• Ciara, 28, submitted an average day of eating to be reviewed for Business Insider's Nutrition Clinic.
• A nutritionist said eating more food, especially carbs, would help her.
• If you'd like to have your diet reviewed by an expert, fill out this form.

Ciara, 28, submitted her eating routine to Business Insider's Nutrition Clinic, where qualified dietitians and registered nutritionists offer readers advice on their eating habits.

She said her goals are to lose fat and gain muscle.

Ciara does five CrossFit sessions plus five cardio workout classes a week. She rests on Sundays, she said.

Rebecca Ward, a sports nutritionist and personal trainer, told BI that as Ciara uses so much energy, she needs to eat enough to fuel herself and help her body recover, even if she wants to lose weight.

"She would also benefit from taking a lighter training day on one of her days rather than having only one rest day per week," Ward said.

Building muscle requires enough rest and recovery time between workouts, Ward added.

"If she's sufficiently fueled through better, more optimal food choices, that is definitely achievable," she said, referring to building muscle and losing fat.

While strength training is essential for muscle building, exercise is not a prerequisite for fat loss. Moving more does contribute to a calorie deficit, but research suggests formal exercise makes up only about 5% to 10% of a person's overall daily calorie expenditure.

Overexercising without recovering sufficiently can put stress on the body, hinder progress, or be a symptom of an unhealthy relationship with exercise.

"When we overexercise, we often do it for the wrong reasons, believing we 'need to sweat every day to burn calories' or we 'need train cardio to lose weight,' when actually our bodies will benefit more from a mixture of exercise regimes," Hayley Madigan, a personal trainer, previously told BI.

Ciara eats a high-protein diet

Ciara doesn't eat until 3 p.m. when she has half a high-protein ready-meal consisting of rice and meat.

After working out, she has an egg-white omelet with mushrooms, onions, and cauliflower rice or salmon with broccoli and cauliflower rice.

Later in the day, she has a portion of protein pancakes, two packets of protein chips, and, if she's still hungry, a protein shake or bar.

Ciara estimates she eats 1,200 to 1,300 calories and 110 to 120 grams of protein a day.

By not eating till 3 p.m., Ciara creates a large fasting window from the evening before. While some people feel good while intermittent fasting, it doesn't suit everyone and isn't required for fat loss.

Jaclyn London, a registered dietitian, previously told BI she recommends people eat breakfast as it can form part of a healthy relationship with food and also "set the stage" for the day ahead.

Eat enough carbs to fuel and recover

Ward said it's great that Ciara is eating plenty of protein to help her maintain muscle mass, but she'll struggle to build muscle with such low overall food intake.

"Her diet is very low in calories given the energy expenditure she will have with 10 exercise sessions a week," she said. "It will be difficult for Ciara to recover from or fuel her workouts optimally."

It's true that a calorie deficit is required for fat loss, but dropping your intake too low can have negative consequences such as slowing the metabolism, fatigue, brain fog, muscle loss, and menstrual-cycle loss.

"I'd be intrigued as to how well she performs during workouts that are designed to hit her goal of increasing muscle mass," Ward said. "She would benefit from having more carbs in her diet to optimize performance in said workouts, to achieve higher intensity and volume."

Ward recommends Ciara eat more carbs with every meal and snack, perhaps starting by eating more fruit daily, which would provide fiber too.

Carbs not only provide energy for workouts but help replenish glycogen stores after exercise too, which aids recovery.

Don't forget healthy fats

Ciara's diet is also low in fat.

"Fats are essential for optimal health, are fuel for exercise at lower intensities, but also very important for recovery," Ward said. "So adding in a little oil, avocado, nuts, and seeds will help her recover from training and have greater vitality from fat-soluble vitamin absorption."

Consider separate fat-loss and muscle-gain phases

While it's not impossible to lose fat and gain muscle simultaneously, doing so in separate cycles can be more effective.

This means eating at maintenance calories or a slight surplus to fuel muscle growth for a few months and then dropping into a slight calorie deficit to lose body fat.

"Losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time is possible, but is definitely sub-optimal and arguably better done in phases, i.e. maintenance and then a fat-loss phase," Ward said. "The exercise is more enjoyable too when at maintenance calories."

• Jessica, 40, submitted an average day of eating to be reviewed for BI's Nutrition Clinic.
• A dietitian said that eating more substantial meals would reduce the urge to binge on snacks.
• If you'd like to have your diet reviewed by an expert, fill out this form.

