What Stephanie Herbert Eats to Fuel Her Fitness

A Life Time personal trainer in Alpharetta, Ga., Stephanie Herbert, CPT, METS, is beloved by members and clients for her balanced approach to exercise and nutrition. Here’s how she fuels for fitness.

Experience Life | Describe your training and nutrition goals.

Stephanie Herbert | I aim for 10,000 to 12,000 steps a day, minimum. The more I move, the more energy I have, as well as a better quality of life.

On weekends I do active recovery workouts: I go hiking, kayaking, walking, running, or biking. Two or three times per week, I work with weights to build lean body mass and be a better fat burner, and I do metabolic conditioning for my cardio two or three times. I am a metabolic technician, so I firmly believe in heart-rate training.

I believe you can eat almost anything as long as it’s in moderation. I don’t feel guilty about eating dessert, burgers, or pizza, as long as I don’t go overboard and eat it every day. I also won’t eat something just because it’s there, especially if it’s mediocre. If I start eating something and it is not that great or is just OK, I stop. I do the Life Time D.TOX every four months. This is a 14-day plan that helps me stay in check with my nutrition.

EL | Do you have any food rituals or superstitions?

SH | Sunday mornings I grocery shop and do meal prep. I clean and cut my raw vegetables and fruits and divide them into small containers to have for snacks, and I make Mason-jar salads. I cook and grill meats for our meals to last for three to four days, then divide them into small containers to have for dinners with the kids.

EL | How has your food regimen changed over time?

SH | I used to skip breakfast, drink coffee the entire day, and eat TV dinners and fast food because it was easier. I feel so much better since my nutrition habits have changed!

EL | Describe a day in your life.

SH | I wake up between 5:30 and 6 a.m., drink 16 ounces of water followed by cold-brew coffee with heavy cream that I’ll sip on throughout the morning. I take a BJJ class at 7 a.m., followed by a postworkout shake with whey protein and coconut water before heading home to shower, eat, and get work started. At 9 a.m., I sit down to eat breakfast. Generally, I eat leftovers that feature protein, veggies, some kind of dense carb like sweet potato, rice, or quinoa, healthy fat, and a ferment like sauerkraut. One of my favorite leftover breakfasts is actually soup or stew because it’s so comforting and warming, especially in colder weather.

I work from home from about 9:30 to 6 p.m., and usually break for lunch around 2. Typically this looks like some kind of big salad with tons of veggies, greens, protein like tuna and hard-boiled egg, quinoa, seeds like sunflower, more ferments, and either olive oil and balsamic vinegar or Primal Kitchen Ranch dressing (I’m obsessed). Dinner is either something in the Instant Pot or something like baked meatballs with sauce, roasted veggies, and chickpea pasta. Sometimes my husband and I order out. Indian food is one of our favorites. Lights out at 9:30 p.m.

This originally appeared as “Fit Fuel” in the May 2020 print issue of Experience Life.