Francia Raisa Says She’s Been Accidentally Intermittent Fasting For Years
Francia Raisa has kept herself booked and busy for well over a decade now. The actress currently plays Valentina in Hulu's How I Met Your Father, but you might also know her from classics such as Bring It On: All or Nothing and ABC's The Secret Life Of The American Teenager.
A lot has changed for Francia over the years, including her food philosophy. Since donating her kidney to Selena Gomez in 2017, she's become more mindful of how much protein she can have. (A high protein diet isn't recommended after a kidney donation, per Oregon Health & Sciences University.) "My whole philosophy is to just listen to your body and what it's craving and what it's needing, as opposed to, you know, smelling a burger on the street and being like, 'Ooh, that sounds yummy.'"
As she prepares for a second season of How I Met Your Father, she also has to get ready for long days of filming. And as you can probably imagine, being on set for hours at a time means that fueling up on the right foods is an essential part of the day. If you're curious about what Francia puts on her plate, you're in luck. Women's Health chatted with her to talk all things intermittent fasting, food lessons, and her daily diet.
Read on for all the details!
Breakfast
"I accidentally started intermittent fasting years ago when I was introduced to coffee. So I actually drink coffee on an empty stomach. Is it healthy? Probably not. But I do it," Francia admits.
When she's ready to grab food, she usually whips up her go-to granola recipe. Her usual mix includes old-fashioned rolled oats, a bit of vanilla, coconut oil melted with unsweetened coconut flakes, hemp seeds, chia seeds, pecan, pure maple syrup, and a pinch of salt.
"I'm a big fan of plain Greek yogurt with my homemade granola every morning, especially before I work out because we definitely need some substance in our body to burn fat or anything while we're working out," she says.
Lunch
After her workout, Francia reaches for a shake or a smoothie. Then, for lunch, she usually opts for a salad. Sometimes, she mixes things up with poke bowls, which include fresh fish, seaweed salad, and rice. Occasionally, pizza and fries do the trick too.
Snack
While Francia notes that she's not the biggest snacker, she enjoys apples with peanut butter. She also doesn't shy away from a late-night snack.
"I tend to do yoga late at night. I like it before I go to sleep, but obviously, you're starving afterward," she says. "A little granola and yogurt is the best meal to have before you go to sleep."
Dinner
Since Francia does intermittent fasting, she likes to have her bigger meals early in the evening, keeping her dinners at around 6:30.
She loads up on nutritious foods like steak, fish, rice, potatoes, and veggies. "I try to balance it out, depending on how much I have been exercising that day or that week, or if my body is like 'not today.'"
Dessert
"I do not have a sweet tooth at all whatsoever," Francia confesses. If she's in the mood for something sweet, she'll have a bit of cookies and cream ice cream.
But when Francia really wants to indulge in a guilty pleasure, she sips on her favorite Ketel One Botanical drink. "Personally, I like the peach and orange blossom, and then you like pick a garnish, a soda water, and that's it."
She's learned a few lessons over the years.
"We're learning so much about our bodies. And I'm entering my mid thirties, so I'm learning about how food just sits in your stomach," she says. "I had to learn how to portion better because my eye is definitely way bigger than my stomach."
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