Healthy Food Examples For A Healthy Lifestyle!
Hey, all! I hope you are treating life well! As a lifestyle coach and public speaker, I can’t ever make it more than a week without somebody asking me what I eat in a typical day. So, today I want to draw you a picture of what constitutes my nutrition. Before I do, I want to clarify that I eat gluten-free and dairy free (except for the natural unpasteurized good stuff). In general, I eat all natural and organic. I state this because I know that many of you might think that it is a little extreme for you. Great. My point is not to tell you that you need to eat just like me, or as “extreme” as I do, but I do think there is value in sharing my nutritional selections.
One last thing: I really enjoy intense, hard-core exercise, so you should understand that what I am about to share with you will likely be more calories than you should consume.
So, here we go! For breakfast, I have eaten the same thing for over 8 years now, and I crave it as much today as I did the first time I ate it.
Meal #1: 5:30 A.M.
Protein shake consisting of:
-All-natural whey protein
-1/2 of an under-ripe banana (under-ripe to keep the glycemic load down, thus stabilizing my blood sugar)
-2 fresh strawberries
-1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
-1 tablespoon Hershey’s Raw Cocoa Powder (for insanely high antioxidant nutrients)
-1 handful of spinach
-Fresh filtered water
I then pour this protein shake over a bowl of gluten-free oatmeal. Now, before you judge this practice, I dare you to try it, and see what you think!
Meal #2: 8:30 A.M. (This is breakfast time for most, but I have been moving heavy weights for 3 hours at this point)
-Medium sweet potato
-Seasoned chicken breast
-Broccoli dipped in almond butter
-Small apple
Meal #3: 11:30 A.M.
-Leftover salmon or other fish
-Salad with vinaigrette dressing (lightly drizzled)
Meal #4: 2:30 P.M.
-Fruit of choice
-Raw veggies such as celery, carrots, turnips, asparagus, or cucumbers
-Greek yogurt
Meal #5: 4:30 P.M. (Pre-workout meal)
-1/2 C. of brown rice (carbing up for lifting weights)
-Organic grass-fed beef
-Large unpeeled carrot
Meal #6: 6:30 to 7:00 P.M. (Post-workout meal)
-All natural protein shake with dextrose (corn sugar, NOT corn syrup)
-1/2 banana (more ripe this time to increase the glycemic load. I am intentionally trying to increase my blood sugar this time)
-1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
-1 tablespoon Hershey’s Raw Cocoa Powder
-Handful of baby spinach blended
*Meal #7: 8:30 to 9:00 P.M. (I only eat this meal on insanely intense workout days to help restore muscle glycogen which helps speed recovery)
-Salad with light vinaigrette dressing
-Organic cottage cheese
*This meal is very low glycemic, which helps calm my blood sugar before I retire for the night. It is also high in protein to help speed amino acids into my recently “ripped” muscles.
You will notice that these meals are not packaged, convenient, or processed! That is because I have committed myself to PREPARING these foods on a daily and weekly basis. I assure you it is a small price to pay to have healthy foods available all day long. I should further specify that all of this is portable! Yes! I pack this in a large insulated cooler and take it to my place of work each and every day! It is not as hard as you think it is after you get into the habit of doing it.
Well, there you have it, my friends! I plan on doing many more of these types of posts of giving you ideas of what to eat. I will give you as many ideas as possible. Thanks for reading and remember: Life is good!
God Bless,
Griff