Sarah 'Squat Bot' Harradine fuels crossfit with carbs in our latest #WhatIEat
New Body Confidential series sharing the daily eating habits of people living and working in Manchester. #WHATIEAT
Name: Sarah Harradine a.k.a 'Squat Bot'
Occupation: Personal Trainer and Crossfit fanatic
How many meals do you eat in a typical day?
“I'm pretty traditional - I like three decent meals with breakfast, lunch and tea.”
How many calories?
“I do occasionally track my food when I feel like I want to change my body composition or I feel like I'm lacking in energy. But at the moment I'm not, so I'm not sure how many calories I’m eating. I'm assuming around 2,000-2,300 as my weight stays fairly consistent.”
Breakfast
“Pretty much every day is overnight oats or porridge made with Missfits vanilla protein powder, blueberries, and a large spoonful of Biscoff spread! I'll attempt pancakes on a Sunday and also sometimes have baked beans with Linda McCartney sausages.”
Lunch
“Most Sundays I'll make a big pot of bean stew, with chickpeas, black beans, sweetcorn, and tinned tomatoes, flavoured with different spices each week, but almost always turmeric. I'll have a portion of this at lunch with a few spoonfuls of hummus, a big handful of fresh spinach, and extra rice if I feel like I need the energy and the bulk. It's cheap and a decent balance of carbs, protein and fat.”
Dinner
“I'm very lucky that I'll come home after coaching Personal Training sessions until late and my better half, Chris, will have made our tea. He's excellent at cooking and very creative too, so he'll take a bunch of chopped vegetables and dry fried tofu and make something slightly different each night. I couldn't tell you exactly what was in last night's dinner but it definitely involved coconut milk, ginger and mango!”
Pre-workout
“Something with simple carbs, like fruit, cereal, or even sweets to give me a burst of energy. I stay away from anything caffeinated before working out as my heartrate can spike really high.”
Post workout
“I have a protein shake straight away (I use That Protein, IdealFit or Wheybox vegan sachets) then I'll eat a full meal around 2 hours later. If it's been a tough training session then I'll have fast-acting carbs afterwards too - like sweets!”
Snacks
“I love snacking! My snacks are mainly nutritious, like fruit (mangoes, watermelon, and pomegranates are particular favourites), chopped carrots, cucumber and peppers with hummus - but I also eat Oreos pretty much daily and love homemade cake.”
What's the biggest misconception about your diet?
“I guess most people assume PTs are very careful about what they eat, which is probably true for most! But as long as I feel good plus I'm happy that I'm getting enough protein and vegetables, then I'll pretty much eat what I want.”
Is your diet easy to stick to?
“Yes - there's nothing to stick to! I think my diet is fairly relaxed but I think there is a shift in the fitness industry towards more balanced and intuitive eating anyway. I always ensure I pile my plate with veggies so I know I've got all the nutrients I need before snacking on Oreos."
Favourite cheat food
“I don't class anything as a cheat but I love Zizzi vegan pizza, Wagamama’s kare borusu ramen, and Teatime Collective cakes and doughnuts.”
Favourite place to eat in Manchester?
“That's a tough one - Another Heart to Feed for brunch, Foundation for coffee, Evelyn's for big bowls of greens with booze on the side... I'm also a sucker for Wagamama.”
