I’m a Vegan and I Teach 9 Flywheel Classes a Week. Here’s What I Eat to Stay Fueled.

Photograph courtesy Amandah Povilitus.

Welcome to Sweat Diaries, Be Well Philly’s look at the time, energy, and money it takes to live a healthy lifestyle in Philly. For each Sweat Diary, we ask one Philadelphian to track everything they eat, all the exercise they get, and the money they spend on both. Want to submit a Sweat Diary? Email ccunningham@phillymag.com with details. 

Who I am: Amandah Povilitus, 31

What I do: Instructor at Flywheel, health coach at The Shift Wellness, nutrition/health coach at Unite Fitness and Sanctuary Yoga

What role health and fitness plays in my life: Health and fitness are how I find my flow: I am my most focused, happy, and creative self when I am coaching a Flywheel class, creating a new recipe, playing sports, balancing macros, or helping someone reach a goal. I absolutely love what I do.

Health memberships: I can go to both Unite Fitness and Sanctuary Yoga for free since I coach there. The only actual membership I currently pay for is through Phila Massages. For their membership, I paid $250 upfront for 12 months, which ended up making it $10/month (giving me a discount on services).

Monday

Photograph courtesy Amandah Povilitus.

4 a.m. — First alarm goes off. Seriously. I hit snooze (three times).

4:25 a.m. — I finally pull myself out of bed, grab my water bottle (I keep it full on my bedside table), and walk to the kitchen to make coffee. As I eagerly wait for it to be ready, I drink water and begin to work on my playlist. I am teaching a 6 a.m. class at Flywheel Sports, and have a little over an hour to prepare my class and bike to work.

5:25 a.m. — I layer up (it’s eight degrees outside), and bike to work. Lucky for me, it’s only a few blocks away. As I bike, I realize that I forgot my lock. I’ll be carrying my bike up and down the stairs at work today. Bonus workout?

6 a.m. — I teach a Method 45 class at Flywheel Sports to a full house of rockstars who don’t even know the word “excuse.” Eight degrees outside? No big deal. Monday morning? So what. Four races? Bring it on. They crush it!

7:10 a.m. — Feeling inspired, I change into dry clothes and bike home as the sun rises.

Photograph courtesy Amandah Povilitus.

8 a.m. — I snack on a thinkThin Plant-Based Chocolate Mint Protein Bar ($1.50) while I make a quick citrus juice from two oranges and one pink grapefruit. These thinkThin bars are fantastic. Aside from tasting like a candy bar, they have 13g of plant-based protein and only 5g sugar!

8:15 a.m. — I wake up my sleepy Jack Russell mix, Harriet, and take her on a walk. Once we return, my boyfriend Mark and I quickly pack our yoga bags, feed Harriet, put on some Bob Marley (her favorite), and head back out into our frozen city.

Photograph courtesy Amandah Povilitus.

9 a.m. — My friend Michelle joins us for Maggie’s Hot Power Fusion class at CorePower Yoga. Flywheel has a partnership with CorePower, so instructors are invited to attend each other’s classes for free. I am beyond grateful for this gift, as yoga is the perfect companion to indoor cycling and has truly helped my body recover from all of the work on the bike.

10:30 a.m. — Mark and I are back home and work together on breakfast: a high-protein tofu scramble and a hash (purple sweet potatoes, onions, plant-based chorizo, mushrooms, and garlic) that we top with cherry tomatoes, avocados, and lime juice. It’s ready in under 15 minutes because we worked together, and gives each of us approximately 650 calories, 55g protein, 13g fiber, 28g fat, and only 11g of natural sugars.

11:15 a.m. — We give Harriet a bath. I finally get to take a shower. I decide to take a nap. Ask any fitness instructor: the nap life is real!

12 p.m. — I wake up, drink more water, and start working on nutrition plans for my health coaching clients, on promoting my two upcoming events, and answering emails.

2:15 p.m. — I am ready for my second coffee. I decide to make this one a matcha coffee. I warm up 1 cup of coffee and add 1 teaspoon of matcha powder, 2 tablespoons of soy creamer, 3 tablespoons of unsweetened vanilla almond milk, and 1/2 teaspoon of Bee Free Honee. It’s absolutely divine. I get back to work.

3 p.m. — My friend Dom stops by to chat about some fitness collaborations we are working on (he is a fitness deejay!) and brings Sip-N-Glo. We shoot back their Healer shot and I sip on a Clean Green juice. Their Clean Green is my favorite: they somehow make a dark green juice with less than 1g of sugar taste amazing. (Sip-N-Glo is free because friends are awesome! Thanks, Dom!).

Photograph courtesy Amandah Povilitus.

