• Roxana Ehsani is a board-certified sports dietitian who runs and strength trains.
• She focuses on a nutrient-rich diet with plenty of protein, fiber, and carbohydrates.
• She loves overnight chia seed pudding, sheet pan dinners, and "nice cream" for dessert.

As a board-certified sports dietitian, Roxana Ehsani knows how important a balanced diet is for staying fit.

Ehsani, who works in Miami, runs most days of the week and strength-trains two to four times a week. To help with her performance, she prioritizes high-quality protein sources, such as salmon and dairy, in her diet.

"I'm pretty good about getting plenty of protein in my meals and snacks," she told Business Insider. "I know it's just going to keep me full for longer, and also aids with muscle repair and recovery."

She eats lots of fruits and vegetables for added vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber that can help her energy levels. She also eats carbohydrates such as whole wheat bread, buckwheat, and quinoa.

Ehsani shared the meals and snacks she eats throughout the day to feel energized for workouts, build muscle, and recover.

Overnight chia seed pudding

Ehsani usually starts her mornings with a filling and nutritious breakfast.

"I'm pretty obsessed with chia pudding as of now, and it's super easy to make," she said.

Before bed, she mixes a few tablespoons of chia seeds with dairy milk and refrigerates it. In the morning, she tops it with fresh berries, a drizzle of almond butter, and some granola or nuts.

That breakfast gives her omega-3 from the chia seeds, which is fantastic for heart health and also promotes strong joints, she said. From the other ingredients like dairy milk, berries, and almond butter, she's getting protein, calcium, potassium, fiber, antioxidants, and healthy fats — all crucial for feeling good and energetic.

Sometimes, she changes up breakfast by eating oatmeal or a smoothie bowl, keeping many of the ingredients, like fresh fruits and milk.

Canned or smoked salmon for quick, high-protein lunches

Ehsani said that her lunch hours are "pretty busy," so she whips together a quick and protein-packed meal for lunch.

"I'll usually utilize something like smoked salmon or canned salmon as my protein source," she said. Often, she'll take either one and throw it into a wrap or sandwich with hummus, greens, and cut-up vegetables. Salmon is one of the highest sources of protein, with 27g of protein per serving.

Sometimes, she'll have soup or a sweet potato for lunch instead. But she's "always making sure to get plenty of protein, veggies, and some type of whole grain or starchy veggie."

Fruit right before a workout

Ehsani usually exercises in the late afternoon or early evening. To prepare, she eats some fruit 15 minutes before the workout.

She'll usually have a banana, seasonal fruit like mango, or dried fruits like dates or raisins. "I like to have it just pretty much right out the door, to top off my glucose stores and give me energy to get through that workout," she said.

She sips a few dairy beverages throughout the day

To get a little more protein throughout the day, Ehsani has dairy milk when she can, such as in an afternoon latte.

She also sips chocolate milk right after her workout.

"Chocolate milk is a great recovery beverage," she said, because it has a three-to-one carb to protein ratio to replenish muscle glycogen and electrolytes to make up for lost sweat. It also just tides her over while she prepares dinner.

She tries to drink chocolate milk 30 to 60 minutes after the workout for it to have an optimal impact on her body. "Usually, I'll try to do that really quickly after the workout, probably right away when I get home," she said.

Simple sheet-pan dinners for protein and fiber

Ehsani relies on sheet pan dinners a lot throughout the week because they're a quick and easy way to eat a fresh, balanced meal with protein, fiber, and other vitamins.

Usually, she'll season or marinate a piece of salmon, chicken, or sablefish along with veggies like sweet potatoes, eggplant, or broccoli. Sometimes, she deviates by throwing the ingredients on top of some mixed greens and making a salad or grain bowl instead.

"I chop a little bit, throw it in the oven, and then I can go shower and get ready," she said. "It just gives me all those nutrients in one."

Two-ingredient mango ice cream packed with vitamins

"I have a big sweet tooth," Ehsani said. For dessert, she and her husband will have a few squares of dark chocolate. More recently, she said they've been making homemade mango ice cream by blending frozen mangoes and dairy milk together.

"It makes a really nice, almost like a soft-serve consistency," she said, tasting like a satisfying dessert with some extra nutrients. For even more protein, she said Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, or protein powder can be added as well.

