You’ve asked so I’ve answered! I’m pulling back the curtain on what I eat in a day to lose weight.

 

 

Of all the nutrition questions I’m asked, the most popular one is ‘how did you lose 30lbs?’, followed by ‘what do you do to keep it off?’ So that’s what I want to share with you today.

Most people look at me and wrongfully assume that I don’t know what it’s like to battle with weight. The truth is, I’ve struggled with weight most of my life. The extreme low fat diets I had tried in the past didn’t work for me made me hungry and angry, you know, HANGRY.

I found that when I ate low calorie foods and those 100 calorie snack packs that I could never stick to eating just one. I always wanted to eat even more, so I decided to try something different.

I started to experiment with eating more whole, plant-based foods and healthier fats.

I also increased both my protein and fat and ate more healthy carbs vs. processed carbs.

I kept eating this way for a few months and to my surprise I lost 30 lbs and it’s been 4 years since I lost the weight. This is something I feel so proud of because when I used to lose weight before I would always gain it back. In fact, 98% of people who lose weight gain it back within the first year. 98%!!

A BIG part of why I’ve been successful with keeping it off is because I made sure that I lost it in a sustainable way. The foods that I ate and the tactics I used became a lifestyle and along the way I built healthier habits. That’s what my book Unbreakable is all about, how to develop habits that will expand your choices rather than feeling deprived and restricted.

If you’re someone who struggles with weight or food cravings, you’ll definitely want to get your hands on my book!

The best part, about the way that I lost weight is that I never felt deprived or hungry and actually enjoyed all of the food that I was eating. I am NOT one to sacrifice flavour so that was important y’all! This is why whenever I build meal plans or programs for my clients, ALL of my recipes are not only easy but packed with flavour.

Let me give you the rundown of some of my favourite meals I ate when trying to lose weight as well as some helpful tips to make it easier.

 

WHAT I EAT IN A DAY TO LOSE WEIGHT

 

Breakfast

I always start my day with breakfast, that is a non-negotiable for me. I don’t care what anyone says, it you don’t start your day with breakfast you WILL end up eating more food throughout the day. The only exception is intermittent fasting where fasting is planned. You can learn more about that here.

Breakfast doesn’t need to be complicated. The easiest thing you can do is whip up a smoothie. Smoothies are the perfect quick way to add a lot of nutrients to your diet with little effort. To whip them up quickly, add your fruit, protein powder, some greens and other dry ingredients to a Ziploc bag and place in the freezer. When you wake up in the morning all you have to do is just toss everything in the blender add some liquid and ice and you’re good to go.

For weight loss you always want to make sure that your smoothie has some type of protein and a healthy fat. Don’t completely cut them out but try to minimize fruits that are higher in sugar like mangoes and pineapples. Also having a healthy fat in that smoothie is going to help to slow down the sugar absorption of those higher sugar fruits like bananas, mangoes and pineapples.

This decadent fat burning smoothie is one of my favs. This one is great to not only help with weight loss but to increase your energy as well.

 

Mid morning

For my mid morning break I like to have sliced apples with some almond butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Cinnamon balances your blood sugar which helps with weight loss. Since having high blood sugar levels can lead to your body storing fat, cinnamon helps prevent the increased storage of fat, enabling you to lose weight.

Another snack I would have would be carrots and hummus. A study by the Journal of Nutrition & Food Sciences found that people that regularly consume hummus have smaller waistlines. With hummus not only will you increase your fiber intake, but you’ll increase your dose of good for your fats as well, which will help to manage those sugar cravings.

With your snacks you want to think fiber, protein and healthy fats. The healthy fats are really going to help to control sugar cravings. I have a HUGE sweet tooth. When I started to eat healthy fats when losing weight, it became easier and easier to say no to cookies and cupcakes that I had fallen prey to all my life. Learning this was a BIG DEAL for me because I had a real problem with sugar.

 

Lunch

So you want to make this easy so that you’ll actually pack your lunch for work. You want something that you can pack a whole lot of veggies into so you’re getting the nutrients you need while also keeping you full. For me, this is where lentils came in. I knew nothing about lentils before I started to lose weight but once I discovered them I was hooked. I know some people are intimidated by them but they’re extremely easy to make.

I just threw everything in one pot and made a lentil stew like this one.

Beans and other legumes like lentils offer complex carbohydrates which stabilize your blood sugar. When you have repeated spikes in blood sugar that’s when you gain weight especially stomach fat.

Lentils are also high in both fiber and protein which will help to keep you full and prevent overeating. Protein also keeps your metabolism revved up.

 

Bonus – when you make a stew you have a few lunches for the week. If you’re new to lentils or need some inspiration check these recipes out.

 

Mid afternoon snack

For my mid afternoon snack I would have a combination of nuts + dark chocolate, at least 70% cocoa. The dark chocolate satisfied my sweet tooth in a healthier way. Since the chocolate has some sugar, eating nuts with the chocolate is going to slow down the sugar absorption. You’ll also get some protein from the almonds as well.

I also ate and still do eat pepitas aka pumpkin seeds because they’re high in magnesium which is a mineral that most women are deficient in and the magnesium is also good for helping to minimize stress. Pepitas are also perfect to munch on while watching TV.  You could add them to these protein balls to increase your nutrients and get a nice crunch factor.

 

Dinner

Again you want to make this easy so that you don’t give into ordering pizza. I would do another one pot meal like stew, soup or chili. Something that I could prep ahead on a Sunday so that I didn’t have to make a meal when I came home from work. Having a meal already prepared when I got home made it easy for me to keep on track. This chili is fast, easy and tasty.

One recipe that I would make often was fish tacos which is super easy to make, healthy and tasty. These tacos were fun, flavour, fast.

 

Dessert

For dessert I would munch on pistachios and raspberries or blend together frozen blueberries and banana for a luscious ‘nice cream’ or devour these chocolate avocado cookies.

Fiber is the magic ingredient when you’re trying to lose weight—it slows digestion and helps you feel full. Another magic ingredient that is often overlooked is healthy fats. I found that my cravings started to disappear, the more I ate healthier fats!

It can be hard trying to Google recipes and tips and piece things together when trying to lose weight. I’m sure that you probably want to eat healthier but you feel frustrated with knowing exactly what to do as well as the lack of time to make fat burning meals. You’re probably tired of always feeling hungry when you’re on a diet.

 

DON’T FORGET IT! PIN IT!

 

Sources:

https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/8/12/766/htm