4 p.m. — I start a very late lunch prep. I’m making a gluten-free pasta (it’s made from organic brown rice) with an avocado cream sauce (avocado, spinach, basil, pepitas, nutritional yeast, lemon, and spices), tofurky plant-based spinach pesto sausages, and cherry tomatoes. Once it’s ready, I portion it out into four bowls (two for now, two for later) and take mine back to my desk to continue working.

6 p.m. — I bundle up again and head out to a nutrition client that I am meeting at Unite Fitness. I am leaving early because there is an ice storm and I can’t bike like I normally do; the streets and sidewalks are covered in a thin sheet of ice!

8 p.m. — After my nutrition meeting, I am finally able to head home for the night and relax. Once I arrive, I grab the remaining pasta that I portioned out earlier, and sit down to eat with Mark and Harriet who just came in from a walk. At 8:43 p.m. I meet my water goal for the day: 95 ounces.

9 p.m. — We turn on Cody App and complete Dylan Werner’s Fascial Conditioning stretching routine before jumping into an extra 30-minute stretch of our own.

10 p.m. — Ready to chill, we turn on Netflix, snack on Bakeology’s Chocolate Chip Cookies (all organic ingredients with only 1 gram of sugar per cookie!), blackberries, and more water. Mark hits his hydration goal.

11 p.m. — Bedtime! We fill our water bottles, set our alarms, turn on some ChillHop, and fall asleep.

Daily total: $1.50

Tuesday

Photograph courtesy Amandah Povilitus.

6 a.m. — First alarm goes off. As usual, I hit snooze three times before waking up.

6:30 a.m. — I wake up, turn on some Milky Chance, and drink water while I prepare my coffee. I grind freshly roasted Rival Bros. Coffee beans, warm up some water, and get to French-pressing. Once it’s ready, I grab the biggest mug I can find, pour in some Silk Soy Creamer, and get to work on the day’s playlist.

7:20 a.m. — Mark returns from Harriet’s walk to tell me that it’s too dangerous to bike to work today (the city is still covered in ice), so I jump out of my chair, chug the rest of my coffee, and penguin-walk to work as quickly as possible.

8 a.m. — I lead a very sweaty Method 45 class at Flywheel Sports to a strong group of fun, regular riders. As always, the race was on for first place, the room’s energy was off the charts, and we crossed the finish line stronger than when we started.

Photograph courtesy Amandah Povilitus.

9:10 a.m. — As I walk to Jesse’s 9:30 a.m. class at Unite Fitness, I realize that I forgot the protein bar and juice that I had set aside for myself to eat between classes. I buy a five-pack of thinkThin Plant-Based Chocolate Mint Protein Bars ($5.99) at Target, quickly eat one, fill up my water bottle, and hop on a treadmill five minutes before class begins.  

10:50 a.m. — After Jesse’s class (I have been taking his class for as long as I can remember, and I am never disappointed), I bundle up and run to Sanctuary Yoga & Mindfulness for 11 a.m. meditation with Brian. I pour myself a chamomile tea (free!), roll out a yoga blanket, stretch, and relax into Sanctuary’s warm, super cozy space.

11:40 a.m. — I quickly meet with Kilkenny, the owner of Sanctuary Yoga & Mindfulness, to say hello and grab flyers for my upcoming Plant Powered You Workshop that I’ll be hosting with Sanctuary on January 27. 

Photograph courtesy Amandah Povilitus.

12 p.m. — I head home to make lunch. As I cook, I drink a Recovery juice from Sip N Glo (free: gift card!). I’m pretty hungry, so I make a simple but hearty meal: General Tso’s sesame seitan tacos with garlic tahini kale, plant-based smoked gouda “cheese,” and avocado on sprouted whole wheat tortillas. Mark and I sit down to eat, catch up on each other’s days, and snuggle with Harriet.

1 p.m. — I take a short nap (15 minutes) before grabbing the rest of yesterday’s Clean Green juice and heading to the kitchen to work on some new recipes. The most exciting thing I am currently working on is Chocolate Peanut Butter Crisped Protein Bar (think Rice Krispies treat, but covered in dark chocolate and good for you). I play around for a bit, happily eat one (okay, two), and update my notes. 

Photograph courtesy Amandah Povilitus.

2 p.m. — Mark arrives home with more coffee. Jackpot. I keep working, keep sipping, and snack on brazil nuts and almonds.

4 p.m. — I meet my hydration goal for the day (95oz) and keep working.

5 p.m. — Our friend Jack stops over to say hello, so I stop working to catch up with him. We chat while I press tofu for tonight’s dinner. After an hour, we all walk Harriet to Flywheel for my evening class.

6:45 p.m. — I lead a sold-out Method 45 class at Flywheel Sports. We sweat, we race, we dance, and we finally cross the finish line. 

8:30 p.m. — I arrive home and complete a quick foam rolling session before Mark joins me in the kitchen to make dinner. Tonight we are making a vegetable red thai curry with crispy-baked tofu over Forbidden rice that we top with tomatoes, avocado, and a squeeze of lime. 

