This week’s food diary may be the most unconventional diet featured yet. MyBootcamp and Revolve DC’s indoor cycling instructor Grant Hill told us his high-calorie diet, which he says is needed to achieve his performance goals, might not be what we expected. “You might be surprised when you don’t see ‘low-fat’ this or ‘whole-grain’ that in my diet.” Things we did see? Raw liver, kelp, and kombucha. But we’ll let Hill’s food diary do the talking.
Breakfast: Coffee blended with coconut oil and grass-fed butter, plus supplements, water, and canned organic sweet potato. “I start each day with Bulletproof Coffee, which consists of high-quality coffee—I use Larry’s, which is shade grown and lower in mycotoxins than you’ll find in abundance with conventional beans—blended with coconut oil and grass-fed butter such as Kerrygold. I modify mine slightly because I find my stomach is happier with coconut milk than with butter. I add some local raw honey, but if you have weight-loss goals, don’t take this cue from me.”
“I take a few supplements in the morning, too: Carlson’s cod liver oil, vitamin D, kelp, and arginine. Everyone should include a high-quality fish oil and vitamin D in their diet daily. I also drink a lot of water. I have a 2.2-liter bottle that I empty into my belly a few times a day. I use a powerful water filter called Zero Water to get out all the yucky stuff from the tap (fluoride, chlorine, heavy metals, other partially dissolved solids), and I add a pinch of high-quality Celtic sea salt and kelp for a nice wide-spectrum micro-nutrient blast.”
“Canned organic sweet potato is one of my greatest diet hacks. Convenient, portable, highly concentrated nutrition. My goal is muscle building, so this gives me a quick and easy on-the-go solution. It tastes just like a sweet potato cooked in the oven but without any hassle, and it’s portable! I stick a spoon in the can and hit the road. These are amazingly nutrient-dense, high-quality calories—and in a BPA-free can, to boot.”
Post-10 AM ride at Revolve DC: Banana. “It’s nutrient-dense and high in electrolytes like potassium so it’s a perfect post-workout snack.”
Lunch: “The Whole Foods bar was meh that day. I avoid canola oil—due to the manner in which it is processed, it ends up being a hydrogenated oil. It seemed every prepared dish at the cold bar either had canola or soy or some nebulous ‘dressing,’ so I did a DIY salad. I freaking love greens, so it’s a mashup of spinach, red chard, and kale tossed with roasted garlic herb redskin potatoes, pineapple, parsley, sunflower seeds, raisins, and an olive oil/lemon/garlic dressing. Get in my belly! Chase with kombucha!”
Snack at 1 PM: Apple with almond butter.
Pre-4 PM workout snack: “I supplement with raw liver pre-workout. Liver is freaking amazing. As long as it comes from a healthy animal raised in a low stress/high-love environment in its natural habitat and fed its natural diet, liver is off the charts in terms of nutrient density. For my liver supplementation, I keep the liver frozen, then cut off a piece about the size of my finger, dice it, and take the little cubes like pills with water.”
Post-workout snack: Protein shake (local creamline whole milk and three raw eggs from South Mountain Creamery, plus recovery whey powder from Stronger Faster Healthier), banana, and water.
Pre-dinner snack: “Quick and easy guacamole. I take a whole avocado, mash it up, and add some high-quality salsa, a dash of sea salt, and cayenne. Mix it up, and boom—amazing guac at about half the price.”
Dinner: “The least photogenic meal of the day is the most delicious. My wife made a slow-cooker beef stew. This concoction is based on a recipe from Everyday Paleo. Grass-fed beef (again from local South Mountain Creamery), coconut milk, curry paste, sweet potato, and whatever veggies you have on hand (we had mushrooms, onions, and broccoli). It’s cooked for six hours on low in the slow cooker, so it retains much of the nutrients. I add some white rice for more calories sans the anti-nutrients of brown rice. I recommend avoiding grains altogether, but white rice is fairly benign in terms of the anti-nutrients and serves as a calorie booster to support my performance goals. Again, if you have weight-loss goals, pass on the filler and just eat more stew until you are satisfied based on your energy requirements.”
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.
