What do you typically eat in a day? “For breakfast, I usually have oatmeal with some peanut butter, blueberries, cinnamon. Sometimes I’ll throw in some chia seeds and flax seeds. Lunch is some kind of rice, chicken and vegetable bowl. Salads are great. I love tuna salad with a bunch of greens and shaved carrots. I try to incorporate protein, some greens and healthy fats, like avocado. Dinner is kind of a free-for-all. Sometimes it’s pizza, I have to be honest. Sometimes it’s a really good, grass-fed burger. I always feel better when I eat something like salmon and a sweet potato and broccoli sprouts and asparagus. For snack foods, I love fruit and any kind of nut; I love peanut butter pretzels and Greek yogurt. I like to get as many vegetables in as I can and bonus if they’re varied in color; as many dark, leafy greens as I can. No one is really sitting around eating a bunch of kale, right? A way to do that for dinner is to sauté kale with garlic and olive oil.”
What would be your advice for someone looking to adopt healthier eating habits? “Putting it in your mind that you’re adding things, as opposed to taking away anything or limiting yourself. If I’m having pizza, I’ll have some sautéed spinach or kale with it. I’d rather add greens than feel like I have to take away pizza. That’s just no way to live.”
Describe your fitness routine. “I love doing at-home Pilates. I subscribe to this Pilates instructor, Tasha Franken. I try to do a Pilates video three or four times a week. If I have a lot of energy, I’ll do a 40-minute one. If I’m waiting for dinner to cook and just have a little energy, I’ll do a 10-minute ab routine. I find that so much less daunting than going to a gym and figuring out what all the equipment is. Also, every day I like to do a long walk. I also just bought one of those little mini stair steppers. Now that it’s colder and the sun is setting earlier, on days when I’m getting home from work late, I can throw on my TV and do a little [stairstepping workout].”
When it comes to working out, do you ever struggle with motivation?“All the time. I don’t plan my week of workouts because I don’t want to set myself up for not meeting those workouts. For me, working out has to be a mindset, it has to be what’s going to make me feel energized and healthy. I can’t look at it as, ‘Here’s another thing on the checklist.’ ”
Abigail’s Top Three Tips
•“I am not really a water drinker. I have to put in some sort of electrolyte or something to make it taste good and make me want to keep going back to it. I just started putting chlorophyll into my water, and it’s really a game-changer. It feels like it’s really hydrating and it tastes good to me, so it makes me drink more water.”
•“For motivation, maybe work out with a friend. You can meet up and go for a walk or a hike or do a workout class. Or maybe you can do a once-a-week call where you try to hold each other accountable.”
•“A stair stepper is great on days that you don’t want to go outside and walk, or if you don’t have access to an incline machine or hiking. I ordered mine online for, like, $50.”
