WIEIAD (What I Eat In A Day)
If you’re expecting me to write a fast track guide to being stick thin or a secret cheat to weight loss, I’m afraid you’ve stumbled in to the wrong part of the internet. I’m like a gluttonous feral animal when it comes to eating, you will not find any toxic, weight loss content here. Primarily, extreme weight loss diets are harmful and/or unsustainable, doing the exact opposite of what I’m trying to achieve; Longevity. Nevertheless, if you’re looking for ways to extend your life through diet, give yourself a mental gold medal because you’ve found the right ramblings of a female food enthusiast. I have read countless books on it and I’m about to break down the best bits.
Modelling Misconceptions
Although I don’t stick to the exact same meals every single day, I have variations of meals that include similar nutrient dense ingredients. The food groups I use are known for promoting and extending lifespan by reversing and preventing certain diseases. Be that as it may, there will be a hand full of friends reading this thinking: “Laura is full of it, I’ve seen her eat pizza and chocolate”. When it comes to modelling jobs or going out with other people, there are many occasions where I frustratingly cannot eat anything but nutritionally void food. I know this makes me ungrateful because there are so many people struggling to eat each day, plus, I’m getting free food. Unfortunately, more often than not on set, we either have the choice to not eat (which is very bad work etiquette) or having some vegetable/seed oil ridden pizza. Speaking on behalf of models in the industry, we don’t particularly like eating pizza for every meal. Although, some models will tell you otherwise to appear like they “eat just like everybody else” I can confirm most of us, certainly do not. Personally, it saddens me to see well known, size 0 models state they eat nothing but pizza, burgers and deep fried potatoes. Not only does this promote unhealthy eating and unhealthy lifestyle choices, it can also make young impressionable teens go to extremes to be their size, thinking it’s a natural body shape they don’t have and need. I think its imperative that if we are an unusual body size, we should be honest about what we are doing to achieve this. So much would change. I don’t care what your genetics are, if you’re able to shovel cheese and full fat beef down your throat every day and remain drastically slim, there is a serious underlying health issue that needs to be addressed, either that, or you’re about 14 years old.
The reason why I’m able to – just about - fit the unrealistic size of the fashion industry, is because I weight lift, do Pilates, fast (safely and scheduled) and do HIIT training. I consume more than most men do in an average day. I can out eat my male friends to their absolute horror and dismay. I could easily smash a “man vs food” contest and probably have dessert to finish it off. I am able to do this purely because of my lifestyle choices.
Intuitive Eating
In my view, I don’t agree with “Intuitive eating” but if it works for you, i’m happy for you, congratulations. However, if like me, you never really feel full (something almost everyone in my family suffers with) and have hunger cues firing off all over the place, intuitive eating is a Greek tragedy waiting to happen. The only people I would recommend this style of eating to, are ones recovering from eating disorders. It might be the best route to take to avoid any triggers. Nonetheless, when you are training in the gym regularly or unable to control your snacking habits, it’s best to keep track of your protein, your carbohydrate consumption and your general nutritional intake to achieve optimal results. When you’re intuitive eating, you’re relying on your primitive hunger cues that can easily be triggered by just simply looking at a doughnut or smelling fresh bread, it’s not reliable. Additionally, your body won’t intuitively tell you you’re lacking omega 3, calcium or magnesium, so what’s the harm in making the most of all these free apps and accurately tracking your nourishment? Not much harm at all if you know what you’re doing.
Guide To Not Dying
The best literature I have found for nutritional newbies is written by top physician, Dr Michael Greger. He wrote the bestselling book “How Not To Die”. I highly recommend this read for people wanting to learn more about food, as a baseline guide to nutrition. Although this book promotes the removal of meat from your diet, (something I don’t currently agree with) there are some sound science based facts that I live by. One particular factor that I believe we should all follow is the “daily dozen checklist”, making sure we incorporate each of these things with every day, listed below:
Beans - packed full of protein and fiber
Berries - the healthiest fruit, filled with anti-oxidents
Other fruits - extra vitamins and reduces processed sugar cravings
Cruciferous Vegetables - so many vital vitamins and minerals
Other vegetables - legumes filled with micronutrients (this group includes mushrooms too)
Greens - phytonutrients (baby spinach being the best)
Nuts and seeds - this food group cuts your risk of dying from cancer by a whopping 50%
Flax seeds - incredible for getting vital fatty acids
Herbs and Spices - turmeric is a great anti-inflammatory, an important dietary requirement
Whole Grains - the best way to get fast burning energy and fiber
Beverages - obviously water but green tea/herbal tea is an underrated nutrient source
Exercise - keeping your organs functioning optimally
My Meals
Breakfast - 10am, 0% fat Greek yoghurt, whey protein (banana flavored) mixed in and sweetened with stevia. Topped with low sugar, nuts and raisin granola, then adding on some flaxseed.
Snack - 11am, one large apple
Lunch - 2pm, for lunch I have a humongous salad, with chicken breast, peppers and the widest range of leafy vegetables.
Snack - 3pm, either carrots or plum tomatoes.
Snack - 5pm, wholegrain popcorn crackers.
Dinner - 8.30pm, slow cooked chicken dish with beans, turmeric (mixed with black pepper), broccoli, spinach, mixed beans, mushrooms, served with either konjac noodles or quinoa. I then grate some (extremely) lean cheese and nutritional yeast on top.
Desert - 9pm, sugar free dark chocolate mixed with 0% fat Greek yoghurt, mixed frozen berries, melted down and sweetened with stevia. I then add more dark chocolate to melt in to the berries and a sprinkling of low sugar granola for some crunch.
I don’t have this every day, it’s just a guideline I try to follow and I know it’s not the ideal meal plan for everyone. There is always room for improvement. I also eat far too late in the day but it’s the best I can do with the time I have. If you would like to know more, or the exact brands/products I use, I’m happy to answer any questions on my social pages.
