"So What Do You Eat?"

Whenever I am discussing nutrition with a client or with a friend or with some lovely lady I met on a Saturday night, this question comes up a good amount of the time. I start out talking about THEM and it leads back to ME. Does it really matter what I eat when this other person is the one who is looking to lose weight or get into better shape? Maybe it does. Maybe I should be leading by example. Maybe I should be practicing what I preach. Sorry, it's not going to happen. I enjoy the occasional beer with a couple extra on the weekend. I enjoy a large meat lover's pizza every now and then. I will choose the sweet potato fries as one of my sides a good majority of the time. But, if I was looking to get into better shape or get down into single digit body fat percentages these are things I would have to eliminate. Along with eliminating these things I would have to time up my carbohydrate intake, eat more fruits and vegetables and more evenly divide my fat intake (33% saturated fat, 33% monounsaturated fat, 33% polyunsaturated fat).

The things I am pretty good with (I think) are eating breakfast, eating every 3-4 hours and including a protein source with every meal. So let's take a look at a typical day for me:

5:30am: When I wake up the first thought on my mind is "Breakfast!!" Breakfast yesterday was 1/2 cup Ezekial Golden Flax Cereal with a 1/4 cup of almond milk, some fresh blueberries, some cinnamon sprinkled in and all mixed together with a tablespoon or two of peanut butter. Add 2 cups of coffee of course.

8:30am: 1 cup of Fage Greek yogurt with some mixed nuts, blueberries, cinnamon and a scoop of chocolate whey protein powder mixed in. Throw in a cup of Green tea.

12pm: 1 can Tuna Fish on Ezekial Sesame Bread with a slice of American cheese, plus my daily green apple.

3pm: Post-workout shake consisting of about 35 grams of protein.

5:30pm: 10oz sirloin tips with a cup of steamed broccoli.

8:30pm: 1/2 cup of cottage cheese with some cinnamon, frozen mixed berries and a a bit of mixed nuts thrown in.

That's it. Six small meals or what some call "feedings" spaced out anywhere from 3-4 hours apart. A protein source at every meal. Not enough vegetables. I should be doubling up on those. Could use another cup of green tea. And the carbs that are not coming from fruits and vegetables should be falling within the 1-2 hours after my workout. Oatmeal at breakfast has been a staple for years which is something I do away with for a couple weeks if I'm working on lowering my body fat percentage. And I have no idea how may calories I take in.

Every day is pretty much the same with the exception of the weekends when I tend to get a bit lazier with my nutrition. Cottage cheese and football don't go together as well as a pizza, a Guinness and football.

What's your day look like?