The LISTEN TO YOUR OWN BOD diet!!!
Have you heard of it? It’s the latest trend.
Or at least it is in my life. 😉
I know there can be a lot of confusion floating around out there about how to eat, what to eat, how to exercise, how often to rest, the health benefits of everything from bulletproof coffee to healthy fats to HIIT to paleo to living gluten-free — and ultimately, at the root of it all, while it is to fun to load up on knowledge & inspiration from people you admire, it all depends on YOUR body.
How you feel. What makes you feel the best. What makes you feel not good and icky and tired or what makes your tummy hurt. We are all different, and that is the beauty of living a healthy lifestyle!
My Journey in a nutshell //
I know it can be hard to figure out how to eat the best for your body. Real talk for a second here… it took me a DECADE, and I know I will continue refining and evolving my food choices with every passing year because I recognize that my lifestyle, body, activity level, and so much more changes all the time… so even for ONE person, there is no one size fits all diet.
A lot of you know that I grew up with debilitating stomach problems. The type of stomach problems that make it impossible to get out of bed and do anything when they flare up, and make it even more impossible to think about eating in a balanced, nutritious way. When I found veganism at the age of 21, I thought I had cracked the code. My stomach problems were finally at bay and I felt AWESOME!
I lost a ton of water weight and bloat, my skin was clearer than ever, and I was full of energy. But long story short (you can read the long version in my book, if you’re interested!!) — veganism triggered a whole lot of obsessive and restrictive tendencies inside of me which caused me to become addicted to juice cleanses, cut out basically all solid foods in general, and to develop a nasty eating disorder called orthorexia (with many elements of anorexia, also).
Oh, and I BLOGGED through the whole entire thing. So if you ever feel like going on a binge-read sesh on the bloggy, you can just scroll way far back and read literally every single word I wrote because I blogged every day throughout my ED and my recovery.
Anyway, that was almost three years ago. After that, I had hormone problems. Stomach problems. Horrible candida. IBS. A parasite in my stomach from reintroducing too many foods too quickly. A hiatal hernia. Stomach ulcers. Low stomach acid (almost none, actually). HIGH cortisol and estrogen and almost no progesterone. Sluggish thyroid. Cystic acne. My body didn’t know WHAT TO DO with itself.
So after that, every single way that I ate didn’t work for me. I’d try something and move onto the next thing after a few weeks because everything just seemed to make me feel worse and worse and more disconnected from my body. Heck, I even ran a marathon and my weight was at the highest it had ever been and my skin was a WRECK and a half… because I just wasn’t doing what worked for me.
The Healing Process //
You guys know about my affinity for functional medicine and my amazing doctor, Dr. Lekkos. I don’t want to repeat myself way too much because you can read here & all over the bloggy, BUT… functional medicine, Ayurveda & my full-blown Panchakarma saved my life. (So did my facialist, MOGJAN! Hit me up if you live in LA and want her info).
After I started getting my life back in balance via my supplements, Ayurvedic lifestyle, lots of yoga, lower intensity workouts, collagen peptides, Bulletproof coffee, Keto OS, and clearer & glowy skin… it was time to dive into feeling fully AWESOME again in every way.
I mean, I am passionate about wellness and feeling good above all else. So you can imagine how much it killed my soul inside when I didn’t feel good at all, and when even all of the health hacks that I wrote about weren’t working for me.
I wrote all about my wellness hacks here & they all seriously save me on the daily. I FEEL like I glow from the inside out again, and I am so unbelievably happy and proud to have found a lifestyle that works for me again.
Ultimately, beyond the wellness hacks I thought I would tell you once and for all HOW I EAT in a day (even though every day is different) because I do get asked all the time and I want to set the record straight!
Beyond the food though — I really credit functional medicine, a strong self-care practice, & yoga for the healing. It was the low intensity lifestyle my body was craving from the inside out… it needed to be nourished and taken care of, so I finally went for that. Meditation is just as healing to me as food, and moving slowly is MORE healing to me than going on pavement-pounding runs. It’s sensational, really.
What I eat in a day that makes me feel AWESOME //
* I don’t believe that any two people should eat exactly the same… so please continue listening to your body regardless of the below. I am just sharing my choices with you in hopes that some of it will stick with you, but I don’t expect all of it to!
