A day in the life: what goes in my belly!

If someone ever tells you they never indulge, they never eat off their plan, not a sip of wine, no sweets...Hmmmm.  I wouldn't believe, them!  Would you?  I eat pretty darn healthy and stick to something like this maybe 80-85ish% of the time.  This is what works for me and my body.  It took me a long, long, LONG time to figure it all out and figure out what makes my body happiest.  I've done weight watchers, counted calories, this crazy thing called the rice diet (we ate a lot of white rice.  Not good!), low carb, high fat.  We've all been there and so many of us have tried many eating plans.  The truth is that one plan may fit one person perfectly but be totally wrong for another.  So the biggest hurdle is finding out what works for YOU.  Lots of trial and error, tweaking, growing old and hopefully growing wiser!

What I have learned over the years is that although I am not vegetarian or vegan, my bod just prefers a very plant-heavy diet.  And that's totally okay because I happen to love my plants!  I love veggies, fruits, beans, nuts - all that fun stuff.  But I do also eat lean protein sources and little bits of dairy here and there.  Back in my days of a more traditional low carb diet, I was a total carnivore!  Now I prefer smaller portions of chicken, turkey, fish and red meat once in a while.  You love red meat?  Then eat it!  It's all about balance, moderation and finding what you like so that you can stick to a healthy meal plan that you enjoy.  Because eating is fun!  I like food.  I like it a lot.

And...I also like wine.  :)  Hey, it makes me happy!  So I make room for it and I also make room for a quality sweet once in a while or sometimes a whole meal if eating out. 

But most days, this is what my plan looks like.  Call me a rabbit, that's okay.  But what I am NOT is starving!  No one is happy when they have an empty belly.  I get super cranky-pants!  I've said it before that it comes down to planning.  If I know I'm going to be out and about for a long time, an apple and 10-12 almonds easily gets packed in my purse or left in the car.  Nothing complicated about that!  And water, of course.  :)

So here is my rundown of a typical day:

Pre workout: coffee with unsweetened almond milk and stevia, 10 almonds (yes, I count them out!)
Breakfast: vegan chocolate Shakeology, blended with ice, water and 1/4 cup avocado (or 1/2 banana)
Snack: HB egg (just one, not the whole dozen!)
Lunch: typically a GIANT salad with lots of greens, veggies and usually chicken or turkey. Many times, however, I'll just do meatless with maybe some edammame, hummus or beans thrown in
Snack: berries and Greek yogurt, sometimes just fruit or fruit with a few more nuts.  always COFFEE at some point in the afternoon.  I said I like wine, but I think I like coffee even more.  ;)
Dinner: either another huge salad or lots of roasted and steamed veggies, another lean protein
After dinner: I'll usually snack on some baby carrots and maybe some more berries, melon, an apple or all of the above!

Happy eating!!!  If you need any help, I'm here!  Let's plan out your menu if you're trying to shed some weight, feel better or just want to get a better grasp on portion sizes!