9:30 p.m. — We watch one episode of Borderline on Netflix (it’s like The Office, but set in border control at an  airport) before putting on a meditation to ease us into sleep.

Daily total: $5.99

Wednesday

Photograph courtesy Amandah Povilitus.

4:20 a.m. — I sleep through my first three alarms and finally wake up. I tiptoe to the kitchen, put the kettle on, grind some Elixr coffee, and get to work. I drink half a bottle of water before my coffee is ready. 

5:35 a.m. — I’m back to teach another super sweaty 6 a.m. #DawnPatrol Method 45 class at Flywheel Sports. It’s so nice to be in the warm studio! One of my health coaching clients comes to class and sets her PR while 52 riders crush an intense HIIT workout. Beast. Mode.

7:30 a.m. — I arrive home with just enough time to write up the nutritional information for a meal that I prepped for a coworker friend of mine. He is also a plant-based fitness instructor, Leroy Mapp. I snack on a thinkThin Plant-Based Chocolate Mint Protein Bar and drink more water while I write.

8:40 a.m. — Mark and I bundle up and head out to Maggie’s 9 a.m. Hot Power Fusion class at Core Power Yoga together. 

10:30 a.m. — Mark and I take Harriet on a long walk. We meet up with our friend Ram, grab a few things from the market (Silk Soy Creamer, $1.99; and fresh grapefruit juice, $4.99), and head home. We find out that our friend Greg is surprise-visiting us from New York, so we straighten up a bit, rearrange our schedules, make more coffee, drink our juices, snack on the protein bars that I made yesterday, and, finally, shower.

Photograph courtesy Amandah Povilitus.

12:30 p.m. — I make a “leftovers lunch” from yesterday’s vegetable red thai curry, crispy tofu, and Forbidden rice. There isn’t a lot left, so I serve it alongside a giant salad that I make from kale, cucumbers, tomatoes, cauliflower, yellow pepper, avocado, and a simple homemade dressing (tahini, onion, garlic, lemon juice, cilantro, dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, bee free honee, turmeric, pink salt, and pepper). I drink more water. Then, I make another coffee (that’s number three). I eat while I work: answering emails, scheduling clients, working on meal plans, and crossing off as many things as possible from my to-do list.

3:30 p.m. — I am fading, so I toss on a 15-minute Boho Beautiful stretching routine (free on Youtube!) to move my body and warm up a bit before getting back to work.

4:45 p.m. — Mark arrives home with Greg and surprises me with one of my favorite meals: the Buffalo seitan vegan wings (served alongside fried Brussels and apricot horseradish cream which are both unbelievable) from Cedar Point Bar & Kitchen in Fishtown (free since it was a surprise!). While we catch up, we play a few games of Rocket League, I savor every bite of the buffalo goodness, I drink more water, and we relax.

6:30 p.m. — We take Harriet on a long walk before taking her home again and heading back out. Since our friend is in town and excited to try some new food, we visit Rione and grab a few slices of their vegan pizza option: the Marinara. We pair the slices with a big salad and glasses of water (which allows me to reach my hydration goal for the day!). Mark treats us to dinner.

8:30 p.m. — We wrap up the evening with giant mugs of Turmeric Glow tea in front of the crackling fire, play a few more games of Rocket League, watch a movie, and enjoy a beer. I wasn’t planning on indulging, but the guys are drinking Singha, which reminds me of Thailand, so I decide to enjoy one with them. When the guys go in for another, I grab a lavender kombucha.

Daily total: $6.98

Thursday

6:40 a.m. — As usual, I hit snooze four to five times before finally waking up. You would think that after teaching 6 a.m. fitness classes for more than five years I would be used to this. Nope. I grab my water bottle, begin preparing my coffee, and get to work on today’s playlists. 

7:25 a.m. — The ice has melted, so I can finally bike to work again! It’s raining, but I don’t mind the rain. I head out, do a few vocal sirens as I bike to warm up my voice (bonus: it keeps weirdos away because everyone thinks YOU are the weirdo), and arrive at work just on time. 

7:40 a.m. — After having to enlist five riders to free me from my jacket when the zipper gets stuck, I lead my 8 a.m. Method 45 class to a room full of loud, woo-ing, super energized riders who impress me with their dedication to my extra long, loud, rock-centric intervals this morning.

Photograph courtesy Amandah Povilitus.

9:10 a.m. — A bunch of my regular 8 a.m. riders and I head to Elixr Coffee Roasters for a post-class treat. We do this every Thursday. We always get a table-full of delicious coffees and sometimes indulge in Dottie’s Doughnuts. Today was one of those days: I had an Oat Milk Latte (which was sweetly treated to me by one of my riders!) and I split a vegan Cookie Butter doughnut with the group. 

