What Does Nutrition Diva Eat?
Like you, Nutrition Diva lives in the real world – the one that includes surprise pizza parties and other unforeseen developments. Here’s how the ultimate nutrition expert navigates through the twists and turns of real life (without deprivation or hunger).
Monica Reinagel, MS, LD/N, CNS
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What Does Nutrition Diva Eat?
Over the past 6 years, I’ve shared hundreds of quick and dirty tips on various aspects of diet and nutrition.
But, of course, it’s how you put it all together that counts! Many of you have asked me to share what I eat on a typical day. I’m not sure there’s any such thing as a “typical” day but this week, I carried a camera and voice recorder around for an entire day and created a real-time diary of everything I ate.
It was tempting to script out a perfectly balanced meal plan. with glossy photos of gourmet meals. But I thought it might be more useful to share what actually happens in real life – and that’s what you’ll see below. For more details about the day’s nutritional adventures, please click the Play button in the upper right hand corner player to hear the episode audio.
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7:30 am
The day starts, as it almost always does, with black coffee. I’d probably drink coffee even if it didn’t come with a host of health benefits but the fact that it keeps my brain healthy while it’s waking me up is a bonus!
See also:Â Is Caffeine Bad for You?
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I’m usually not hungry first thing in the morning, probably because my evening meal tends to be on the late side. However, there is no need to eat breakfast within a certain time frame. Contrary to urban legend, delaying breakfast does not slow down your metabolism for the day. It’s OK to delay the first meal of the day until you feel hungry, as long as this still allows you to make healthy choices when hunger strikes.Â
See also:Â Not Hungry in the Morning? Permission to Skip Breakfast
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If my schedule allows (which it does today), I like to get in an exercise walk before breakfast. I have a nice 2.5 mile route around my neighborhood that includes some hills. It takes me about 45 minutes to complete my route, by which time I’m usually ready for breakfast! In fact, I often spend the last 10 minutes of my walk planning what I’m going to eat.
See also:Â When Is the Best Time to Exercise?Â
9:00 am
Breakfast today is a smoothie made with kefir (for probiotics), flax seeds (for omega-3s and fiber), whey protein powder (for extra protein), raw swiss chard (to knock off a serving or two of vegetables), and frozen strawberries (for yumminess). My smoothie ended up being about 300 calories but, more importantly provided almost 30 grams of protein and 9 grams of fiber, which should keep me happy until lunch time.
See also:Â How to Make the Perfect Smoothie
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1:00 pm
Around 1pm, I started feeling hungry – right on schedule! I find that a 300-calorie meal keeps me full for about 3 hours, while a 500-calorie meal keeps me going about 5 hours. That quick and dirty rule helps me decide how many calories I want to eat and/or how long it’ll be before I’m hungry. Â
Today’s lunch was the salad you see above. I started out with lettuce, tomatoes, and mushrooms – check off 3 more servings of vegetables! But a vegetable salad doesn’t have enough calories or protein to make a complete meal. (See also: Why am I So Hungry After Eating Vegetables?)Â In order to make sure I wasn’t hungry an hour later, I added hard boiled eggs and blue cheese, plus a couple of strawberries just for fun.Â
See also; How to Make the Perfect Salad Dressing [Video]
4:30 pm
At about 4:30, I started to feel a little hungry. Or maybe I was just ready for a break from work. In any case, I had a handful of almonds to tide me over until dinner.
See also:Â Is Snacking Good or Bad?
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7:00 pm
I have to confess that I didn’t actually have much of a plan for dinner tonight. (See also:Â The Power of Planning.) But then, some friends called and offered to bring over pizza! What was I going to say? I like these friends and I like pizza!
At that point, I was really glad that I’d had a salad for lunch instead of a sandwich because a sandwich and pizza would have been a lot of bread for one day. (See also:Â Are Grains Killing Your Brain?)
And because I’d included a lot of vegetables into both breakfast and lunch, I’d already met my quota for the day. So I felt free to enjoy a few slices of pizza – and some red wine – guilt free.
See also:Â How Much Alcohol Is Healthy?
8:30 pmÂ
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After dinner, I brought out some fresh fruit and walnuts in the shell for us to enjoy while we chatted – a perfectly satisfying way to end the meal.Â
The Recap
So, how did my day’s choices work out? It wasn’t perfect – but what day is? The total number of calories added up to about the right amount. But, as is often the case, I ate more than half of my calories in the evening. This is the eating pattern that seems to work for my lifestyle. Fortunately, as long as you’re eating the right amount of calories, it doesn’t really matter when you eat them.
See also:Â Does Eating Late Cause Weight Gain?
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The day was a little lower in protein and a little higher in fat than usual, but I can balance that out over the next day or two. I just barely cleared the bar on fiber, mostly because the grains that I did eat – in the pizza – weren’t whole grain. On the plus side, my day included 9 servings of fruits and vegetables – and no added sugar at all! Â Plus, I had a really nice time with my friends.Â
The point is that every day is going to throw a couple of curves at you. And if you’re making good choices along the way, you’ll be able to accommodate the unexpected without throwing your nutritional welfare under the bus.
See also:Â Moderation in All Things (Part 1)
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Keep in Touch
I hope you found this useful! Post your comments and questions below or on the Nutrition Diva Facebook page. I always love to hear what you’re thinking – and eating! Â
About the Author
Monica Reinagel is a board-certified licensed nutritionist, author, and the creator of one of iTunes’ most highly ranked health and fitness podcasts. Her advice is regularly featured on the TODAY show, Dr. Oz, NPR, and in the nation’s leading newspapers, magazines, and websites. Do you have a nutrition question? Call the Nutrition Diva listener line at 443-961-6206. Your question could be featured on the show.Â