What I eat in a day

 Following my last post last week discussing physical activity, and the different apps that I use. I just thought I would share alongside that what I eat in a typical day, as this complements this nicely with physical activity. Physical activity will provide a great benefit, if the diet is nutritious and consistent. 

I always start the day with breakfast, I never really miss this. As the term breakfast means breaking the fast. It is the first meal of the day since the night before, so it is important to eat something that will really help kick start the body into motion. Personally the best breakfast is porridge by far. It is packed full of fibre, to get the bowel moving, it is low in cholesterol, glycaemic index and a great for energy, plus if we want to increase our intake of fruit, we can add in any fruit of choice. I sometimes add a handful of blueberries or strawberries in. There are gluten options as well, plus it costs next to nothing to purchase. I have seen porridge in a local supermarket (for a big bag) costing 0.50p. Other options I have sometimes is avacado, poached egg on granary toast. Granary toast has nuts in, which means it has a higher fibre content. Another alternative is wholemeal toast. I do not really have white bread, as the fibre content is stripped from this,  leaving little fibre content in them, however white bread does contain energy which we all need to get all of us moving around. Bread overall has so many types especially sourdough bread, which contains prebiotics, which is great for the gut. It also contains less gluten than regular bread. If choosing gluten free options make sure it is labelled gluten free, and keep in mind that these can be more pricey than other types of bread out there. Sometimes I also have granola cereal, always a low sugar option. I tend to go for Kellog's plain granola, Jordans plain granola (the other options I found tend to have a slightly higher amount of sugar) Dorset's plain granola or my favourite Lizi's high protein granola. Lizi's granola ranges regardless of flavour are packed full of fibre, and have less sugar. I enjoy them thoroughly, sometimes I consume this when I am feeling peckish as well, with a splash of prebiotic yoghurt, strawberries and blueberries, topped up with honey.  

Moving onto lunch now, and as I work from home, usually it is leftover meals from the night before, this could be anything from cheese, beans jacket potato, salmon and sweet potato chips, or a chicken and vegetable wrap. 

I always have a quick snack between lunch and dinner, as I tend to eat dinner at 10pm It is not ideal to not eat anything from 1pm till 10pm. So these can be a piece of fruit like a banana or a handful of cashew nuts. An hour later I go for an evening work out. Before I go, I consume a protein shake,  which keeps me full until my dinner. My shake is from the supermarket Asda, I like the chocolate flavour shake, because I love chocolate that much!  and it costs me £11, which lasts me for a month and a half. 

Once I get back from the gym I have my main meal. I make sure that this is high in protein, carbohydrates, fibre, as well as vitamins and minerals. This can be a variety of examples like moussaka, chilli with brown rice, vegetable chicken wraps (wholemeal) roast dinner, or fish with vegetables, and sweet potatoes. 

I always drink 2 litres of water everyday without fail. Water is really important for the body, I will link my previous post on water here: Water

Finally I try to make sure that I get at least 6 to 8 hours of sleep everyday, as this can help with choosing better items the next day. I find if I do not sleep well, I tend to become moody, and chose items which are high in sugar, and fat. 

I hope my examples of what I eat in a day are helpful for you, my advice would be to definitely check the food labels, as that is the starting point to choose better items for us. Finally a healthy diet in partnership with physical activity will definitely make a change for the body and beyond!