Real Women- Meet Sarah

Sarah Nagar, 22 is a friend I've known for years- more of a sister I should say. After getting married, she moved to NY with her husband Menachem. When she moved back to California I noticed a complete transformation in her body. She never looked better- and I had to know how she did it..so to continue on the Real Woman project- meet Sarah..

• Original weight: 140-145
• Beginning work out: 3 days a week for one hour each time. I started out with 15-20 minutes cardio alternating between treadmill and/or elliptical or dance class. Then worked out for 40-45 minutes with a trainer doing strength training. (Focusing on just toning) and wanting to lose about 5 pounds.
• Results: Within the first month of working out, I gained energy, slept better at night, helped with my digestive system, however, did not loose weight right away. I lost about 3-5 pounds within 6 weeks.
• Diet: I found out that I was allergic to dairy, so I cut that out of my diet completely. So by now, my diet was the same as it was before just minus the dairy. When I cut out the dairy I easily lost another 5-6 pounds totaling about 11 pounds altogether. 
• I realized that the weight came off easier because of diet, which encouraged me to eat healthier.
• Before the "diet change" all I was eating was no breakfast, just coffee, I had a huge salad for lunch, a lot of snacks, a lot of fruit, and a HUGE dinners consisting of pasta, meats, dairy products, etc...
• I continued working out, now 4 days a week, same cardio, but different strength training exercises every day. 

• Diet progress: Due to food allergies etc…I began to figure out what was the cause of these reactions through a process of elimination. I cut out anything that I thought might be unhealthy, like white flour, sugar, anything with artificial flavoring in it. My diet consisted of,                           

·         2 slices of Ezekiel bread in the morning with a half an avocado, onions, tomatoes, and an egg (or 5 egg whites). I would have a coffee as well.

·         In between breakfast and lunch I would have a protein smoothie with a very small portion of fruit ( because I couldn’t eliminate ALL fruit.

·         For lunch I would have a salad with either tuna or any other protein.

·         I would have a bowl of oatmeal in between lunch and dinner as a snack.

·         For dinner I would have chicken, or fish, or meat, with rice, or veggies on the side.

·         Most of the weight came off when I cut out sugar (including all fruit), wheat (any and all wheat), dairy, and exercising consistently (even for a few minutes every day)

·         End point: I am now about 123-125 pounds. Altogether I lost about 25. My lowest was 118 which was way too small, so I added fruit and sprouted wheats back into my diet when I realized that that wasn’t the main cause of my allergies. From that I gained a healthy 2-5 pounds back. (Yes, fruit can make you gain that much!!)

  

To maintain, I still work out but not every day. I work out about 3 times a week because I don't want to loose any more weight. An hour each time. Half cardio, half strength training.   

 

*I've included a pic of Sarah before her transformation. Great job Sarah- keep up the great work- you're an inspiration to many others.