The problem with 'What I eat in a day' posts.

I have seen these videos/ posts and blogs numerous times. Fitness professionals, or those with a large following, posting what food they consume over a 24-hour period.

Now, I am all for sharing recipes and trying out new recipes to spice up my ‘go to’ easy evening meals. However, ’What I Eat in a Day’ posts can become problematic when people try and follow a specific daily food routine based on someone else’s likes/ dislikes and ignoring the fact that other peoples bodies have completely different energy and nutritional requirements to their own.

Everyone’s body is different. What I eat in a day would look completely different to what someone else does. This is due to my height, size and activity levels. Even if I had an identical twin and we both enjoyed the same foods, what we ate daily is not likely to be the same. If Coach Ceri 2.0 had a different lifestyle and was less active than myself, our daily calorific requirements would differ. My day to day diet also varies hugely. Some days my calorie intake is higher than on others, so just focusing on one 24hour period is not even a good representation of someone’s overall diet.

Another thing to consider is these posts are not likely to include the days where someone has eaten half a tube of Pringles, ordered something on Delieveroo, been out with friends and had a heavy session on the beers, or got home late and decided to have a bowl of cereal for dinner. Not that there is anything wrong with that. I for one am an advocate of having breakfast foods at any time through the day. Porridge has been my dinner numerous times over the years when I am unmotivated to get the wok out!

If people are posting what they eat over one 24hour period they are going to put the effort in and make their food choices look good. More time will be spent on preparing each meal and making them look appetising. It’s unlikely they’ll include bodge job meals where they just use up what’s left in the fridge/ cupboard. Some of the meals I rustle up are most definitely not something to present on Come Dine With Me; Pasta avec whatever I could find in the fridge, a slice of marmite on toast and a few of my Dads home-made pickled onions.

Below we have a lovely example of a last minute, minimal effort, one pan wonder: broccoli, aubergine, bacon, pesto pasta with parmesan to garnish.

Not particularly aesthetically pleasing but it did the job.

When confused about where to start with your nutrition, it may seem like a good idea to copy the diet of someone who’s body you might aspire to. You need to instead focus on yourself and what nutritional requirements your body requires to help you achieve your goal.

So instead of following a super restricted 1300cal no carb, no sugar, no dairy, no gluten, no vegetables which grow below the ground (lol), Victoria Secret diet… (this was a legit article I found online). Find out what works for you and your body and if there are any changes to be adjusted in your current weekly nutritional habits.

Are you currently consuming the correct amount of calories? Do you need to be eating a bit more/ less? Are you getting enough protein in your diet? What foods leave you feeling more energetic and satiated? What meal timings work best for you? What foods make you bloated (broccoli I'm looking at you). Find a diet that is designed for your body, one that allows you to still include food that YOU enjoy and one that is inline with your goals. Need a bit of help with this? Drop me a message.

Coach Ceri