"We've been doing that a lot of nights, making some type of healthy-ish sweet treat in the evenings," she said.

• Michelle Kloese, 42, gained weight from early menopause and a stressful job.
• When she started a new job, she joined a health app paid for through work.
• Walking every day, logging her water intake, and meal swaps helped her lose over 60 pounds.

At 40, Michelle Kloese felt like she didn't recognize her body. In five years, she gained 38 pounds and developed high cholesterol, high blood sugar, and plantar fasciitis, a kind of foot pain caused by inflammation.

She didn't always feel like this. In her 20s, running was her main form of exercise, and she loved 5K races. Her body started to change in her mid-20s, when she experienced symptoms of early menopause, like infertility. By her 30s, bloodwork confirmed she had perimenopause, around 15 years earlier than most women.

Then, in her mid-30s, she started a demanding job as a middle school assistant principal, often starting before the school day and wrapping up after school hours. With less time to work out, a busy schedule, and irregular meals, she started to snack more.

"Somebody would leave a cupcake on my desk, so I'd eat that, or parents would bring in a basket of candy," Kloese, now 42, told Business Insider.

The change in her body really struck her after a surprise trip to Ireland for her 40th birthday. "I looked at the pictures and went, 'Oh gosh, I need to do something different,'" she said.

She had just started a new, less stressful edtech job, Kloese learned about a health app, Personify Health, connected through their insurance. The timing was perfect: she signed up, logging her steps and water intake.

She lost 38 pounds in the first year and 23 pounds the following year. Now she's in a "weight maintenance" phase, seeking to stay within a few pounds of her current weight.

"I have so much more energy — I'm not as sluggish and tired as I was feeling all the time," she said. The issues related to her weight, like high cholesterol and high blood pressure, also went away. "I have just felt a whole lot better."

Kloese shared the three habits she started and still maintains to keep the weight off.

She woke up to a full glass of water

Before, Kloese didn't drink much water — sometimes, she'd only remember to have around eight ounces of the recommended eight cups in one day. "That's one of the most challenging ones for me to do," she said.

Her goal was to get to at least 72 ounces, or nine cups per day.

Tracking her intake helped. The first thing she did every morning was drink a full, 8-ounce glass of water and log it in the app. For the rest of the day, she'd log in "steady sips", using a marked water bottle to measure her progress. It was more manageable for her to track two ounces at a time rather than feel pressure to chug a lot of water at once.

Drinking water helps with weight loss by curbing your appetite. It can also help you reach a calorie deficit if you swap it for high-calorie drinks like soda.

She swapped running for walking and yoga

While she used to run a lot in her 20s, Kloese's knees and hips hurt when she tried in her 40s. She knew she needed to try something different.

When she first made a plan to lose weight, Kloese communicated with a personal trainer through an app. The trainer said that, in her 40s, it was important for Kloese to focus on strength training as we naturally lose muscle with age. Muscle-building can also help with weight loss — gaining muscle boosts your metabolism and burns fat.

Kloese started doing at-home and online circuit workouts 3-4 times a week with light weights.

The rest of the time, she walked. She took part in a fitness challenge of walking 30 minutes a day. Weight-loss-wise, she said she saw about the same results as running.

Now, she aims to walk at least 7,000 steps a day, whether on her walking pad or on trails near her home in Florida. Occasionally, she trains for Mammoth Marches, 20-mile hikes all over the country.

She also swapped out some of the strength training with yoga, which relaxes her while still improving her strength and flexibility.

Being more active transformed her relationships with her friends. "Before, where we might've just picked a restaurant to hang out at, instead, we go out and do a hike," she said.

She made simple meal swaps

Despite snacking on sugary treats at her old job, Kloese isn't much of a sweets person. "I was a pasta-potato-bread kind of person," she said. Still, she wanted to make some more nutritious swaps.

Through the KickStart app, she logged her meals by taking photos of them. If she got a burger and fries, the app suggested lower-carb sides for next time, like a side salad or sweet potato wedges.

Eventually, she naturally made those swaps on her own, like cooking quinoa instead of white rice. She also gets pre-made meals through Factor, which she said helps her with portion control and eating a balanced diet when she's busy.

"Those were all small changes that evolved over time," she said.