A Day In The Life … Of My Diet

Strange words come out of my fingers when I blog past my bedtime, so bare with me.

Today I’m talking about what I eat. I figured, since I do it every single day, it must warrant a post, right? And I’m pretty much just hoping that someone out there somewhere is a tiny bit curious. Or just nosy. Or just wants to be like me. (Ha.)

In all seriousness, I’ve tried every variation of modified diets and finally found a routine that works for me, makes me feel good, and is good for my physical health as well as my mental health. Pretty much I’m about to contradict every health study you’ve ever read.

My diet in a nutshell: I keep it low carb, only eat when I’m really truly hungry, watch my portions, and let myself cheat as much as I want!

So here goes nothin’. Let’s take this hour by hour.

7:15 a.m. – Alarm goes off and I audibly grown and physically get mad at my phone for waking me up.

7:17 a.m. – Stumble into the shower. Get out feeling like half of a normal human being. Get ready.

8 a.m. – Pick up my room, or shoot last night’s recipe real fast, or scroll through my Instagram feed.

Pause. I used to live and die by “breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” but now I live by “only eat when you’re hungry.” It works for me! I’m too busy chugging coffee most mornings to even think about food. Unless I’m hungover or didn’t eat dinner the night before, in which case I sometimes eat breakfast before I leave for work.

And it goes a little something li-lika-like this.

Three words: open-face. turkeybaconeggandbrie. sammich. Every sandwich should be open faced if you ask me. You won’t miss that top piece of bread. Otherwise, breakfast might be a green smoothie, overnight oats, microwaved scrambled eggs, or peanut butter toast.

But most days, it’s just coffee for breakfast.

8:10 a.m. – Drive to work. Usually while consuming one cup of coffee.

8:30 a.m. – Start working. Drink 1-2 more cups of coffee and 2 20-ounce bottles of water. Pee 17 times.

11 a.m. – Remember that I have yet to eat anything, hear my stomach growl embarrassingly loud in a meeting, eat a Trader Joe’s trail mix pack. I love TJ’s pre packaged trail mix because it’s portion control for dummies. (Or for hungry, hungry females who don’t ever want to stop eating trail mix). I buy the Omega Trek Mix.

(Like my coffee mug and water bottle. ELLO PRODUCTS. Look it up. Treat yoself.)

12 – 12:30 p.m. – Somewhere in here it’s lunch time! Lots of times I head to the gym over lunch. I get an hour break, which is just enough time to get a quick 30-minute workout in, shower, and head back to the office. What are excuses?

If I don’t make it to the gym, I try to at least take a stroll around the block. Fresh air + muscle movements = happy Jordan.

1 p.m. – Back to work. And now I’m starving. So I scarf down my lunch at my desk. 9 times out of 10 I have leftovers from a recipe I made that week. Since I cook for one, leftovers never end.

If I don’t have leftovers, I keep a couple of secret weapons in the office fridge. 1. Frozen turkey meatballs, microwaved, dipped in all-natural ketchup. (No, I’m not kidding) 2. A bag of Trader Joe’s raw veggie mix. 3. Trader Joe’s flavored hummus to dip said veggies in. These are kept in the fridge for when I’m unprepared so I’m not tempted with the plethora of amazing lunch spots in my neighborhood.

1:30 p.m. – I have a cup of organic green tea after lunch. It stops my cravings and gives me a caffeine boost.

Somewhere between 4 and 5 p.m. – I get hungry again. Duh. So I usually eat an apple. Or sometimes I’m bad and I eat brie cheese.

6 p.m. – Time to go home! Yay! (Or, if I didn’t work out I’ll do that. Or sometimes I have plans with friends).

6:30 p.m. – Dinner time. I either make a new recipe (see: every blog post below), heat up leftovers, go out with friends and not even think twice about what I stuff my face with, or find something quick to make when I’m feeling super lazy.

Lazy examples are:

1. I buy bags of frozen turkey burgers at Costco. And I also own a George Foreman grill. And sometimes I stuff said turkey burgers with sliced jalapenos and cheese and call it a night. (see below)

2. I binge on the cheese and crackers I have left over from wine night over the weekend.

3. I mix a can of tuna with Sir Kensington’s mayo, salt and pepper, and eat it with a fork. Plus a green salad.

4. Chicken sausages are also convenient to throw in a pan or on the grill. Serve alongside a big green salad. Or any veggies you have laying around in your fridge.

5. Breakfast for dinner. Throw chopped sweet potatoes, any vegetable you have on hand, eggs, and spices in a pan. Boom.

6. I stop by the Whole Foods salad bar, or Mariano’s sushi bar, or Taco Bell.

The moral of the story with dinner is that I’m usually too busy to think about food, so convenience is key. That’s why I’m a huge fan of meal prep on the weekends, or cooking a large reheatable meal on Monday nights to eat all week.

If I behaved myself and worked out during the day, I’ll eat whatever I want for dinner (within reason). I find that I’ll eat far less if I let myself cheat than if I were to just eat poached salmon and vegetables for every meal.

Okay where were we.

7:30 p.m. – I pour a glass of red wine.

7:32 – 10 p.m. – I write blog posts. Or finish up some work. Or watch Friends. Or hang out with my actual friends. Or browse other people’s blogs. Or waste time on Pinterest. Or clean. Or pick out my outfit for the next day. Or read.

10 p.m. – I climb into bed. Then continue to scroll through Instagram and Pinterest until I’m sleepy.

ZZzzzzzz.

Okay, I realize that was wordy so let’s recap the main points. 

Breakfast: Don’t eat it if you’re not hungry. It’s okay.

Lunch: Occupy your time and mind with a quick workout, then eat lunch after. Not having time is no excuse.

Snacking: Fresh fruit, pre-packaged trail mix, raw veggies and hummus, peanut butter on a spoon. Always great options.

Green Tea: Drink a cup after lunch. Every day. To stop cravings and beat the 3 p.m. slump.

Dinner: Go out with friends and get the sushi roll that’s fried. Have a beer with dinner if you want. When you’re home, try to keep your meals healthy so you have room to splurge when you’re out.