Jessica, 40, submitted her eating routine to Business Insider's Nutrition Clinic, where qualified dietitians and registered nutritionists offer advice on readers' eating habits.

She said her goals are to lose fat and gain muscle.

Jessica has four daughters aged five to 12 and works a full-time remote job. Her husband leaves for work at 6:30 a.m., so Jessica gets the girls to school before starting work.

"I love the idea of working out but struggle with motivation," she said. "I have a Peloton next to my desk but rarely find time for it. I will go on streaks for about four weeks, then fizzle out for another month before I work out again."

Jessica said she would love to lose 30 pounds and be back at her wedding weight by her next anniversary, but she struggles with snacking throughout the afternoon.

Dietitian Alix Turoff told Business Insider that Jessica's eating pattern is common among busy moms but there are a few key things she can change to achieve her goals.

Tip 1: Eat a substantial breakfast

Jessica starts the day with a cup of coffee with creamer, and mid-morning she drinks a protein shake mixed with water and powdered peanut butter.

"I usually skip lunch because I'm not hungry because of my shake," Jessica said.

Turoff said that not eating anything substantial for breakfast or lunch will likely contribute to overeating later.

"Between her coffee and her morning shake, she's probably taking in a maximum of 200 calories until her kids come home which is when she's struggling with binge eating foods that aren't making her feel good," Turoff said. "This lack of substantial food intake during the earlier part of the day can lead your body to feel deprived, triggering overeating."

If Jessica wants to stick with a shake, she could add some frozen fruit and nut butter, or keep the shake the same but add a slice of wholegrain toast with butter or nut butter, Turoff said.

Tip 2: Eat meals with protein, carbs, fat, and fiber

Mid-afternoon, Jessica hits the snack cupboard.

"I binge eat all the snacks when my kids come home — chips, granola bars, handfuls of chocolate chips," she said. "Seriously, everything that could be bad for me, I eat it."

Jessica said she prefers whole foods over processed but frequently binges on the latter when she's stressed (which is often).

Turoff recommends ensuring breakfast and lunch provide protein, carbs, fat, and fiber.

If Jessica doesn't feel too hungry at lunchtime, she doesn't have to have a huge meal, but it should still be balanced. For example, she could have a salad with lean protein (such as chicken, tofu, or shrimp) and beans, or a turkey sandwich on wholegrain bread, Turoff said.

"She'll be better able to stabilize her blood sugar levels which will not only provide sustained energy but will also significantly decrease her cravings for carbs and sugar," Turoff said.

Tip 3: Plan snacks in advance

Having more substantial meals should decrease Jessica's desire to snack come the afternoon, but Turoff also recommends planning more nutritious snacks in advance.

"I would encourage her to pick three different snacks that she could rotate on a daily basis so that she knows what her options are and doesn't have to make too many decisions," Turoff said.

She recommends popcorn with string cheese, nuts with a piece of fruit, or a protein bar.

Tip 4: Eat carbs at dinner

Jessica's husband cooks dinner and they usually eat lean meat with two or three vegetables.

"Many nights we eat out due to our busy schedules," Jessica said. "I usually don't eat much at dinner because I've binged so much after school."

Turoff recommends adding a carb like a baked sweet potato, rice, grains, or pasta to dinner to make the meals more balanced. Once Jessica is snacking less in the afternoon, she should be more hungry for dinner.

Tip 5: Calories are king for fat loss

When it comes to weight loss, a calorie deficit (consuming less energy than you're burning over the course of the day) is essential. You don't have to count calories, but it can be a useful way to work out portion size.

"Her calorie goal will depend on her current height, weight, and activity level, but if she wants to get a better idea of how many calories to aim for at her meals, she could use the rough calculation of multiplying her goal weight in pounds by 12," Turoff said.

She added: "This will give her a rough sense of how many calories she should consume each day to lose weight. From there, divide those calories up by breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks to know how many calories to target at each meal."

Tip 6: Build up to exercise

Exercise plays a smaller role in fat loss than many people think, so Turoff recommends Jessica tackle her food first.

"I find that people become more motivated once they start to see the weight start to come off and that might give her the push she needs to start exercising more consistently," Turoff said.

If Jessica doesn't actually enjoy using her Peloton she should try different classes or gyms to find a form of exercise she likes.

While any movement is good, Jessica will need to incorporate strength training into her regime to gain muscle. Turoff recommends two to three sessions a week.