The idea of describing what I eat in a day is may seem easy, but for me I don’t follow specific diets, caloric measurements or macronutrient counting. I follow some guidelines of how to eat, when to eat, and then eat whatever I want. I can tell you exactly what I eat in a day, but I think it would be more beneficial to you to know my key guidelines as to how I eat. Especially as a travel nurse and triathlete, no day looks exactly the same. My only goal is for you, the reader, is to take some of these tips I have for how I eat and incorporate the ones you absolutely love into your life.
I typically start my days off waking up between 6am-7am and immediately go straight for the coffee. Ill sit down or go for a walk with the puppy and drink my coffee (always black) before I do anything. Usually around 6:30 or 7 I’ll start my first workout that’s almost always an hour of aerobic work (low intensity steady state cardio) to get the body moving. Right after that I make my shake - which is the same shake I’ll take every morning. I always do almond milk with cytogreens, collagen protein, creatine, and either a half a frozen banana or half cup of oats and depending on how much time I have, if I don’t make 3 eggs with spinach for breakfast I’ll add a scoop of ghost vegan protein in there. The shake may sound gross but if you find a good brand of powdered greens, they can actually taste pretty good. Ill throw in the link below to the greens I’ve been using for a couple years now (I’m not even sponsored by them I just really love them). Then I’ll run my errands or get some school work done before I do an afternoon workout, for example today I did a more intense swim that was about 45 minutes of a solid effort. But before that, I made a cappuccino, usually with oat milk but sometimes I’ll use Italian sweet creamer and then some sort of fruit for energy. Right after my swim Ill come home for lunch. I try to do a salad for lunch but often times I end up making a wrap with veggies, a fish protein like tuna or sardines, and a side of something crunchy like veggie sticks or nuts. In the summer my family gets a veggie box from local farmers that is random each week so whatever is in the box, I’m usually using as well as home grown tomatoes and a leafy green. After that I give my legs a rest, throw on the normatecs and either nap or watch something mindless for an hour. I take my dog out for a walk then get going with my third workout of the day. Today is a threshold run with a group at the track. Before I run depending on my energy level after getting up I may have a single shot of espresso, I just really love coffee. During the run I usually make sure I take in electrolytes. After my workout is dinner and that’s always with family or friends. I try to eat at least one meal with people I love. Dinner is always a meal made with love for me, a few of my staples are homemade pizza or pasta, grilled veggies and salmon, or a stir fry. I may have a glass of wine or kombucha after to help with digestion and then something sweet. In the summer its usually ice cream or a bowl of Reese’s puffs. I try to stop eating around 7 on my days off because it helps me get a better nights sleep.
A day at work looks a bit different. I usually wake up and have my cup of black coffee prior to work with my morning shake and depending of if I workout before or after work ill add protein to the shake in the morning. Then I around 10 ill grab another cup of coffee before I sit down to chart/round with the docs. At 11 I usually have a protein snack like Greek yogurt or a protein bar/cookie. For lunch if I don’t pack anything I get a big salad from the cafe that usually has tomatoes, beans, cucumbers and a protein. I always need a midday pick me up which is usually a fruit or nuts around 4 then ill do a very easy run after work and eat dinner around 8. Depending on if I’m up for cooking or not I may get chipotle or CoreLife.
Some key points with eating that I try to stick to is on my days off I try to eat a big breakfast. This always helps me feel satiated for the rest of the day and gives me the energy I need to do all the workouts I have planned.
I like to make sure I eat or drink something fermented. There's a lot of research on the benefits for your gut flora when you eat or drink things like kombucha, wine, pickled veggies, or fresh veggies grown locally.
I always eat a meal with family, if you know about the blue zones, every culture that lives a healthy lifestyle eats with people they love and the food they love. I think that’s the key to longevity, which is eating and living with a purpose, sharing laughs and smiles while eating and taking your time.
I don’t count calories, I eat to hunger. When I get hungry I try to make sure its a full meal. If I start snacking I usually can’t stop and that’s because you never feel truly full when you snack and that’s what causes people to overeat or binge eat. I also workout a lot and to try and restrict calories will hurt my energy level and I wont be able to complete the workouts as planned.
I eat plants with every meal. I take my cytogreens in the morning that have all the micronutrients the body needs to function properly, but nothing compares to actual veggies. Your body needs the fiber. Eating whole foods are important for so many reasons. One, your body needs to release enzymes to help digest and break down whole foods more than processed, in doing that your body goes through what’s called a thermogenic effect where it actually uses calories (energy) to break these foods down therefor you’re burning calories for eating right. It’s pretty cool.
Every meal has a veggie. I like to say I’m plant based, and that term needs to be taken with a grain of salt because I still do eat fish, dairy, and eggs. I just know that 80% of my meals are based around plants and whole grains. But that percentage can be different for everyone as long as you keep it above 50.
I hope you are able to take away some of the standards I try to hold myself to when it comes to eating, just know that I don’t eat perfectly everyday. I have days where I’ve eaten a whole pizza, a half dozen bagels, a box of cereal, a pint of ice cream, and the list goes on. Those days are absolutely necessary to be happy and just live. But I make sure I get back on track and try to notice how those things make my body feel so it doesn’t happen again too soon. The phrase everything in moderation is overused but very true. If you make 80% of the foods you eat what most people consider healthy, I think you’ll live a long happy disease free life.
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