Day on A Plate with Leahjay's Leah Johnsen

In a conversation with a PR today, I was asked if I ever came across anyone with my Day On A Plate interviews who doesn’t mind a bit of a guilty treat. I told them to hang tight, because we were about to come across a model influencer who’s all about the jam donuts, pasta, pizza, and burgers… Say what?! Meet Leah Johnsen – aka Leah Jay on Instagram – the rig city who’s not afraid of her carbs.

To give you a little background on Leah, she began modelling at 17 before deciding to sign up for Australia’s Next Top Model one year later – a move that shaped her career, but not in the expected way. After a disappointingly early exit, Leah was determined to prove the critics wrong about her star potential – going on to do various modelling gigs before heading to the US in 2015 where she was signed up with FORD models in NYC, Chicago, Miami, and LA. Score.

Since then, the gigs haven’t stopped rolling in, even after returning home to Australia, with Leah recently making the decision to turn solo independent artist – moving away from her Melbourne, Sydney & Brisbane agencies. A ballsy move for some, but Leah’s career is not taking a back step – currently starring in television series Instant Hotel and named the Mornington Stakes Cup Ambassador for 2019.

Which takes us to the here and now. And while we could chat to her about her exciting career moves, we couldn’t help ourselves but tackle the really pressing issue on our mind – what she eats and what her fitness regime looks like (did we mention rig?) Below, Leah talks us through just what you can expect from her regular workouts and Day on A Plate.

Weekly workout schedule
Typically I try to exercise as much as possible in my spare time. The mix between my own cardio workouts, abs, and hot Pilates. All my workouts I curate, I upload to my Instagram and YouTube – hopefully it motivates and encourages people to get moving. I workout only when I am free, anytime of the day.

Wake up and breakfast
I wake up most days at 8am. That’s my natural body clock. I drink a soy latte and big glass of water. I don’t eat breakfast. I don’t have regimented eating schedules. I eat when I feel hungry – this isn’t usually until 11am or 12pm.

Mid-morning snacks
I snack on anything and everything. Popcorn is my go-to at the moment.

Lunch
I usually have a variety between sushi, sandwiches, fish, and chicken. I eat a lot of fish and chicken over red meat. I drink an entire Coles brand soda water or kombucha or another coffee.

Afternoon snack
Chocolate. Slightly addicted.

Dinner
I do most of my eating at night. I love to eat carbs so pasta, pizza, burgers, rice… I try to get as much greens in me as possible also. But majority of my dinners are varied. I don’t have any food hates so I eat anything.

Dessert
Jam donuts.

Bed time
I always have a tea before bed. Always. Mainly peppermint, chai, rosehip or lemon and ginger.

Weekends
I usually go out for breakfast with friends which consists of the standard elaborate eggs. For dinners, there might be a few cheeky wines.

Guilty treats
I have plenty of guilty treats. One being jam donuts, New York baked cheese cake, chocolate!

Supplements
Okay, are you ready… Vitamin B for stress and energy, collagen for stronger skin tissue, hair and nails, Vitamin C garlic for immune system, iron because I lack it, magnesium and calcium because why not throw another vitamin in the cocktail.