The key to my success and staying in great shape year round comes from my diet. I eat clean around the clock in order to keep me looking and feeling good. When preparing for a photo shoot or competition, the stricter my diet, the better I feel.
I eat 6 or 7 small meals throughout the day. Each meal is about 300 calories with a combination of lean proteins, complex carbohydrates and healthy fats. I eat every 3 hours to help keep my metabolism running at optimal levels and to make sure my blood sugar never drops.
Every meal I eat has between 25 and 45 grams of protein which comes from either whey protein or lean meats. For lean meats, I eat egg whites, boneless, skinless chicken breasts, extra lean ground turkey, white fish (tilapia, tuna or salmon) and greek yogurt.
I actually eat a lot of complex carbohydrates. I just taper my carbs throughout the day and avoid eating carbs late at night. My complex carbs include oatmeal, brown rice, yams and cream of wheat. Your body needs carbs for energy so don’t avoid them.
I also eat a lot of fibrous carbohydrates like green beans, broccoli, asparagus, celery, cucumbers and spinach. Eating these fibrous carbs helps to keep me lean and feeling full so I am not always hungry.
For my fats I eat almonds, natural peanut butter, avocado and egg yolks.
As far as sugars in my diet, I try to avoid them at all costs. I will eat some fruit after I workout with a protein shake. I also try to avoid fake sugars because these just cause your body to crave more sugar in the long run. It’s best to switch to natural sugars like fruit if you are craving something sweet.
Most importantly, make sure you drink plenty of water throughout the day. I strive to drink at least a gallon of water a day to keep my body hydrated and my skin looking good. |