I get asked all the time what I eat.
Broadly, I say that I eat real food — anything that can be picked from a tree or vine, dug up in the garden, has four legs, wings, or gills! For the visual learners, I’ve come up with “the plate,” a guide to building more real food meals than you could possibly count.
But I understand the urge for something more specific. When I’m navigating my way through unfamiliar territory (like meeting with my financial planner!), I appreciate concrete steps as opposed to overarching concepts.
So here’s what I eat on a typical day.
Breakfast – 3 egg omelet/scramble with 1 cup veg and 1 slice prosciutto, topped with ¼ avocado and ¼ cup salsa; ¼ cup blueberries; 2 cups coffee with 10 percent cream
Lunch – Huge spinach salad with tons of veg, 5-oz chicken, 2 slices of bacon, 3 olives, topped with pine nuts and an olive oil/balsamic dressing
Snack – banana & almond butter (2 tablespoons)
Dinner – 6-oz steak, steamed veggies drizzled with butter, ½ sweet potato, 5-oz glass merlot
This leaves me feeling pleasantly satisfied, and free of cravings for highly processed, sugary junk.
Whenever I present this to audiences, they usually say one of two things (both of which suggest that eating well and feeling deprived needn’t belong in the same sentence):
- Yum!
- I could never eat that much.
Stay tuned for next week’s post where I plug all of this food into a nutritional calculator for the nitty gritty details on total calories, fat, protein, and carbs. It’s quite eye opening.
Now I want to hear from you. What does your typical day of eating look like? Could you eat real food like this on a regular basis, and how might that impact you? Any guesses on what macronutrient (fat, protein, carbs) I consumed the most of?
I’m looking forward to reading your comments.
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Hi Carolyn,
This is really helpful! This is similar to my days, BUT after reading your daily, I realize how much ‘extras’ are sneaking in…(chocolate, dairy, etc.)
I would love to know your thoughts on processed meats (bacon, etc.).
Thank you!
Natalie
Hi Natalie, it’s so easy to have the “extras” sneak in. For me, it’s a matter of not bringing them into the house, because moderation is nearly impossible — if junk food is in the house, I can’t stop thinking about it until it’s gone!! As for processed meats (bacon, sausage, ham, prosciutto, salami), I don’t think they’re quite as bad as the media has made them out to be as of late, but I still wouldn’t rely on them as a main protein source. Hope that helps, Carolyn
How much more of all this would a typical guy eat?
It depends on activity level. I eat a bit more than most typical females just because I’m training for a marathon, so what I presented here would probably do most moderately active men. But if they are very active, I’d say about 200-300 more calories than this would be fine. Carolyn