What better person to talk to about a healthy lifestyle than our own dietitian! Sarah practices what she preaches and is constantly trying to create healthier environments. By sharing nutrition and health information with others, she empowers people with the knowledge they need to make healthy choices.... but what about her own life?

What is your favorite form of exercise?

I love to switch it up, depending on the month I may be doing something completely different. Currently, I am in to boxing, yoga and running. Wearing my pv.body gear also helps me stay motivated!

What is your daily mantra?

It's not really a mantra, but more an action. I start everyday with a healthy breakfast and a hot tea. When you start your day off right it sets a better structure for the rest of your day.

What is your favorite body part to workout?

I love working my arms. It is one of my weakest areas so when I can rock through a couple of push-ups, I feel very accomplished.

What is your favorite meal? snack? cheat food?

Favorite meal is any type of stir fry. I love to cram as many veggies as possible in a saute pan and add different flavors. I love to snack on sugar snap peas, baby carrots and mixed nuts. My all time favorite cheat food is CUPCAKES!!!

What do you do to stay healthy?

I cook for myself as much as possible, this way I know all the ingredients I have used in my meals and I know what I am putting into my body. I also only eat a little bit of meat, maybe 2-3 meals I have per week contain meat. When it comes to staying active, I ride my bike to work everyday to get my metabolism moving in the morning and keep it running into the evening. Experimenting with new workouts, classes and gyms all help keep me super pumped about getting sweaty.

What is your favorite food to cook / what is a healthy go to meal?

Favorite food to cook right now has been sweet potatoes. You can microwave them, bake them, saute them, grill them and they always taste yummy! Easy go to meal is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or scrambled eggs.

What do you love most about living in Southern California?

My favorite part of SoCal is the weather. I love being outside and hopping on my bike to get around town. With so much access to outdoor activities its hard to make excuses to not doing something active every day.

What is your favorite restaurant and favorite dish?

I love Cafe Brazil and I always get their salmon dish with garlic rice. Yum!! I have impressed some people with the ability to clean my plate!

Calories - Friend or Foe? (And when is a calorie not simply a calorie?)

Calories are a standard measurement of energy - like fuel in your gas tank. Except when you don’t burn the “fuel” you put into your body, calories get converted into fat.

Ideally it is easy to say the amount of calories you consume should be the amount of calories you burn to stay at a balanced weight, meaning you are neither gaining nor losing weight (rather maintaining your ideal weight).

So, when it comes to weight loss... Do you really need to count every calorie you consume?

That answer depends on your diet: Where the calories are coming from and how your body is processing those calories?

Our bodies process different components of foods in different ways. Carbohydrates, especially those that are refined (like white bread, white flour, pastas, and white rice) are all digested very quickly and create a large amount of energy in the blood stream in a short period of time. Unfortunately this will promote the storage of fat more quickly than if you were to eat a meal of healthy fats, proteins, vegetables and complex carbohydrates, which take longer to digest.

A slow and steady flow of glucose entering the bloodstream allows the body to more effectively process energy and convert it into glycogen (a storage form of glucose in the liver) rather than into fat cells. This metabolic process questions the idea of calories in equals calories out. If you are eating 400 calories of refined carbohydrates vs 400 calories of complex carbohydrates and protein, your body will create more fat stores. In this regard a calorie is not just simply a calorie. You must look at the types of calories you are consuming.

Another point to consider is meal timing. If you consume 1800 calories in one sitting vs eating 1800 calories throughout the day, your body will process these calories differently. If you eat one large meal a day, you are creating an environment with high influx of glucose in a short period of time. The body will respond by storing the excess energy as glycogen and fat. Initially you may lose weight from this method, but ultimately you are slowing down your metabolism.

A study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found, “healthy participants who ate a single meal a day did lose fat mass, but they were hungry. Moreover, they had increased blood pressure and total cholesterol and a decreased cortisol concentration. Cortisol, a steroid hormone, causes your body to send more glucose into your bloodstream when you are under stress. Over the long term, a slow metabolism can sabotage your weight-loss efforts.”

Without understanding how to eat a properly balanced variety of meals, counting calories may not be the most effective routine to follow. Focusing on frequent meals with moderate portions and a balance of complex carbohydrates, lean proteins and vegetables will be an easier and more effective routine to follow when trying to maintain or lose weight.

SUPERSETS!

Today we are talking SUPERSETS!!!! A superset is a workout technique. There are many different variations of supersets but basically you perform two different exercises that target two different muscle groups with very little to no rest between. For this workout below, you will perform a bicep exercise then a tricep exercise with only 15 seconds of rest between each set. You may use bands, dumbbells, or a cable machine. Supersets are a great way to shock your muscles out of a plateau or to tone up!

Superset Biceps & Tricep: 3x

30secs. - Curls 15secs. - REST

30secs. - Overhead Tricep Ext. 15secs. - REST

30secs. - In & Out Curls 15secs. - REST

30secs. - Kickbacks 30sec. - REST - REPEAT