We sat down with Sabrina Virdee, a super mom and amazing woman, to ask her for some insight on health and wellness. With over 10 years of experience in the health and wellness world, being both a holistic nutritionist and a personal trainer, as well as mom to two young kids, she had a wealth of knowledge to share with us.
After graduating from CSNN she became certified as trainer, taking her career to a whole other level, although she was previously helping people train for years prior. She has been training and weight lifting for the last 15 years, and formerly a marathon runner. A little over a year ago, she left her job at the Ministry of Toronto as a youth counsellor to pursue her career in the health world.
We asked her what inspired her to make the switch. She told us she truly always enjoyed coaching family and friends when she started out and that created a spark for her passion which would some day become her full-time career. Her inspiration is her own self, being the best of the best that she can be, and striving for her goal to always improve.
Her philosophy on health and wellness is that everyone has the time for it when they are ready. So often, we see the people around us putting no time and energy into their mental and physical health, and we want to help them. Sabrina says “ You can’t push anyone to get into that place! Its not okay to get comfortable, you have to step outside your comfort zone.” She also suggests making your goals realistic, but not settling for mediocrity!
Her number one goal with clients is to help them transform their lifestyle. Its not about dieting, or about short- term goals like being thin for that fall wedding or the next vacation. Her clients are working to build an attainable lifestyle through her support and guidance in training and holistic nutrition. She wants them to not only be happy, but truly thrive. She tells us “ Its not about the day to day, but the journey to health”.
We asked her for her top 5 booty building exercises:
Barbell Squats
Front Squats
Hip Thrusts
Bulgarian Split Squats
Banded Exercises ex. Fire Hydrants
Make sure all these are with weight!
She shared some insight on personal routines to stay fit and healthy. She trains 5-6x/week and often strength training exercises. She occasionally works out from home using kettle bells. Often her routine includes foam rolling and stretching to reduce injury and tension. She used to do yoga but found herself not able to allow it to be a meditative experience and would rather use her time in the gym.
She follows a fairly protein heavy diet, with no gluten or dairy as she has celiac. She mostly eats intuitively and generally avoids refined sugar. Of course she indulges on occasion but she says “if it has gluten in it, it better be worth it”.
A typical day of eating looks like:
After fasting for 16-17hrs
Morning: Lemon water and ACV followed by Coffee
*GYM TIME *
Breakfast: Ground turkey, egg whites and spinach or kale
Lunch: Large serving of sweet potato or rice, plus veggies such as zucchini, kale, spinach or arugula, a tbsp of coconut oil and a lean protein
Dinner: Similar to lunch but smaller portion of carbs
She eats for 3-4hrs and stops eating by 5:30pm. Her family often eats similar foods but not restricted to a completely gluten-free diet. She likes to take a daily B-complex, Probiotic, Turmeric, Glutamine and Fish oil supplements. Often working with brands like Seroyal or Kaizen for protein powders.
Her self care routine always includes gym time, duh! Proper sleep is number one for her with a bedtime at 8pm and super early mornings starting at 3:50am. Didn’t we tell you she was a super woman! This is non-negotiable for her as its part of her self care, along with long shower time. Haha! She says this makes her a gentler wife, and a kinder mom when she makes sure all these boxes are checked.
We asked her how she balances it all with being a mom of young children and having a full-time career. She said “ I am really fortunate to have a husband who helps in the process. He is a really good support and parent.” She tells us before having her kids she wanted to be both a mom and herself, and also a wife. Leading by example is key for her in raising healthy kids and nothing comes between her and her time for physical exercise. She holds herself true to that and had some wise-words for other mommies out there.
“ Take a step back and see yourself as not only a mom. There are no excuses, if there’s a will there’s a way and the way requires commitment”. You heard her mommas! Its time to give some love back to yourself and carve out that much needed time for your own health and wellbeing.
In one year from now she sees herself on a beach haha. Career wise she hopes that all of her current projects turn out successfully and come alive. Last but not least her guilty pleasure is fashion and chocolate. Of course!
Thankyou Sabrina for all these wonderful insights! If you would like to work with her or keep up with more of this amazing lady’s content follow her on Instagram at @sabrinavirdee.
