eating balanced

What I eat in a Day (Cutting Edition)

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Hey guys, welcome back! In this post I’m going to be sharing what a normal day of eating during lockdown is for me. Obviously there have been some changes in the way I eat lately because my energy expenditure has decreased and my cravings have changed, nevertheless this is to help give you some inspiration if you’re running out of ideas. I’d like to preface that you do not have to follow how I eat because nutrition is something very personal, which is why I avoid sharing how many calories I eat in a day. However, I thought that a post like this could be fun and give you some ideas. Let’s work on improving our nutrition not restricting it. (If you want more what I eat in a day content, check out my instagram @healthbossblog) So here is what I eat in a day…

overnight oats

I admit my appetite has been hectic during lockdown and I assume I’m not alone in this. Lockdown has probably done a number not only on our physical health but our mental health as well. I personally found that I’m not as hungry in the morning as before, since I don’t can’t to the gym during lockdown, so I have breakfast a little later than usual. I am also currently intermittent fasting, with the 16/8 method which is why I usually break my fast around 11-12am. If you want to know more about how I intermittent fast, let me know down in the comments, but break my fast with some camomile tea with apple cider vinegar and honey. Then a typical breakfast for me right now is protein oats or eggs with gluten free toast.

Contrary to what you might think, I still enjoy certain foods like bread and cookies as long as they meet my caloric needs. My method of cutting isn’t as strict because I plan to take it slow and continue with it for at least a few months. Which is why I take it day by day and I don’t stress about it much. Although I’ve researched about other methods of cutting, I’ve tried to reappropriate certain methods to my own lifestyle and nutrition requirements and I urge you to do the same by starting slow.

Healthy Lunch Ideas

A typical lunch for me looks like this, usually a source of protein like chicken breast or lean beaf (since I can’t have fish), with a source of carbs (quinoa, potato gnocchi, veggie pasta, or sweet potato) and some type of greens. My meals are definitely balanced, and it varies from time to time. I won’t lie there are days where I just want to eat toast, and that’s alright because I listen to my body, I eat intuitively and I don’t stress about it much. Dinner is usually the same, sometimes I have a snack in between but that depends on how filling my lunch is although I do have coffee with unsweetened almond milk throughout the day.

Rice Spring Rolls

Dinner that day was pretty quick, using leftovers from lunch and rice paper wraps, I made gluten free spring rolls with an asian hot sauce. They were surprising low in calories but quite filling and they’re definitely one of my go-to meals. Plus I recently got into eating with chopsticks recently and although my skills are debatable, they are worth the experience when eating spring rolls and rice noodles. Usually I have a black decaf after dinner with some stevia when my fast has already started and that is it for a day.

I hope you enjoyed today’s blog post, please like and follow for more what I eat in a day’s. Thank you for reading and I look forwards to seeing you again, xoxo.

What I Eat in a Day…

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Hey Everyone, I’ve recently noticed how my relationship with food has changed within the past few months. I know exactly what my body needs and following that instinct has led to making progress in my fitness goals and mental health. This is sometimes referred to as ‘intuitive eating’ but it doesn’t always come naturally. Intuitive eating is personal to every individual; which means that intuitive eating for me is different from what it means for you. Nevertheless, a ‘what I eat in a day’ can give you some inspiration and show you that eating healthy doesn’t mean bland food. This is what I eat on an average day, keeping a balanced dairy and gluten-free diet.

BREAKFAST

This is definitely my favourite meal of the day! (That’s saying a lot cause I love every meal) Before eating I have a glass of water and my coffee with almond milk. I normally eat around 10am and I have a few breakfasts I alternate between, but today I chose my healthy banana pancakes. These never get old, they taste amazing and they usually hold me over until lunch. I love adding protein powder to the mix, especially if I have a weight session that day and my go to protein is the Organifi Vanilla.

LUNCH

This is my second meal of the day and I usually have it between 1-2pm. I like to think of my meals as balanced; carbs, protein, and fats. Today I had stir-fried veggie quinoa with grilled chicken breast. Quinoa is definitely one of my favourite sources of carbs, it’s easy to make and it takes less than 15 mins. I usually stick to lean protein so chicken breast is also a usual.

AFTERNOON SNACK

This is my pre-workout snack that I have between 4-5pm. This time, I had a protein coffee smoothie with banana, cacao nibs, and chia seeds. Gives you a great boost of energy while still being light, plus it’s ideal for my coffee lovers. If you’re tired of your typical green or berry smoothies give this one a try!

DINNER

Gluten Free Pizza! You can’t go wrong with that. The crust is from Schar and it takes about 30 mins to prepare. This is a quick, easy dinner that I indulge in at least once a week. Unfortunately, Schar recently added Soy protein to their recipe so if you know any good gluten, soy, and dairy-free crusts, let me know down below. After dinner I tend to have something sweet; either dark chocolate (I like sweet switch’s 70% Dark), vegan hot chocolate or if I’m hungry, like I was on that night, I have some granola with blueberries and almond milk.

That’s it for the day, as you can see, I don’t restrict my eating or track my calories. Keep in mind I am currently trying to build muscle steadily and I workout 4-5 times a week. One thing to keep in mind is that not everyone should eat the same diet, but this is what works for me and I hope you enjoyed reading this post. Please like and follow for more posts, 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.