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  5. I want to have more energy and tone my body. A nutritionist said to eat more carbs, fats, and food overall.

I want to have more energy and tone my body. A nutritionist said to eat more carbs, fats, and food overall.

Rachel Hosie   

I want to have more energy and tone my body. A nutritionist said to eat more carbs, fats, and food overall.
  • A 33-year-old woman submitted an average day of eating to be reviewed for Insider's Nutrition Clinic.
  • A nutritionist said to eat more carbs, fats, and food overall.

Laura, 33, submitted her eating routine to Insider's Nutrition Clinic, where qualified dietitians and registered nutritionists offer advice on readers' eating habits.

She told Insider her goals are to boost her energy, build strength and "tone" her body, and sleep better.

Laura works with young kids so is fairly active throughout the day but doesn't do any formal exercise, she said.

Registered nutritionist Charan Bijlani told Insider that Laura may need to eat more to support her lifestyle and boost her energy.

"It sounds like Laura's goals are really around making sure she feels better, and because her job is quite physically demanding (keeping up with young kids isn't easy!) we want to make sure we're fueling enough throughout the day," Bijlani said. "It looks like Laura isn't eating very much so we'll want to look at increasing her overall intake but specifically focusing on some carbohydrates and healthy fats."

Eating breakfast will boost your energy

Laura starts her day with a coffee with creamer, and eats a whole cucumber. She has a mid-morning coffee with creamer too.

Bijlani recommended Laura try and have a more substantial breakfast in the morning as this will boost her energy levels.

"If she's not feeling too hungry this could be something like a small portion of overnight oats made with some oats, milk of choice, chia seeds, and some fruit," Bijlani said. "This is also great if we're limited on time in the morning."

Another option if Laura doesn't have much appetite in the morning is a smoothie. Bijlani recommended making one that's a balanced meal by including a couple of spoonfuls of oats, some frozen fruit, vegetables ("leafy greens like spinach works great and you can barely taste it," she said), and some Greek yogurt, nuts, or seeds. This will provide carbs, fat, protein, and fiber.

Getting some protein in at breakfast will help with Laura's goal of building strength, Bijlani said.

Add potatoes or grains to lunch for a fiber boost

At lunchtime, Laura eats a salad made from lettuce, tomato, cucumber, carrots, cabbage, turkey or chicken, and lite Italian dressing or BBQ sauce. She drinks a diet soda too, she said.

Bijlani said it's great that Laura is eating lots of different vegetables which will help her get a broad range of micronutrients.

However, adding some high fiber carbohydrates — such as oats, brown bread, quinoa, wholegrain pasta, brown rice, and sweet potatoes — would boost Laura's energy levels, Bijlani siad. She recommended adding some wholegrain couscous, sweet potato, or microwavable grains or brown rice to her lunch.

The diet soda may not be affecting Laura's sleep, but if her overall caffeine intake is a little high, she could consider cutting down to see if she sleeps better, Bijlani said.

Protein, strength training, and eating enough are key for muscle growth

At about 4.30 p.m., Laura snacks on fat-free Greek yogurt, she said.

"I like that there is an afternoon snack and Greek yogurt is a great high-protein option," Bijlani said. "Adding some nuts can add in some healthy fats and make it more filling, or some fruit for the natural sweetness plus added fiber."

The concept of "toning" is a myth, but what most people think of as a "toned" body comes from having some muscle mass and low enough body fat to see it. To build muscle and strength, eating enough is key (a calorie surplus is optimal) alongside resistance training with progressive overload.

Eating enough protein is also beneficial, as it helps muscles grow and recover from workouts.

Add carbs to dinner

For dinner, Laura eats steamed vegetables with a lean protein source, and sometimes an apple afterwards, she said.

Once again, Bijlani recommended adding some high fiber carbs to Laura's evening meal, as this will boost her energy levels, which may help her feel more inclined to add some strength-building exercise into her days.



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