Disclaimer: This post is not meant to be dietary advice but more of a fun look into a week of eats and activity with me. This week features some traveling (a road trip) and less than perfect eating but I wanted to show it is possible to find a happy balance with nutrition and exercise while still enjoying life.
Friday 7/8
Fridays are an early morning for me. I get up around 6am and start the day with a cup of coffee with almond milk and a scoop of collagen powder. I don’t usually get hungry for breakfast until later, so I drink coffee and water throughout the morning while I work. I start making my breakfast around 11am. Today it’s a classic combo of 2% Fage greek yogurt + strawberries from the farmers’ market + crushed walnuts.
After I’m done with appointments in the early afternoon I head to a pilates class, and then hit Trader Joe’s on my way home. We are going on a road trip to LA tomorrow, so I want to grab some snacks for the road. I pick up some popcorn, RX bars, Chomps meat sticks, and trail mix to take with us.
I’m hungry after my workout class and grocery shopping when I get home, so I grab a cheese stick before making lunch. With it being summer, I have been enjoying making tomato-centric salads. I make a Caprese-inspired mix of tomatoes, cucumbers, burrata cheese from TJ’s, arugula, olives, and basil, and add some leftover garbanzo beans for protein and TJ’s dolmas just to clean out the fridge. I top it off with some super delicious balsamic vinegar from Italy that was given to us, and a little olive oil.
I don’t finish all of my salad, so I save the leftovers to have for dinner. I top my leftover salad with a frozen eggplant tamale from the farmers’ market and a fried egg for extra protein and call it an early night.
Saturday 7/9
We get up early on Saturday to start our drive down south. During the drive we eat the RX bars, Chomps sticks, and some of the popcorn I brought. Once we arrive at our friend’s house whom we are visiting, we head out to have lunch. We have plans for a big and early dinner this evening, so I don’t want to eat a ton for lunch. I have a fish taco, a few french fries, and a beer.
For dinner, we go to a nice restaurant in Hollywood called Kali. My foodie fiancé likes to order everything on the menu from caviar to pasta, but we also make sure to always order some salads and fish for balance. I have a little bit of almost everything and it’s delicious. I also have a glass of champagne with dinner.
After dinner we head to a concert where I do plenty of dancing and when I look the next morning I’ve done over 12,000 steps that day! I try to stay as active as I can when I travel but I also don’t stress about it too much. A few days of missed workouts are not the end of the world.
Sunday 7/10
On Sunday we get up late and go to a burger place for lunch. My fiancé and I share a burger and I have a few tater tots and sauteed mushrooms that are for the table to share. We spend the afternoon walking around LA and enjoying the beautiful weather at the beach.
For dinner we decide to stay in and grill. We grill a couple steaks to split between each couple and also corn and mushrooms, and I have a glass of champagne with dinner. For dessert, we all have a small piece of cheesecake that we brought as a gift for our friends while we watch a movie.
Monday 7/11
On Monday I wake up early to work before driving back to SF in the afternoon. I’m not that hungry for breakfast, but before we head out we stop at a grocery store to buy some food for the road. We get some brown rice sushi and a turkey wrap that is wrapped in collard greens instead of bread. We eat all the sushi and split the wrap on our drive. The wrap is surprisingly good! We also stop and get coffee; I get a Shaken Espresso drink from Starbucks. I don’t usually drink sweetened coffee but it’s a long drive and this seems to be helping.
We get home late but are a little hungry still and the only thing open is a nearby Chinese food restaurant. I actually really like this restaurant since their dishes tend to have a lot of veggies and not be too saucy/salty. We order beef and broccoli and veggie chow mein to share. I mostly eat the veggies but also have a little of everything else.
Tuesday 7/12
I let myself sleep in a little on Tuesday since I’m tired from our trip and I work later into the evening today anyway. After I get up, I make coffee and also drink lots of water since I’ve been eating out more (and eating more salt) the past few days. I spend the morning working and also put together some overnight oats for the next few days. I always keep some staple ingredients on hand like oats, almond milk, yogurt, nut butter, and frozen berries since this is often a go-to meal for me. I also go out for a quick 30 minute walk before my first meeting of the day.
I end up eating my oats a little late around 1pm. I’m not super hungry when I take my lunch break around 4pm but I know I will get hungry later if I don’t eat something now so I eat the other half of the collard green wrap we got yesterday as a light lunch. A little later in the afternoon I have a cheese stick as a snack (my favorite since it’s a great combo of protein and fat which keeps me full).
After I finish up work I head out for another quick 30 minute walk around 730pm. When I get home I throw together this salad since it calls for a lot of pantry staples I already have on hand. It’s really good and made enough for leftovers for the next couple days! I drink a sparkling apple cider vinegar beverage that I got at Trader Joe’s with dinner. I don’t usually drink flavored beverages like this but this one is pretty low in calories and sugar and sometimes it’s nice to have something other than water.
Wednesday 7/13
Most Wednesday mornings I go to a pilates class around 930am. I like to schedule my workouts ahead of time and write them down in my planner since this helps me stay more accountable. After pilates I take a slightly longer route walking home and get about a 25 minute walk in too. I already have my overnight oats ready to go for breakfast and my leftover salad ready for lunch. And I have a cheese stick for a snack later in the afternoon (I’m a creature of habit).
For dinner, I make eggs and a Dr. Prager veggie burger with roasted sweet potatoes on the side. Again, I like to keep staple ingredients on hand like eggs and frozen veggies burgers for those weeks I don’t get to meal prep.
Thursday 7/14
Thursdays I’m up early and start my morning with lots of coffee. I eat the last of my oats for breakfast and for lunch I have avocado toast with 2 eggs. I really need to get to the grocery store. After work I do an at home yoga class (interrupted by my cat) and then head out for a short walk and to stop by Trader Joe’s. I mostly stock up on staples and some arugula and cheese to make more salads this week. We do most of our produce shopping on Sunday at the farmers’ market, and I always keep an ongoing list on my phone of what I’m planning to get to cook for the following week. So I just get what I think I’ll need for the next couple of days.
For dinner I eat half a Greek Salad with Chicken (+avocado and extra arugula) that I get from TJ’s and the leftover sweet potatoes. This way I can have the rest of the salad for lunch tomorrow, maybe with some eggs. For dessert I have a handful of cherries, also courtesy of TJ’s, and that’s a wrap!
