A lot of the readers of my blog have been asking lately “what does a day of your meals look like?” and while what I eat changes day to day I figured I would share what a typical 24 hours looks like. Keep in mind, I truly believe that in order to stick to any meal plan (I don’t like to use the word “diet”), you must enjoy what you are eating. Below is a run down of what some of my typical meals look like, some of my favorite snacks and why I stick to a lot of the same items day after day, week after week.

For me my daily foods usually revolve around whatever my current fitness goal is. For example, when I am aiming to put on more muscle mass in the winter time, my focus is not on super low calorie meals or foods, but higher protein meals that are substantial and help me to put on some size. In the winter months I aim to lift heavier, consume more calories and eat in more of a calorie surplus. Without taking in more calories than my body needs I would never grow in size. An average amount of calories for me in the winter months is around 2,000 to 2,200. 

In the spring and summer months I am working on leaning out and maintaining my muscle, but I drop my calories a bit more. I average around 1,650 to 1,800 during that time. Since it is May now that is what my current calories will look like. I focus more on low to no carb and follow a ketogenic diet. I have been following a higher fat, low carb diet for over 8 months now and love it. Yes that means this past winter I did not consume a ton of carbs, even healthy ones, because I have felt really amazing doing a low carb diet. I still maintained my weight and muscle so for me it worked out very well.

I am currently on average around 112 lbs and am 5’5′. My body fat fluctuates between 14-15.5% depending on my workouts, amount of cardio and diet. I lift a minimum of five times per week and currently do cardio with almost every workout – that might be a stair master burn out session or HIIT cardio circuits. I don’t do long distance running and really don’t enjoy the treadmill to run, but I do enjoy walking on a high incline and doing interval training.

Now that I’ve gotten all the fitness stuff out of the way let’s talk about current foods and meals I am eating….

Mornings / Breakfast :

In the morning I consume coffee with cream and stevia. I don’t use skim milk since it has added sugar so I stick to cream. I tend to get Dunkin Donuts a lot and always bring my packets of stevia and order cream only.

For breakfast food I go with turkey bacon (usually 2-3 slices), egg whites and spinach. I sometimes add full fat shredded mozzarella cheese on top. This is a ketogenic friendly breakfast and it fills me up until lunch time. Sometimes I turn these into egg muffins and they are so delicious!

Snacks:

If I get hungry before lunch I snack on raw almonds and/or raw cashews. I love nuts and have them with me at all times. Since they are a healthy fat they give me great nutritional benefits, but they also fill me up.

If I know I have meetings and can’t get to have a normal, sit down lunch, I pack a protein bar. While they do have carbs I picked protein bars that are super high in fiber which helps to bring down the net carb count. I like Quest Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, D’s Naturals No Cow Bars and the Oh Yeah One! protein bars. They are all high in fiber which helps to keep me full and give me over 20 grams of protein.

Another great snack is cold, hard boiled eggs. I pack a few in a ziplock bag and have these with me if I need to get a quick bit of protein in and no time for a meal. I pack small peanut butter packets too for me to eat quickly and fill me up.

Lunch:

Usually I make and meal prep my lunches so I make my meals and put them in meal prep containers and then heat them up at work or eat them cold when I have limited time. Most of the time I make my meals with some type of organic chicken (pulled chicken or grilled chicken), a green vegetable like broccoli and another vegetable like cauliflower. I don’t add any rice or yams or any carbs – just protein and veggies.

Sometimes I like to make a big pot of grass fed organic beef chili that is loaded with vegetables and then smothered with mozzarella cheese. Chili fills me up and is such a hearty and easy meal to make in a crock pot for a few days.

Another great meal for lunch is making low carb meatballs and just having them hot or cold. I have tons of recipes on my site for low carb meatballs that you can test out

Dinner:

For me dinner is pretty late, since I work out after a full day at work and then get home usually after 7:30pm. I usually make some type of salmon, chicken or grass fed beef. I always make a hearty green salad with olive oil dressing and add in things like peppers, olives and broccoli slaw.

I always make green vegetables like string beans, snap peas or broccoli. I load up on tons of vegetables and again no carbs. I use coconut oil for my vegetables or olive oil as a healthy fat and use Oh My Spice seasonings for lots of flavor.

Evening Snack:

In the evening I get hungry sometimes so I like to have full fat cottage cheese on hand, add some cinnamon and sometimes chia seed granola. That is my only cheat carb that I have for some crunch. It is like a dessert for me and I also add a small scoop of protein powder for flavor. It literally tastes like ice cream to me and fills me up so I don’t wake up hungry.

Protein Shakes:

I don’t drink a ton of protein shakes, but if I know I want to get more water in each day sometimes I fill up a shaker bottle with ice, some unsweetened almond milk and 1 scoop of either Vega One protein powder or NutriWhey protein powder. Both are natural and do not use artificial colors or sweeteners. If I have time I will use a Nutribullet, add some organic berries, ice, almond milk, water and a scoop of peanut butter for more of a milk shake which is always delicious! I prefer chocolate over vanilla, except when I make a shake with berries and then I prefer vanilla.

Overall most of my meals are made with healthy fats, no to low carb, lots of veggies and lean meats. I hope this is helpful for you as you plan out your meals too! To ensure you never falter always stock your home ONLY with foods you want to eat and avoid having cheat snacks available to tempt you.

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