What I eat in a day & why (crucially!)

I don't usually love these 'what I eat in a day' posts / videos as everybody has such different needs so trying to emulate somebody else's diet is unlikely to work for you. BUT, I can't help clicking on them (I'm nosy) and people ask me what I eat and what I've changed since becoming a nutritional therapist, so here goes.

Wednesday 2nd August (an office day)

Breakfast - 7:30

This is my go-to breakfast if I haven't been to the gym (if I have, I'll usually have a protein shake); it's super quick to put together, it's yummy, and it keeps me full all morning. If you like to take your breakfast into work it's really easy to throw into a Tupperware the night before too.

My goal is to have 30g of protein at breakfast as this keeps me going until lunch, prevents cravings later on, and supports lean muscle mass. This bowl contains about 29g!

Yoghurt: I have roughly half a pot - it's good for my gut microbes and contains about 11g protein. Always organic as it contains more nutrients, a better fat profile, and fewer antibiotics and hormones.

Collagen: I stir 2 heaped teaspoons into my yoghurt. You wouldn't even know it's there - it's tasteless and mixes right in. It adds an extra 12g protein and I've also noticed my hair is thicker (but whether this is down the collagen is hard to say.) I love this one because they're peptides, which means they're in their smallest form and therefore easier to digest and absorb, and they use pasture-raised beef which means it's less inflammatory and has a much wider nutrient profile than non pasture-raised beef.

Maca: I sometimes add a dessert spoon (lots of different spoon sizes here!) because a) I quite like the earthy taste, b) it's full of B vitamins so is great for energy and c) it's rich in iron so it's great if you're on your period.

Cinnamon: I've always been obsessed with cinnamon and this one is great. It's naturally sweet and cinnamon has been shown to reduce blood sugar spikes. I add it to everything!

Blueberries: Delicious, in season, full of antioxidants, high in fibre, low in sugar.

Granola: This is my homemade granola which is full of nuts and seeds = protein and good fats. I also used oats, which are high in fibre, some dried figs and apple, and a little honey to sweeten it slightly and make it nice and crunchy. I use the granola as a topping, rather than as the base.

Lunch - 12:40

I didn't have time to bring in a packed lunch so went to Pret to grab something. I had a meeting at 1pm so had to be quick!

I was thinking of protein again here (shock) so I got the chicken, pesto and rocket wrap with the egg and spinach pot. My aim was 30g protein again as this keeps me full, makes me crave chocolate less, and is important in balancing my blood sugar which is essential for PCOS.

Wraps are great because the ratio of carb to protein is better than a baguette or sandwich.

Yes, the eagle-eyed amongst you will notice I panicked and changed my jeans just before leaving the house.

The wrap had 22g protein and the egg and spinach pot has 11.4g so I would have been bang on. BUT. I ate my wrap and then had to rush back for my meeting, so I didn't have time for my egg pot. This meant I came out of my meeting and p-p-p-picked up a Penguin on the way back to my desk because I fancied something sweet, hadn't had one in about 12 years (where have they gone!) and it was staring right at me so I couldn't say no. I'm sure that if I'd had my egg pot at lunchtime I would have stayed strong in the face of the Penguin.

Snack - 16:00

By this time I was glad of my sad little egg pot, although I was a little nervous about eating boiled eggs in an open office. Thankfully I need not have worried, they don't smell! Let's normalise eating eggs in the office. I will say they would have been much better with salt and pepper, so don't forget to pick them up from Pret next time you get eggs!

Also, you will see I'm at my laptop - I do not condone this! Much better to have your snack away from your desk so you're giving yourself a proper break.

These guys really filled me up which meant I wasn't ravenous by the time I got home. I find if we're really hungry when we're making supper it's much more likely we'll graze on things and then ruin our appetite for supper, or end up eating way more than necessary.

Supper - 19:30

Get ready for more chicken! I am fully aware I'll have had it twice AND I've also had eggs (in this case the chicken came before the egg), but this is all we had in the fridge. It was not intentional.

Organic chicken thigh: Delicious, super easy (I put them in a roasting dish with salt, pepper, olive oil, mixed herbs, broccoli and red onion) and, you guessed it, PROTEIN (roughly 24g!)

Merchant Gourmet lentils: I am obsessed with these pouches. They're pre-cooked so you can add them to a pan to heat up or just eat them cold. Great source of fibre and also protein.

Organic broccoli: Loads of fibre again, vitamin C, and glucosinolates (which support detoxification and oestrogen balance.)

Organic red onion: High in quercetin, which supports your immune system, and also feeds your gut microbes.

Red Earth Ferments Sauerkraut: A really easy way to add fibre, antioxidants, and probiotics to support my microbiome.

Then.....

Tiramisu: Not really any nutritional reasons for this I'm afraid - James made some over the weekend and it was DELICIOUS. It was decaf so it didn't have me buzzing into the night... I didn't take a pic of my bowl so please enjoy this one of James instead.

Bedtime - 22:00

Magnesium: I take two of these before bed. I find they improve my sleep and help with any anxiety, and are generally amazing. Our soil is very depleted in magnesium so people rarely get enough from diet alone!

Zinc: I have a copper IUD and copper and zinc are antagonistic, which means if you have high levels of copper it can deplete your zinc levels, so it's really important to make sure I'm having enough zinc. I also find it really helps with hair loss/thinning from PCOS.

Throughout the day

Water: I try to drink about 2L water a day, so I had 5 of these whilst I was at the office and a couple of glasses before I left home and when I got back.

Tea: I didn't have any today, but usually if I'm wfh I'll start with a giant mug of herbal tea (I like peppermint, rooibos, dandelion or nettle) or a green tea if I'm feeling tired.

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As I say, everybody has very different needs and this is by no means 'perfect', I just wanted to show what works for me!

Please do send me an email or message me on Instagram if you'd like any support with a specific issue or if you just want some pointers, I'm always very happy to speak to people :)