What I Eat For Energy & Identifiying Hunger Cues

What I eat for energy every day for my mom, fitness, and blogging activiites is really important. I had no idea how much until I went to Japan. We didn’t take the kids, I didn’t work much but I still exercised most days. Even though, I didn’t care for the food, and seemed to only eat rice and seaweed, ok and pizza, I gained a few pounds. So what happened?

I was surprised because I was walking a lot and not eating all that much more. Then I realized that the main reason I came back with 5 extra pounds, 2 weeks later, was because I didn’t take the kids. Apparently, raising 2 boys is an extreme workout! This was a requested blog post so today I’ll go through what I eat in a day for energy!

I haven’t been this slender or this strong, since I stopped dancing professionally. It almost doesn’t make sense because I’m a mom, work out less than ever before (used to be 6 days a week for 2-3 hours) and eat mostly whatever I want. Becoming a mom or just busy can kind of go one of two ways: 1) you stress eat and no longer have time to workout and stop prioritizing your health, OR 2) you cling on to your workouts, stop eating when stressed, run yourself ragged and also stop prioritizing your health. I’m sure there’s a healthy middle but I meet and work with a lot of women every day at MaZi Dance Fitness, and see these two extremes a lot!

What I Eat For Energy & Identifiying Hunger Cues

Tuning in to Hunger Cues

I think it’s really important to not copy someone’s diet but to learn to listen to your body and hunger cues. If you do a lot of dieting or binge eat, it will take some work to get there but you can do it!

Tips to getting to that place:

1. Stay hydrated! So hard.
2. Limit processed foods and sugary drinks. These mess up the internal hunger cues.
3. Eat fat, protein, fiber at every meal/snack. Whole blog post here.
4. Don’t be afraid to get hungry. When you feel hunger, stay objective and allow yourself to enjoy your next meal.
5. Eat slowly. This is basic but so important.
6. Don’t eat while driving, on phone or distracted.
7. Workout moderately. Don’t train for a triathalon and then try to tune in to your hunger cues. They will be skewed.
8. Breathe deep belly breaths. This releases serotonin and makes you instantly calm.
9. Don’t eat foods you don’t enjoy. This will make you feel like a victim and won’t accurately depict your hunger satiety.
10. Give God thanks for the food you’re about to eat. Sometimes just remembering that some people don’t have enough to eat changes your perception into a healthy one.

What I Eat for Energy in a Day

So what in the world do I eat on the days where I’m getting up at 6 AM, taking the kids to school, feeding them, working on the computer, commuting for up to an hour dancing for 2-3 hours and then head home and put the kids to bed? I typically do intermittent fasting because it works with my schedule and gives me energy. It’s not for everyone, so consult your doctor. For me, it works because it’s so hard to eat and get the kids ready in the morning.

This is what I eat most days.

The days that I don’t teach at the studio I eat all of this but move it up a bit earlier. I try to avoid yeast (try to follow a Candida free diet), and processed foods but never perfect.

6:00 AM

Coffee with 2% or Whole Milk, whatever is available

12:00 PM

Apple, 2 whole eggs, a corn tortilla, guac OR bacon (pretty non-negotiable)

3:00 PM

Hippeas, Bob’s Red Mill Bar OR Fage yogurt (2%)

5:00 PM

Starbucks egg white bites or Ham & chedder bites & mozzerella stick. (I eat a ton of eggs) OR sliced turkey with sunflower seeds (nuts make me break out) OR The Perfect Bar (also makes me break out due to nut sensitivity but it tastes like fudge and non-GMO so I deal).

9:00 PM

Almost anything I want; chicken & rice, veggies OR crab cakes, brussel sprouts, rice OR tacos with meat/chicken/cheese, lots of salsa, rice (I eat a lot of rice!) OR SUSHI rolls with seaweed salad, edamame and chicken skeweres OR spaghetti with meatballs OR lobster roll if I’m out to dinner.

Once in a While Foods

About twice a week for dinner I eat fried foods like french fries, pizza, baguette, etc. I don’t beat myself up, I just enjoy it. A lot of times I’m eating off my kid’s plate, you know, not to be wasteful. 🙂 I also love a good fried Mozzerella stick, like Farm Rich’s.

Sweets, Treats & Cooookies

I don’t care much for dessert like cakes, pies or ice cream but eat chocolate almost every day. I love cake but always feel like I’m going to be sick after I eat it. My vice are cookies but I am really picky about them so don’t get tempted much. The chocolate I eat is nothing special: Reese’s white peanut butter cups, Green & Black’s Organic Milk Chocolate (hate dark) or a mini 3 Muskateers. If I know I’m gonna have chocolate every day, then I don’t freak out and have to have tons in one sitting.

Alcohol

I have a glass of wine most nights and I freaking love it. On some nights I have none, and on some I have more. I can skip drinking pretty easily but love eating dinner with a glass. Don’t drink beer EVER. I believe it bloats you, some disagree. Maybe monthly, I have a cocktail at a special event. I always eat worse when I have liquor so I stay away from having it on a regular basis.

So what to do with this information? I think there’s 3 takeaways:

1. No extreme dieting is necessary ever! Eat a variety of foods.
2. Listen to your internal hunger cues.
3. Talk to your doctor about trying intermittent fasting.

For context, I workout 4-5 days a week at MaZi Dance Fitness, try to get enough sleep, take Equilibria CBD which really helps with that, and take other multi-vitamins.

If you found this post helpful, please share with a friend, subscribe to my newsletter or shoot me an email! I’m not a nutritionist but have been helping women get fit and love the body their in for decades. XO, Z