If you’ve ever hit the bike for one of Peloton instructor Jess King’s classes, you know to expect tons of dripping sweat, a dance party-like environment (which makes sense, as she was a former dancer and performer), and sparkly, colorful fitness gear from Jess herself. How does she sustain all that energy, you ask? Well, since her life is centered around fitness, that seeps into what she eats, too.
“Food is about nourishment, first and foremost,” the 35-year-old tells Women’s Health. Jess teaches up to 12 Peloton classes a week and it’s kinda-totally important that she has the right fuel in her body to keep her going. That, and her skin will be completely wrecked if she doesn’t eat well, she admits.
“I have some food intolerances: dairy, eggs, gluten, sugar, and believe it or not, salmon, which is a weird one,” she says. “So, I tend to avoid foods that are ‘unhealthy.’” That means nothing processed or baked goods, she clarifies.
“When I eat something that my body is intolerant to, my skin breaks out and it makes me feel uncomfortable and insecure,” Jess says. That can be especially tricky, she says, when she has to go teach several classes on camera.
So, Jess says, she keeps that in mind when picking out what to eat each day. “It helps me make the right choices for my body,” she says.
No matter what the day brings, here’s what Jess usually eats to feel like the best version of herself—and to keep her going through all those classes.
Breakfast
Jess kicks off every day with a “giant cup of coffee that has some fat in it,” like MCT oil or cacao butter. “I wait until I feel hungry, and then I’ll drink a celery juice,” she says.
After that, Jess says she’ll do avocado toast on gluten-free bread or coconut yogurt with honey-roasted pistachios on top. “Those are my go-tos,” she says. “I don’t spend a lot of time in the kitchen.”
Sometimes, Jess says she’ll sometimes just grab whatever’s in the fridge, even if it’s not a typical “breakfast food.” “It’s not uncommon for me to have a bowl of soup,” she says. She might even reach for a bowl of Bolognese for some extra protein if she has a long day on the bike ahead.
Lunch
For Jess, lunch is usually “whatever my fiancé Sophia packs for me,” she says. (Her Insta is always filled with cute pics of them in the kitchen together). “We’re both Latinas, so we always have some sort of rice.”
That rice will typically be paired with a protein, like fish, bison, chicken, or lamb, and some kind of greens, like broccolini. Or, she says, she might have a “big-ass salad,” packed with arugula, dairy-free feta, cucumbers, cranberries, and pistachios.
“I’m always eating on the go, and I make sure I always have food,” Jess says.“There’s nothing worse than burning a ton of calories and then not eating for hours.” She’s absolutely right about that.
Dinner
Because she’s going all day, she doesn’t fuss too much over dinner either. Dinner is “a lot of the same as lunch,” Jess says. It might be a rice-protein-greens combo again.There’s definitely going to be protein involved, regardless.
Or, it could be one of her favorite GF recipes: a gluten-free lasagna with zucchini as “noodles” and a meat ragu on top (that is, if she didn’t eat the Bolognese at breakfast time).
Snacks and Dessert
Jess admittedly isn’t a huge snacker because she packs each meal with so much protein. “I get so much out of my meals that I don’t necessarily reach for anything else throughout the day,” she says.
If she’s going to snack at all, it’ll be on potato chips. “I love a good potato chip,” she says, pointing out that it’s a great source of sodium after a big sweat session.
Standard desserts are a no-go for her. “I wish my body could process sugar,” she says. “It’s the one part of my food intolerances that makes me a little sad.” But that’s okay, because she puts so much focus into having three solid, filling meals to fuel her high-energy rides (and those fun playlists!) that she doesn’t need the jolt from sugar.
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