Fitness 360: Stephanie Toomey, Battle-Tested Body—Nutrition

Stephanie is a full-time mom, student, and athlete. But that doesn't mean she doesn't take the time to prepare meals and pack food wherever she goes. She knows the importance of healthy fuel and how it effects how she trains. She takes nutrition seriously.

Stephanie chooses to fuel her body with all-natural, whole, paleo-friendly foods. Because most of her food comes directly from the tree, bush, or farm, she doesn't have to concern herself with ingredients she can't pronounce or extra sugar she doesn't need. It's a nutrition plan that's meant to fuel performance and maintain a healthy body.

Stephanie Toomey Fit 360

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The 80/20 rule is a staple in many athletic lifestyles. Stephanie seems to have perfected it. "Eighty percent of the time, I eat all-natural, paleo/primal foods. Twenty percent of the time I eat things that I like to call 'treats.'"

Stephanie doesn't like the word "cheat," because she doesn't like to associate food with something negative like cheating. "Unless you're really dialing in to compete or something, you can go out to dinner with friends or have something extra yummy."

To meet her macros, Stephanie says she packs food with her wherever she goes. "I don't leave the house without food. I pack chicken, tuna, nuts, Lara bars, carrots, celery, veggies, or avocados."

Because she trains hard and often, Stephanie eats to fuel and refuel her workouts. "I plan my nutrition around my workouts. I don't say 'I'm going to eat six times today.'" She plans her workouts and meals a week in advance, after she's decided how she will train for the week. That way, she knows how to best fuel her training.

Stephanie's meals are packed with protein like eggs, beef, bacon, chicken, fish, and bison. She gets most of her carbs from vegetables like broccoli, eggplant, peppers, and kale, and fruit like berries, oranges, and kiwi. For fat, Stephanie eats bacon, whole eggs, nut butters, seeds, and oil. She tries to leave dairy off the table. "Other than my ON supplements, I do not do much dairy at all. I use ghee instead of butter and almond milk rather than cow's milk."

"You can always control what you put in your mouth," Stephanie says. "Nobody forces you to eat anything. So, if there's one thing you can control, when you have all these other uncontrollable elements in life, it's your food."