If you’re reading this, you might be one of the thousands of people who have DM’d me over the last few years asking me to do a post on what I eat in a day or what my diet looks like. This is borderline my most requested post ever (if not the most requested post ever)! To be honest, I have avoided writing this post (or straight up said ‘no’ to writing this post) for years, for a few reasons, that I would like to make clear, before I share with y’all what a typical day of eating looks like for me.
- I am not a nutritionist or a food expert by any means. Today I’ll share with y’all what a typical day of eating looks like for me, but I am in no way telling you guys that you should all eat like this. We all have different body types, different levels of activity, different lifestyles, and genetic make-ups. So, I am not giving advice in this post at all, because I honestly don’t think I’m qualified to do that! I can remember times when I’ve read other bloggers “what I eat in a day” post and thought to myself “omg I eat 10x more than she does – what is wrong with me?!”. And that is the last thing that I want to go through your minds when you read this post! Don’t compare or feel like you need to eat exactly like this. We are all different. Maybe just use this as a post to give you some healthy meal or snack ideas!
- I do not eat perfectly, or even close to it. I try to eat pretty healthy for the most part but I can put a bowl of queso away like no body’s business and I eat ice cream probably 5 out of the 7 days a week (and that’s if I’m being good LOL). So, I’ve been a little hesitant to share what I eat in a day because it’s far from perfect!
OKAY. Now that I’ve gotten those things out of the way, I’ll share what a typical day of eating looks like for me!
a.m.
- First thing’s (always) first: coffee. I’m obsessed with my nespresso machine (see this post all about it), and I typically add a little bit of almond milk to it, and of course, a scoop of vital proteins collagen peptides
- [Pre-workout]. I usually workout in the mornings and I have to have at least a little something on my stomach before I hit the gym. I typically have 1/2 a banana with a little bit of almond butter!
- Breakfast. I typically eat after my workout, and my breakfast typically looks like one of the below options:
- Veggie scramble (1 whole egg + 2 egg whites) with bell pepper and spinach. 1 slice of whole grain toast (I love Dave’s Killer bread) with 1/4 mashed avocado on top. Fruit (usually raspberries + blueberries). This is my go-to breakfast like 4 out of the 7 days a week. I love it and love that I’m getting protein, grains, veggies, fruit, and fat all in one meal
- Fab4 Smoothie. I recently bought the book Body Love by Kelly LeVeque and 100% recommend it to every single one of you. I said the same thing to my mom and sisters! In addition to incredible content on health and wellness, she shares TONS of recipes that incorporate her “Fab4” principles (essentially the main 4 macronutrients we need in every meal to fill us up and balance blood glucose levels). This book shares tons of Fab4 smoothie recipes and I’ve been making those in the morning for both me and Michael. They are so delicious, incredibly filling, and obviously packed with nutrients we need!
- Purely Elizabeth oatmeal – y’all already know how obsessed I am with Purely Elizabeth granola, but I also love her oatmeal. I’ll make this with a little bit of almond butter and a banana for a yummy and filling breakfast!
snacks
So I know that there are a million different theories and arguments about snacking being bad for you, or “you should be eating every 3hrs”…I feel like people are all over the place with their theories and I can’t keep up. All I know is…I know my body, and I tend to be hungry about every 3 hours, so I typically have a snack in between breakfast and lunch, and in between lunch and dinner. If I’m not hungry, I won’t. But most days, I’m hungry haha so I usually have two snacks a day. Here are some of my go-to snacks”
- Low fat cottage cheese (I know, I know, most people think it’s so gross) topped with blueberries
- Low fat greek yogurt with fruit (and sometimes a little Purely Elizabeth granola).
- Apple with handful of almonds
- RX bar (probably my favorite protein bars).
