Nutrition is key to success whether it be in sports performance or weight loss. I get asked regularly to share what I eat with my clients to help inspire them with their diet. I don’t cut anything out from my nutrition and instead I have everything in moderation. Control is not something I have always had over my diet, as a teenager, for 7 years I suffered from an eating disorder.  I was severely under weight, food controlled my life and I did anything I could to avoid eating. Now, I appreciate the value of a healthy, balanced diet and the importance it has on my mental well being and active lifestyle as a mother and personal trainer.  

As a mother, I hope my son and daughter enjoy their food and have different cultural influences, expanding their experience and knowledge in order to make informed decisions about what is a healthy diet. As a personal trainer, I want my clients to identify the importance food has on improving their mental and physical health and and reduce the risks of diabetes, heart disease, cancers and obesity;  all of which are on the increase in the UK and associated with poor diets and lack of exercise.

All clients with Fit + Fabulous complete food diaries on an online application which I monitor and analyse weekly. My analysis is based on UK government and NHS guidelines in conjunction with my knowledge of sports nutrition. I am looking for each client to gain an understanding of portion sizes, food groups (fats and sweets; dairy; meat fish and alternatives; fruit; vegetables and pulses grains and cereals) and macros (protein, fat and carbohydrate). Each client depending on their energy intake are allocated a recommended portion amount per food group which replaces counting calories. All of this is related to weight loss or enhancing sports performance.

For the last week I completed my own food diary to give an example of what I persevere as a balanced diet for an active female with my build. I class myself as very active, doing at least an hour of moderate to intense exercise per day. My macros change daily depending on the exercise I undertake, for example on the days I lift weights my protein levels will increase to help aid recovery and build muscle.  Portion sizes are not given as this would be individualised depending on your personal statistics. Please note that this is for example purposes only and not to be copied. Please get in touch for your own personal analysis.

Monday

Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs, wholemeal bread, tea with milk

Snack: Cashew and brazil nuts with dried mixed berries and coffee

Lunch: Giant couscous and quinoa salad and oven baked chicken breast

Snack: 4 seafood sticks, peanut butter with breadsticks and coffee

Dinner: Pasta in a home made tomato and spinach sauce with chicken and green beans

Snack: Melon and grapes

Tuesday

Breakfast: Weetabix minis fruit and nut, skimmed milk and tea with milk

Snack: Sunflower and pumpkin seed mix, 300mls skimmed milk and banana protein shake

Lunch: Spiced lentil warm salad with breast of chicken and mango

Snack: Black grapes, peanuts, banana and coffee

Dinner: Baked salmon fillet, sweet potato, broccoli, peas and mangetout

Wednesday

Breakfast: 2 poached eggs, wholemeal bread, tea with milk

Snack: Carrots, sweet peas and low fat hummus, coffee

Lunch: Homemade chicken and vegetable soup with wholemeal bagel and banana

Snack: Frozen strawberries, raspberries and pineapple, 300mls skimmed milk protein shake, coffee

Dinner: Homemade lasagna with mixed vegetable medley

Snack: Dark chocolate and ginger biscuit with green tea

Thursday

Breakfast: 2 poached eggs, wholemeal bread and tea with milk

Snack: Apple, brazil and cashew nuts with dried berries, coffee

Lunch: Oatcakes, homemade smoked mackerel pate with cherrie tomatoes and mixed leaves

Dinner: breast of chicken, bulgar wheat and bean salad with sweetcorn, peas and carrots

Snack: Grapes, melon and green tea

Friday

Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs on wholemeal bagel and tea with milk

Snack: melon and avocado with coffee

Lunch: Brie, cranberry and bacon wholemeal seeded toasty with side salad

Snack: Homemade banana loaf and coffee

Dinner: Homemade beef and mixed bean chili, basmati rice, corn chips with cheese and 250ml glass of red wine

Saturday

Breakfast: Eggs Benedict and glass fresh orange

Snack: 1/2 danish pastry with coffee

Lunch: New potato, prawn and avocado salad

Snack: Cashew and peanuts with coffee

Dinner: Homemade tuna stir fry with egg noodles and 300ml of white wine followed by creme brulee

Sunday

Brunch: Grilled tomato, portobello mushroom, 1 slice bacon, 2 scrambled eggs with coffee

Snack: Mixed berries and seed protein smoothie

Dinner: Homemade fish pie with peas and crusty bread

As you can see I try and eat a variety of foods from each food group to ensure that I am getting as much vitamins and minerals from fruit and vegetables and the appropriate amount of non saturated fats, proteins and carbohydrates I need to fuel and recover from exercise.  Drinking water regularly throughout the day also helps me feel hydrated, carries those essential nutrients to the working muscles and avoids me mistaking thirst for hunger.  I eat every 3-4 hours a day to avoid fatigue from drop in blood glucose levels. This helps me curb any cravings for high sugar foods. I eat a mixture of low to high glucose index foods to ensure I get enough fiber in my diet and when required quickly replace carbohydrates that I burn through exercise.  glucoseindex.com

The following chart gives a good indication to what the UK guidelines are for tallying up your own portions per food groups to see if you are getting a healthy balanced diet.

If you would like further information on macros or portion sizes or have any comments regarding the blog please get in touch as I’m keen to hear from you.