulgent eating, I think it’s time for a week of detox. This is to repair my gut, increase my energy and boost my metabolism. Throughout this week I will be sharing my plan to re-stabilise my body and flush out the toxins (giving you all advice and keeping myself in check at the same time). Keep in mind that you should not take any drastic steps in your diet or workout without consulting your doctor first, you don’t want to consume too few calories or work your body into burnout. So here is my guide for the week ahead.

Things to avoid:

  • Sugar (no more cake)
  • Dairy
  • Gluten (this might be harder for some of you, but try and give it your best shot)
  • Coffee (I know it hurts)
  • Processed foods

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Things to enjoy:

  • Fruits
  • Vegetables
  • Nuts
  • Chia seeds
  • Oats
  • Quinoa
  • Almond milk
  • Lemons
  • Matcha
  • Herbal teas
  • Smoothies
  • Water (a lot of it)

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IN A TIPICAL DETOX DAY…

  1. Drink water as soon as you wake up
  2. Workout for 30-60mins
  3. Drink lemon water before breakfast
  4. Have a smoothie for breakfast
  5. Drink more water
  6. Switch coffee for some green tea
  7. Have a clean lunch; this can be a soup, salad, quinoa and veggies with chicken…
  8. You guessed it, more water
  9. Dinner: keep it light
  10. Water, water, water!

 

Additional tips:

  • Intermittent fasting can be an additional boost to detox your gut
  • Get 7-8 hrs of sleep
  • Practice mindfulness for at least 10 mins
  • You can keep meat/poultry in your diet for protein if you like or you can leave it out
  • Exercising shouldn’t be taxing on your body, don’t overdo it

 

WHY?

  • Chia seeds? They cleanse the gut, removing toxins and they keep you satisfied for longer.
  • Water? Most of the time our cells are screaming for water and we’re too busy to notice. Water literally will flush out toxins and it’s also necessary for bowel movement (yeah, I just had to go there).
  • Coffee? Let’s make this simple, it gets you high but you’ll eventually crash and you will crash hard. Why don’t we take a break from the adenosine attack.

 

I hope you all got something from this post, follow for more like this to come. Thank you for reading, xoxo.

Matcha Mint Apple Smoothie

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This smoothie is a great detox breakfast or snack, packed with antioxidants and a high content of chlorophyll (green pigment in the leaves) which cleanses the body of toxins. The green apples have a high fibre content, keeping you satisfied for longer and the mint not only adds flavour to the smoothie, but is also rich in nutrients such as; vitamin A, iron and manganese. In other words, this smoothie is just the energy boost you need in the morning, but without the crash.

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Ingredients:

  • 1 large green apple
  • 1/2 tsp matcha powder (unsweetened)
  • a few mint leaves
  • 1 cup almond milk (unsweetened)
  • 4-5 stevia drops (or any sweetener of choice)

 

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Directions:

  1. Throw all the ingredients in a blender, add some ice and enjoy!

 

I hope you all enjoy this recipe and please leave a comment below if you try it out, xoxo.

The Best Weight Loss Method

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This is something I implemented after hitting a weight loss plateau, it took me some time to come across it but If you’re reading this at the beginning of your fitness journey, you should definitely take advantage of this. At one point in time your body gets used to the way you’re eating and your workouts, if you aren’t yet ready to make any further changes to these two then this method is for you.

What is it? 

Intermittent Fasting. Don’t worry, I’m not making you skip meals for the day or anything like that, most of your fasting time would be spent sleeping. If you haven’t heard of it, intermittent fasting is basically just concentrating everything that you eat in a shorter period of time. For example; I start eating around 10am and stop around 6pm and I have around 5-6 small meals.

What are its benefits?

Intermittent fasting allows your digestive system to rest when you are ‘fasting’ and eating in a limited time period allows your body to burn more fat, as it boosts your metabolism. It also helps curb cravings and prevent binge eating (I know you’ve ended up hunting in your kitchen at 1 am at least a couple of time… I know I have.) I tested intermittent fasting for 1 month, without any exercise and while being a bit more lenient with my diet. After the 1 month of no exercise and gluten free bread every single day, I lost around 3kg. Now, I’m not saying never workout and eat anything you want while trying this out, but I’m just showing you how effective it can be. Obviously, I went back to my workout routine and cleaned up my diet, because I knew it would be more effective that way.

How do you Approach it?

Well, you have a couple of options. You can try 8/16 or 10/14; meaning you’d eat within 8 or 10 hrs and fast for 16 or 14 hrs. You can start eating at any time you want, I personally prefer 10 am, but some people choose to start between 12-2pm, it’s completely up to you. Take your bedtime into consideration as well and at what time you’re appetite is the strongest. Also ensure that you’re taking your daily caloric requirements, do not starve yourself at any point in this. You may feel hungry if you’re used to eating late at night but your body will get used to the timings after some time. You’re allowed to drink coffee or tea even when fasting, without any sugar or creamer however.

A different approach would be to commit to intermittent fasting for only a couple of days, let’s say 5 days a week. This leaves the weekends out, an essential, especially when you have social obligations.

A Day at a Glance 

  • 10am- breakfast
  • 11.30 am- coffee/ tea or a snack
  • 12.30 pm- lunch
  • 2pm- snack
  • 3pm- coffee/tea
  • 6pm- dinner

or

  • 12pm- lunch
  • 2pm-snack
  • 4pm- second meal
  • 6pm- snack
  • 8pm- Dinner

I hope you enjoyed this post and let me know if you do try out intermittent fasting and how it goes along for you. I hope to see you again soon, xoxo.

How I Feel About Diet Plans

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If you’re like me, you might find it pretty hard to follow meal plans or recipes, which makes eating healthy way more difficult than it actually is. I am currently gluten free, dairy free, soy free, nut free, and seafood free! Not to mention, I avoid high folate foods.  This means I can’t follow just any meal plan, especially with those green smoothies flying around all the time. However, I have come up with a few substitutes to help ease the process and how you should concentrate on what you can eat.

Here are some of my suggestions:

  • Unsweetened Rice Milk (instead of almond or soy milk)
  • Coconut sugar or honey (instead of stevia or maple syrup)
  • Vegan chocolate (instead of milk chocolate)
  • Raw cocoa powder
  • Chia seeds (for fibre)
  • GF corn crackers ( I like Schar Crispbread)
  • Dates (as a sweetener in baking)
  • Unsweetened dries coconut chips (I like Neofoods)
  • Quinoa
  • Cauliflower rice
  • Coconut oil (in baking instead of butter)

These are only a few of the substitutes you can find. Meal plans are great, but they’re not for everyone. What’s important is to design one for yourself, according to your tastes and food limits. Remember to take your daily calorie needs, and protein/carbs/fat ratio into consideration. It all depends on your body type, activity level, age and gender; some people need more protein while others need more fats. I like to follow a 1200 calorie, high protein meal plan, but this won’t suit everyone, so make sure to research about what you need, instead of the latest diet trends.

I hope this was helpful in any way possible and to see you next time. Follow and like for more posts! Xoxo.