What I eat in a day for weight loss

An an ex-bikini fitness competitor, I have been trained by professional coaches on weight loss principles and diet strategies that I still apply to this day. 

As an athlete, your primary focus when preparing for the stage is to lose weight whilst keeping your body strong and healthy enough to endure a long 4 month exercise regime of up to 2 hour exercise per day.

In normal life, I like to apply the healthier parts of that diet to achieve effective weight loss for vacations, and special events which I would love to share with you!

This is just what I do and by no means a prescription

1. Breakfast 

I follow a combination of volume eating, intuitive eating and routine eating in general. Breakfast is where the routine really kicks in because I eat the same thing every day. 40g oats with 30g frozen blueberries, made in the microwave with water. The slow releasing carbs from the oats get me through my morning walk, they keep your insulin levels stable (so you don't have cravings mid-morning) and the berries are there to maintain health with the many antioxidants, vitamins and minerals they contain. Remember we are looking for weight loss, but also the healthiest version of ourselves.

2. Snack

After breakfast I take a 60 minute walk outside, and when I get back I have my first snack before I go and do my weight training. If I'm going to train legs or back, I will make a chocolate protein shake with water and 1 full scoop. There is no real reason for this except it gives me a feeling of fullness that psychologically makes me feel better before a heavy workout. If I'm going to train upper body, I will typically have an orange & a black coffee here instead.

3. Lunch

Lunch post workout is where the volume eating comes in. I fill my plate with as much salad as I can fit on the plate, or cooked Mediterranean vegetables (I pile the plate high as this is the food that you can eat the most volume of with the lowest amount of calories). A quarter of the plate will be some form of protein (tuna, or grilled chicken usually), and a quarter some form of carbs (this could be pasta or rice usually). To measure this easily, you can fill half the plate with your salad/vegetables first, and then divide the other half into equal portions for your protein and carbs. For dressing & some healthy fats I will typically add 1 tbsp olive oil, with 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar and seasoning. 

4. Snack

In the afternoon I may or may not have another snack here, it totally depends (and this is where the intuitive eating comes in). If I am genuinely hungry I will have a protein shake here (only if I didn't have one in the morning), or some watermelon (you can pretty much eat as much of this as you want because it's so low calorie). 

5. Dinner

Dinner follows the same principles as lunch although I will typically have a slightly heavier protein such as steak or lean mince beef. Again, half the plate will be piled with vegetables (I prefer bell peppers, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes because of their diverse vitamin content) and quarter of the plate will be carbohydrates (again rice or pasta). For sauce I will have 2 tbsp of barbeque sauce (any is fine). The meat and vegetables will be cooked with 1tbsp olive oil each here. 

6. Post-dinner

If I am hungry, then I will typically have a bowl of strawberries with 10g of chocolate chips melted on them. Strawberries are extremely low calorie but taste amazing, and very sweet, and the chocolate is just because no one needs to give up chocolate ever! If I don't have this, I may sometimes have a kit kat, or a mini-kinder bar (depending on if I can convince my boyfriend to venture out to the shop & get me one! ;-) )

7. Fluids

Throughout the whole day, I drink water wherever I can, black coffee when I need to, and I don't consume any other drinks. Calories from drinks are a quick way to lose your calorie deficit for the day without realising. 

So what did I do there that is so effective for weight loss?

- Routine & structure making it easy to form good habits

- High volume eating of low calorie items to stay full

- Intuitive eating, listening to my body & trusting myself

- Flexibility: allowing myself to still have the things I love in moderation

Hope you found this interesting & helpful!

Drop a comment anytime

Much love, Nicky x