Morning // First thing upon waking up I have a glass of warm water with lemon. It’s great for metabolism, digestion, skin and hydration. Then I mix my Keto OS with water and usually have either the Maui Punch or chocolate flavor (sometimes caffeinated, sometimes uncaffeinated) to kick my day off & get my brain function MOVIN’! Shortly after that, I make Bulletproof coffee with MCT oil & collagen peptides, and if I am going to work out in the morning I take 7-9g of BCAA’s.
*Keep in mind I have terrible IBS, so eating SOLID food first thing in the morning has never been my thing. Even when I do crave real food in the morning, I usually have a high-fat, protein-rich smoothie or a coconut yogurt because it takes several hours for my stomach to be able to metabolize and digest solid food. Also, I ascribe to the Bulletproof mentality of intermittent fasting on most days… so I try to wait 15 hours between dinner and breakfast every day because it helps digestion flow the best that way.
Late morning // I usually start getting hungry for actual food about 3 hours after my morning bulletproof + keto. If I get hungry earlier, which I sometimes do, I’ll make a chocolate protein shake with coconut milk and plant-based protein and maybe some almond butter. Then by noon-ish I am in the mood for a savory meal, so I’ll make three eggs scrambled or over-easy with a few slices of bacon or chicken sausage. I usually scramble in some spinach, scallions and maybe broccoli or cauliflower to sneak some veggie nutrients in too! Or if I am out to eat for meetings I will usually do a big salad with lots of protein, fats, and veggies!
Late afternoon // Since the above is usually a late breakfast/early lunch, I will have something late afternoon to hold me over until dinner. This could be anything from a high-fat smoothie (avocados are SO GOOD to use as a base here), a Bulletproof bar (YUM), coconut yogurt with raw chocolate (LOVE Coconut Cult & Eating Evolved), a chia pudding, avocado with sea salt and olive oil, some raw tuna, etc. I think you’re seeing a trend here of high fat or high protein with very minimal sugar. Those are my fave types of snacks that not only hold me over but give me energy.
Early evening // This is usually when I’ll have my second Keto OS. Some days I don’t have two, but often I do because I love the extra ketones in my body for brain function, metabolism, energy and so much more. I ALWAYS have a caffeine-free one at this time of day because homegirl is VERY sensitive to caffeine and it keeps me up at night if I have it too late!! If I am hungry and haven’t had a snack yet, I will sometimes turn this Keto drink into a smoothie with protein powder, nut butter, etc. SO good!!
Late evening // DINNERTIME! I am almost always an early dinner person. Ask anyone I know! I like to eat early because I really don’t like going to bed on a full stomach, and because of the nature of the way that I eat (times of day) it works for me to eat earlier usually. If I have to eat late because of an event or someone else’s schedule, I plan around it with later afternoon snacks so it’s no biggie. For dinner I really like to switch it up so it’s hard to say, but a typical meal would be salmon with veggies and sweet potato, chicken stir fry with veggies, sushi of any kind, a big salad from Sweetgreen or Simply Salad with plenty of protein and healthy fats, etc. And I usually finish off my dinner with a healthy dessert of some sort… usually more organic chocolate and nut butter!
So… that pretty much explains it! Some days are different than others, which is VERY normal. Sometimes I feel like having way more of a liquid day (usually due to stomach problems) so I will do all my morning drinks, a smoothie, bone broth, soup, etc. and then have more of a solid meal at dinner. Other days I’m ready for solid food by like 9:30am so I go for the eggs and bacon. The point is, I listen to my BODY!!!! So no two days are ever the exact same. And I totally want you to listen to your body too!
Hopefully this helps you to see that I eat lots of yummy high-fat foods, nutrient-rich animal protein, fibrous veggies, and I indulge in chocolate like all day long. I am by no means the starving vegan chick I once was. (Not that all vegans are starving. But I sure was.)
I advocate a balanced life above all else, and I hope you can see that products I LOVE like Bulletproof, collagen, Keto OS, etc. all rock my world because I come from a place of serious struggle when it comes to feeling good in my body, my stomach and so much more. I truly feel like all of the above is a GODSEND for me.
I think and KNOW that everyone deserves to feel this amazing. I think a lot of these principals will work well for a lot of people, but above all else I can’t wait for you to find what works best for you — and I can’t wait to keep connecting with you all every step of the way. <3
Also, PROBIOTICS!!!! Super necessary + amazing for all of us. I love ALIGN + also probiotics in Coconut Cult yogurt work WONDERS and taste like heaven.
XO, J