Zanna van Dijk is taking a hike – in her two-piece workout gear. In a new social media post the fitness influencer shows off her fit figure in a hiking outfit, while exploring the Balcombe & Ardingly Reservoir Circular. “This hike near London ticks all the boxes with gorgeous views, ancient woodland and wildflower meadows – but the real highlight is the gigantic Ouse Valley Viaduct,” she captioned the post, revealing that she trekked 12 km. How does she approach diet, fitness, and self-care? Here is everything you need to know about her lifestyle habits.
Rise and shine is something Zanna takes literally. “This might sound a little random, but I endeavor to get sunlight to hit my retina (aka my eyeballs) within the first hour of waking. This is as a result of listening to the Huberman Lab podcast, which states that this triggers our circadian rhythm helping to regulate our sleep wake cycle. Plus I also try to delay my first caffeinated coffee or tea until a couple of hours after waking, to ensure my body is capable of kick starting without it. Then the caffeine just gives me an extra boost!” she writes on her website.
Zanna walks every day. “If you follow me then you’re probably already aware of this, but I ensure I get outside every single day. Ideally for a minimum of a thirty minute walk. This not only helps me move my body and get my steps in, but it calms my mind and connects me with nature. Nothing quite gives me the feeling that being surrounded by trees, greenery and countryside views does – it is literally food for my soul and dissolves my stress,” she writes.
She also does intense workout sessions. “I do HIIT and weights-based sessions up to five days a week for 45-60 minutes,” Zanna told Women’s Health. There is lots of research backing up the benefits of HIIT workouts, including body fat reduction, improved cardiovascular function, and mental health. It is also time effective.
Zanna makes sure to get enough rest. “I am naturally an early riser, I love nothing more than starting my day before the world wakes up. I find that my efficiency and productivity peaks in the morning, so the more hours of work I can get done before midday the better. That being said, to enable me to do this I prioritise sleep and ensure that I get to bed early. If my alarm is going off at 5.30am then I am in bed by 9 and asleep by 9.30, giving me an 8 hour sleeping window,” she writes.
Zanna eats clean. “I eat a mostly wholefood plant based diet, so I naturally gravitate towards nourishing ingredients. However, to support my gut health and overall wellbeing I try to ensure that the food I eat isn’t too repetitive. I consciously ensure that on a daily basis I am including a wide variety of whole plant foods in my meals, switching up the legumes, wholegrains, vegetables and fruits which are on our plates. To make this more fun I focus on seasonal ingredients and experimenting with new recipes,” she writes.
Zanna starts her day with protein zoats (oats with courgette) with dark chocolate and raspberries. At noon she has an omelette with spinach, peppers, onion and feta. For an afternoon snack she munches on apple slices with cinnamon and peanut butter. For dinner she eats salmon with steamed broccoli, asparagus and baked sweet potato, and dessert, a mini pot of salted caramel with lucuma ice cream. “My meals have to support my intense training regime,” she tells Women’s Health. “I’ll have protein at most meals to aid recovery.”
