My Fitness Regimen

Right after my grandfather passed away, I decided to get serious about my own health. I'm healthy, but I want to eat and feel better.

Since I don't have a chef (yet) like Oprah, one of my biggest battles is finding time to cook for me and my family. I've never been domestic to begin with because I'm more of a scholar (read: professional student) and (I'm told) an overachiever so time is especially valuable. There are so many things keep me from the kitchen that I had figure out a way to eat better.

I eat out every day, so I can count on eating from the following restaurants:

• Subway
• Jimmy John's
• Panera Bread
• Potbelly's
• Corner Bakery

I'm taking suggestions for other great restaurants.

When I do eat at McDonald's, it's usually an Angus burger (rather than their lesser cuts of beef), a salad, or fish sandwich.

I'm not a vegetarian (and certainly not vegan), as you see, but my consumption of red meat has decreased in the last 10 years. I attribute it a little bit to an interview I had with Karyn Calabrese while writing for the Chicago Tribune. She challenged me to stop eating red meat as a precursor to attempting veganism. I cleared myself of red meat for about three months. I lost my craving somewhat during that time. When I returned to it, I recall purchasing some chili from Wendy's and it made me sick. I couldn't finish the whole container.

I won't say that as I gradually began my return to meat that I lost my desire to eat it entirely, but the compulsion is less. And I now eat better leaner cuts of steak and hamburger a few times a month so that my Vitamin E intake doesn't drop.

I don't drink, smoke, or take aspirin for pain. I've been on a homeopathic kick for about 10 years. Any pain, which is rare, I work through. Right now, my vitamin regimen consists of Herbalife products:

• Healthy Meal twice a day
• Personalized Protein Powder 
• Protein Drink Mix - sometimes drank alone; with 2% milk or natural and fresh-squeezed fruit juice; or mixed with Healthy Meal and protein powder to boost my protein, especially after a vigorous workout. Right now, I'm trying it different ways to see what works and what I like best
• Formula 2 Multivitamin Mineral Complex
• Garden 7 - when taken up as directed provides the daily allowance of up to seven servings of fruits and vegetables

All of these products can be purchased here.

My uncle sells Kyani products, so I also drink Sunrise to boost my fruit intake even more, along following with my Herbalife program. I'm not a huge calorie counter, but I shoot for consuming no more than 1,300 to 1,500 calories a day. Some weeks I'm active at the gym every day. Most times, I hit it three times a week while performing some of my yoga and Pilates at home.

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Certainly, I can't speak for anyone else's experience, but since September 2012 to now, I've gone from 23% body fat to between 17% and 18%. My skin looks better and my energy boost enables me to be an "over-overachiever." I work and go to school about 75 hours a week.

My goal to reach 13% is steady but more work than I thought, given my athletic past. I thought I'd have an easier time.

But then I wasn't as calculating in my fitness back then as I am now. Back then, I just trained and at some point my coach measured me and there I was at about 14%. Oh, to be young and spry.

The minimum percentage an athletic woman should reach is 10% to 12%. But I don't want to get there due to the increase in vascularity.