Michael Sapienza is the executive director of the Chris4Life Colon Cancer Foundation, which funds research to find a cure for colon cancer, the second leading cause of cancer deaths for men and women combined.
To show how one’s diet can promote digestive health and therefore prevent colon cancer, Sapienza kept a one-day food diary for us. Find out what he ate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner below.
Breakfast: “My morning always starts with fiber. Fiber is one of the most important foods we can eat to help promote digestive health. My breakfast this day was Kashi’s oat cereal with almond milk, sprinkled with flaxseed. There is evidence that flaxseed helps prevent heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.”
Exercise instructors like Katie Fouts aren’t always naturally fit. Fouts, a co-owner of Biker Barre in Capitol Hill, says she lost 50 pounds by “having a lot of healthy fun.” These days, she teaches barre and cycling classes multiple times a week at her studio, runs, practices yoga, and plays Frisbee. The secret, she says, is sticking with things she truly enjoys—which include heading to the Nationals’ home opener on Monday. Read on to see how she “had a blast and stayed healthy.”
Breakfast: “I had a quick pre-run nibble of a banana and caffeine before running five miles on the Mall. Whenever my brain could drift away from the complex maze created by the cherry blossom tourists, I was thinking of one thing: sausages. More specifically, big, juicy Italian sausages that you can get at the Senator’s Sausages stands at the ballpark. They’re one of my favorite things about Nationals games, and today I planned to bite into one!”
Alice Bender is a registered dietitian with the DC-based American Institute for Cancer Research. As part of her job, through food she helps Americans take “simple steps to lower cancer risk, based on the latest science.” Bender says she practices what she preaches, by following the institute’s New American Plate, which requires filling at least two-thirds of your plate with plant-based foods and one-third or less with animal foods. Two to three times a week she also exercises at the gym with vigorous cardio and strength training, on top of walking every day for at least 45 minutes.
Breakfast: “I start my day with routine: whole-grain toast with a little jam, plain yogurt, fruit, and coffee with milk. Lately I’ve been dressing up my coffee with frothed milk. I love my little frother.”
You might have come across Rachel Morris at the Whole Foods Market in Foggy Bottom, where each month she puts on cooking demonstrations and teaches vegetarian cooking classes. While she cooks vegan and healthy at home, she admits she likes to splurge on a cookie or pizza when she’s out and about. She also works out four times a week, including kickboxing and indoor cycling classes. Find out how the vegan-friendly cook eats for a day.
Breakfast: “I usually go light at breakfast, starting with coffee and my staple oatmeal (rolled oats, almond milk, blueberries, almonds and cinnamon) or sometimes a banana. I don’t eat breakfast until I’m hungry. I like to think my body will tell me when it’s awake and needs food.”
Recent DC transplant Christy Martin caught the running bug in 2010. Just three years later, she’s training for her sixth marathon and averages 40 to 50 miles a week with a couple of yoga and strength-training sessions thrown in. Needless to say, she needs to stay on top of her diet to make sure she’s fueling and replenishing her body with important nutrients after those long runs. How does she do it? By planning her meals at the start of every week. “I’m a big fan of meal planning,” she says. “I sit down on Sundays and plan out my meals for the week and post them on my fridge. It’s definitely a time saver so I don’t sit in front of an open fridge for 20 minutes deciding what to eat for every meal!”
Breakfast: “My go-to breakfast is whole-grain toasted waffles with almond butter and either apples or bananas with honey and cinnamon. It’s the perfect blend of carbs, protein, and sweetness to kick start my day. It’s filling and is easy to grab and go if I’m running late to catch the Metro, which almost always happens when I run before work.”
Jennifer Altoff, whom Well+Being readers recently named a top fitness blogger in Washington, just turned in her sneakers for heels when she left her gig as a personal trainer for an office job. But that doesn’t mean she’s given up exercising—she still tries to get in at least four workouts per week. “I enjoy circuit training and running around DC,” Altoff says. “The rest of my time is spent sneaking in exercise whenever and wherever possible—while enjoying all the fine dining the District has to offer. It’s all about balance.”
Read on to see how Altoff’s diet fits into her typical 9-to-5 routine.
Breakfast: “My day starts with a big glass of water followed by a serving of Greek yogurt with honey, raw oats, and a banana. If I’m feeling feisty I will add in a handful of whatever cereal snuck into my grocery cart that week at the store. I make a point to have the first meal of the day balanced, and my yogurt mess has a healthy amount of fat, protein, and carbohydrates to fuel me through a long commute and a busy morning at work.”
Nina Jankowicz is one busy, “fitness-obsessed” gal. When she’s not getting her study on as a Russian and Eastern European Studies graduate student at Georgetown University, she’s working out about six times a week and chronicling her experiences on her blog, Sweating It. “Grad school, internships, and job hunting keep me really busy, but I make time to be active and prioritize my health,” she says.
Read on to see how the fitness blogger stays fueled.
Breakfast: “After a long walk with our adopted husky-shepherd in the morning, I crave something warm and filling. I whip up three egg whites on two pieces of Ezekiel bread (hello, complete protein!) with some ketchup and low-fat cheddar cheese. I have my usual morning coffee on the side, prepared with unsweetened almond milk and a bit of stevia. At breakfast I begin my effort to consume about 72 ounces of water (three Camelbaks!) per day.”
We like where Debbie Katz’s head is: The holistic health coach believes that no one diet or fitness regimen suits everyone. Every day she helps women in their thirties to fifties fine-tune what will help them gain more “energy and vibrancy in their lives.” As for herself, Katz says what works best for her is an early in-home cardio and weight-lifting workout, “leading naturally into my day, where I like to be able to eat—a lot.” Each day she strives to include vegetables in each meal and eat a light dinner. “Although I tend to wear a lot of black, my food needs to be colorful and pretty!” she says.
Breakfast: “Black tea is my gentle push into the day, and sets the stage for a good workout.”
Post workout/morning snack: “My favorite time of the day: green smoothie! Sometimes I like to make it thick and eat it like fro-yo.” Frozen banana, mixed greens, hemp protein powder, raw cacao, spirulina, maca powder, and almond milk.
Haley Coghill lives and breathes fitness. She’s an assistant fitness director at Georgetown University, and when she’s not working she’s leading yoga and indoor cycling classes at local gyms like Down Dog Yoga, Vida Fitness, Mint, Stroga, and Sport & Health. “I teach nine classes per week, in addition to practicing hot yoga five to six days per week, running two to three days per week, and trying a new workout whenever I get the chance,” she says. Talk about a fitness lover. Coghill kept a one-day food diary for us to demonstrate how she fuels her body in between all that exercise.
Snack: “I teach first thing in the morning six days a week, so I need something that will keep me going through class without slowing me down. A clementine and a bottle of water is just the thing.”
Ana Browne of AnaBells Fitness is a former college basketball player who turned her years of athletic experience into a full-time job. These days, she’s running around the Washington region as a personal trainer certified in kettlebell training, TRX Suspension trainers, battling ropes, and flexibility training, to name a few. Read on to see how the busy bee stays on track with multiple small meals.
Meal 1: “I’m always on the run for work with clients, so here’s something quick with a lot of flavor.” One cup of Greek yogurt, three strawberries, and half a cup of granola.
