Health

Food Diaries: How Tessa Middour of the Barre Code Eats for a Day

Find out how the barre instructor keeps her dancer’s body in tact with her diet.

Before she heads off to her marketing job, Tessa Middour can usually be found at the Barre Code in Del Ray, where she teaches 60-minute barre classes. “I was a dancer for about 15 years, and appreciate the emphasis barre classes put on proper alignment, technique, and great music,” she says. 

She is also a certified Pilates instructor and is working on her Vinyasa yoga certification. Where you won’t find her is on the treadmill: “I don’t particularly love running, so I have to find more creative ways to get in cardio and stay active, whether that’s a long weekend walk or dropping into a hip-hop dance class.” Check out her one-day food diary to see how she supplements her workouts.

Breakfast: “I woke up early this morning to teach a 6:15 barre class. I don’t eat anything before teaching, but I do have a cup of coffee in the car on my way to the studio. After I get to work, I’ll eat breakfast. This morning I had Friendship 1 percent cottage cheese, some pineapple, and one more cup of black coffee.”

Morning snack: “I sipped on a Suja juice made with carrot, orange, apple, lemon, and turmeric.”

Lunch: “It was a nice day, so I picked up lunch at the Whole Foods near my office and ate outside. I made a big salad with spinach, kale, cucumber, beets, quinoa, chickpeas, carrots, and grilled chicken. Not pictured: water to drink.”

Afternoon snack: A peach and trail mix with dates, almonds and cashews.

Dinner: “Tonight I made baked halibut with avocado and sautéed kale with garlic. I just seasoned the fish with salt and pepper, and then squeezed a lime over everything. Not pictured: water to drink.”

Dessert: “A leftover piece of rhubarb cake with rhubarb from my mom’s garden, and a mango.”

Disclaimer: The Food Diaries series is intended to be inspirational and is not an endorsement of each individual’s diet.

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Are you a local health, fitness, or nutrition expert with a love for food? E-mail wellbeing@washingtonian.com to find out how you could be featured in our Food Diaries series.