What Melissa Bishop eats in a day

She eats gluten, dairy and sugar in moderation. And her cocktail of choice? A rye and ginger

Madeleine Kelly February 6, 2019

Melissa Bishop is the Canadian 800m record-holder who placed fourth at the 2016 Rio Olympics. The Eganville, Ont. native, who now lives in Windsor, Ont., is in the midst of returning to training after having her first child, Corinne, in the summer.

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To become one of the strongest runners in the world, you have to take diet and nutrition very seriously. But Bishop explains that taking diet and nutrition very seriously doesn’t mean eating only vegetables. “Everything is in moderation. I do have a glass of wine here and there. I also eat chips, chocolate and candy, and drink wine, beer, or a rye and ginger. But again, it’s all in moderation and not all of the time. When I’m at the peak of my season my diet is pretty clean and rarely do I consume alcohol and junkier foods.”

Bishop took us through what her diet looks like on a heavier training day. It’s filled with whole foods that are good for you, but nothing about it is restrictive. Here’s how to eat like an Olympian.

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Breakfast

If I’ve got a workout in the morning, this is what my breakfast would look like.

8:00 a.m. I’ll have a coffee with one milk and one sugar, two eggs scrambled with butter and two pieces of whole wheat toast with peanut butter. My other go-to breakfast is oatmeal sweetened with real maple syrup (from my family’s sugar bush) with berries and nuts.

Workout

10:00 a.m. is workout time. My workouts in base season vary, but here’s an example of what one could look like. A 15 minute warm up, around 6K of intervals and a 15 minute cool down.

11:30 a.m. I have a post-workout recovery snack. Usually a granola bar or banana with a piece of fruit and the Infinite post-workout recovery blend.

Melissa Bishop — Photo: Claus Andersen/Athletics Canada

Lunch

Noon is lunch time. I’ll usually have leftovers from dinner or a sandwich. I like whole wheat bread, chicken or turkey, butter, and lots of vegetables on my sandwich. I also have yogurt and milk or chocolate milk on the side, I’ve got to keep my calcium intake high, especially when I’m breastfeeding.

Snack

2:00 p.m. I’ll have a snack. A snack is usually crackers and cheese, fruit, or toast and peanut butter. If I’m really hungry I’ll make oatmeal.

3:00 p.m. I get treatment.

4:00 p.m. I’ll do my second run of the day which is somewhere between 15 and 20 minutes long.

Dinner

6:00 p.m. is dinner time. Last night we had burgers topped with a fried egg, avocado, tomatoes, pickles, lettuce, onion, ketchup, mustard and mayo. Another favourite is baked salmon with rice and vegetables. Pizza night happens in our house once a week. Sometimes we order in, and other times we’ll make our own. Grilled chicken with seasonal vegetables and a pasta salad is also common for us.

8:00 p.m. I’ll have a snack before bed which is usually similar to my afternoon snack.