- Carrots and hummus
- Mixed nuts / trail mix
- Vega protein shake
- Handful of peanut butter m&ms LOL which is exactly why we can’t keep them in the house!
lunch
I haven’t mastered a lot of really healthy lunches I love. But, I’m a creature of habit so I usually have the same thing 9 out of 10 times haha. Here are some of my go-to lunches:
- Salad with tuna (like, canned tuna!). I make it with spinach, cucumber, bell pepper, slivered almonds, avocado, dried cranberries, and either salsa for the dressing or balsamic! If I have quinoa made already I’ll sometimes throw that in there
- Open face turkey sandwich: On the same bread I linked above, I will add mashed avocado, spinach, cucumber, turkey, cracked pepper and put it in the toaster oven. It’s SO good. I’ll usually eat this with carrots and hummus and/or greek yogurt
- Breakfast for lunch – sometimes I’ll just make one of the breakfast options I listed above for lunch haha I love breakfast food.
- Hodge podge salad – a lot of times I’ll pretty much throw a mix of whatever we have in the fridge to make a big salad. As long as it has protein, veggies, fat, and a good dressing…I’m happy haha. And squeezing a lemon over your salad always makes it more tasty too!
p.m.
So dinner is kind of hit or miss in the health department for me haha. Michael goes to class two nights a week so on those nights I typically will just make a salad at home or go to Whole Foods to get something from their salad bar. The other 5 nights of the week, if we cook at home, we cook healthy. I’ve found a lot of great healthy recipes I love in this Body Love book, in this Whole30 fast & easy cookbook, or from Skinnytaste.com which is one of my favorite recipe websites. I also save a lot of recipes to my Pinterest boards, so be sure to follow me on there too! Typically dinners at home are something simple like chicken or salmon with simple sides like steamed veggies and quinoa. Or shrimp with zoodles, or a white chicken chili, or turkey taco lettuce wraps. I would say 95% of the things I make for dinner come from one of the 3 sources above!
We also really enjoy eating out though (trying to cut back but when you travel all the time, it makes this hard! It’s also hard because there’s just two of us, and we usually split…meaning our dinners out are pretty cheap for the most part!). When we eat out, I typically just get what sounds the best off the menu. Sometimes that’s a beautiful kale salad with salmon. And sometimes it’s chicken quesadillas and nachos with queso haha. I eat healthy 90% of the time so if when we go out to dinner, if I want to enjoy something not so healthy…I don’t really sweat that. In my opinion, living a healthy lifestyle does not have to be an “all or nothing” thing.
Like I mentioned above…I am a dessert fiend. I’ve tried breaking the habit for years and at this point i’ve kind of just accepted that it’s not going anywhere haha. BUT, I’ve tried to make my cravings a little bit more manageable by having things in the house that aren’t quite as loaded with calories and sugar. So, after dinner sometimes I will have a little bit of this dark chocolate (omg it’s so good), or something like enlightened ice cream (which has more protein and way less sugar and calories than normal ice cream). So, those are my “healthy” desserts haha. But I also love eating real ice cream or splitting a pazookie at BJ’s or sharing a piece of cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory. Remember – this is a judgment free zone!!
So, just to recap. Yes, I typically eat 6 times a day haha (breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack)…which is a lot for most people! But, again, this is what I’ve found works for my body type. I could never imagine just going meal to meal without my snacks ha. But, I’m also very active (I workout 5-6 days a week), which means I probably get hungry more often than most people!
In case you didn’t know this about me already – health and wellness are something that are extremely important to me. I might not eat perfectly but I really do strive to fuel my body with the nutrients it needs to be strong and have energy and just live well. SO…I am so excited to share with you guys that I’m actually teaming up with Tula to host a wellness event in Boulder! See below for all the details!:
- When: Saturday, April 14. 2:00 – 4:00pm
- Where: Location will be confirmed upon purchase of a ticket, but it’s at a cool event space in Boulder where Dailey Method will lead a class!
- What: Come enjoy a barre class, TULA skincare consultations, and chatting about all things fashion, wellness, and beauty!
- Tickets are on sale HERE // Quantities are limited, so get yours now while you can!
I would love love love to meet you guys in person and just chat about all things skincare and wellness related! Hope to see you there!
Outfit details: Free people embroidered top | Denim shorts | Leather tote
Thanks for reading! Again, I am no nutritionist or food expert, but I hope this post maybe gives you some healthy snack ideas or shows you that life and health really is all about balance! That’s my mentality at least 🙂
xo Lauren
