By Sandy Braz

Fueled up!

For Amber Elizabeth, the day can’t start without the essentials – she eats a power breakfast to send her metabolism into high gear for the day. “I have oatmeal with strawberries topped with a pinch of Sucanat and flaxseed meal,” says Amber, “followed by a cup of green tea and a handful of almonds.”

Her snack is a sensible low-fat yogurt, followed by a high-protein lunch of tuna with rice cakes, an apple and carrots.

Pre-workout, our cover girl has a potassium-packed banana and a helping of healthy fats from a dollop of natural peanut butter.

Post-workout, she gets friendly with her blender and makes a protein shake to replenish her muscles.

Dinner is a nutrient-dense spinach salad with chicken breast, green beans, walnuts and balsamic vinaigrette.

At the gym

Fitting in workouts between family, friends and her full-time job as an orthodontist assistant takes planning. A typical training week includes abs and spinning classes at her gym, weight training and “advanced hot yoga,” says Amber. But Wednesdays are family night – she takes the evening off to enjoy a home-cooked meal from mom.

Amber suggests keeping workouts dynamic to fight boredom. In addition to her weight training, she does the following to get (and keep!) her body in top shape all year:

Interval training alternating between a two-mile treadmill run and supersets incorporating leg and chest exercises.
• Legs: single leg squats on Bosu ball, lunges and box jumps.
• Chest: cable crossovers, pushups and bench press on stability ball.

She likes to vary her resistance training exercises, too, using bands and weights to keep things interesting.
• Resistance band for biceps curls and tricep extensions.
• Weights for tricep cable pulldowns with rope and hammer biceps curls with dumbbells.
• Hold a medicine ball while doing crunches to zone in on abs.

“I’m never bored with my workouts because I mix it up with yoga and spinning,” says Amber. “Also, take advantage of the classes your gym offers; they can challenge you and offer new moves to incorporate into your workouts.”

Download the tunes on Amber’s iPod!

Photography: Paul Buceta, Hair and Makeup: Valeria Nova
Styling: Elle Patille, Suit: Melmira