9:25 a.m. — My massage therapist, Nick, and I head to Phila Massages for my weekly sports deep-tissue appointment. I have been seeing Nick one to two times a week for a little over a year now, and he recently started coming to my classes on Thursday mornings. I cannot recommend him enough. 

Photograph courtesy Amandah Povilitus.

10:30 a.m. — After my massage, I walk around the corner to Sip N Glo. After yesterday’s unplanned cheat day, I go with a Detox Juice and a two-ounce Wheatgrass Shot (free with gift card). 

11:15 a.m. — I arrive home and begin cooking breakfast for Mark, Greg, and I. I make us a power bowl breakfast that consists of a tofu and spinach scramble, a hash (vegan chorizo, purple potatoes, Brussels sprouts, mushrooms, black beans), and a generous amount of avocado and tomatoes.

1:15 p.m. — I snack on a thinkThin Chocolate Mint Plant-Based Protein Bar as I walk back to Flywheel for a two-hour training session. Next week we will be debuting our new class style, our Power Ride, which I am so excited for!

Photograph courtesy Amandah Povilitus.

3:35 p.m. — After the training session (another two hours on the bike), I meet Mark and Greg at Goldie Falafel. I get their Falafel Salad Bowl ($9) and chug another full bottle of water.

5 p.m. — I am spent, and decide to take a quick nap before making a few changes to my playlist for my evening class at Flywheel.

6 p.m. — It’s back to Flywheel Sports for another sold-out Method 45 class. As usual, the board is filled with no excuse riders who absolutely destroy their high scores. 

8:10 p.m. — Finally, it’s time to head home. I’m exhausted and super hungry, so I get to work on dinner as soon as I arrive. Since I’m tired, I make the same, simple General Tso’s tacos that we had on Tuesday. Mark makes us tea, and we laugh through an episode of The Office before heading to bed.

Daily total: $9

Friday

Photograph courtesy Amandah Povilitus.

6 a.m. —I dive into my morning routine of water, coffee, and playlisting.

7:10 a.m. — I fill up my water bottle, grab a thermos of coffee and grab a banana as I run out the door. On Fridays, I teach in the Bryn Mawr Flywheel Sports studio, and the commute usually takes me at least 45 minutes.

8 a.m. — I arrive at Flywheel Sports, chat with the early birds who have already arrived for class, and set up to lead the 8:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. Method 45 classes.  After class, I take a quick shower before heading out with a friend for coffee (yes, more coffee).

Photograph courtesy Amandah Povilitus.

10:45 a.m. — My friend Emily and I arrive at Sunset Moon Wellness Center  and Superfoods Cafe. I order a latte with fresh cashew milk and lavender syrup, Emily orders a Smurf Juice Smoothie, and we both order avocado toast on millet chia bread with spirulina basil white bean spread. Emily surprises me by paying the bill (thanks again, girl!).

11:35 a.m. — I’m a bit early, so I run into MOM’s Organic Market for breakfast items for the weekend. (I spend a total of $105.72 on groceries for two for the week.) 

12 p.m. — I meet with Frances, the owner of BodyX Fitness & Nutrition in Bryn Mawr. We’re meeting to talk about my upcoming healthy cooking classes that I will be leading once a month beginning in February. My first event will be on Thursday, February 15. 

2 p.m. — I arrive home, and decide to chill for a few hours with Mark and our dog, Harriet. It’s been a very productive morning! We snack on Bakeology Chocolate Chip Cookies, Farmhouse Culture Dill Probiotic Chips and hummus, and play a few games of Rocket League. And then? I nap.

4:30 p.m. — Mark and I take Mary’s 4:30 p.m. Hot Power Fusion class at Core Power Yoga. It is blissful.

Photograph courtesy Amandah Povilitus.

6 p.m. — After class we head to Sip-N-Glo for post-yoga treats. I get a Green Beast juice and Mark gets a protein shake. We walk home, talk about our favorite moments of class (including when I fell out of Crow), and take Harriet on a long walk.

8 p.m. — Mark and I arrive at Dizengoff for a surprise party for a friend of ours. I sip on my go-to drink (tequila, soda water, lime), one cocktail (they call it the “Slow Roll” and it is delicious), and way too much pita, hummus, and snacks to remember! Not only is the evening covered by Sean, but he also sends us home with leftovers! What a guy.

11:30 p.m. — Mark and I head home, walk Harriet, and settle in for the evening. We drink a lot of water to aid in balancing out the alcohol from the evening. Saturday is my only morning to sleep in, and I am so looking forward to it. On deck for this weekend: nutrition clients, a bridal shower, yoga, and two more Flywheel Sports classes. Goodnight!

Daily total: $105.72

Weekly Totals

Money spent: $129.19

Flywheel classes taught: 9

Workout classes taken: 4

Cups of coffee: 11

Juices: 6

Naps: 4

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