Healthy Habits: Nutritious breakfasts, HIIT workouts help Dr. Ranjani Amin stay fit

June 29, 2020 Healthy Habits, Nutrition and Wellness

It can sometimes be difficult to find ways to stay healthy, so we’ve asked members of our Baylor College of Medicine community to share what they do in their daily lives to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Dr. Ranjani Amin, assistant professor of family and community medicine at Baylor, shares some of her healthy habits with us.

Q: What health decisions start your day?
A: I enjoy waking up early and fitting in a workout to start my energy of the day. I follow up with a fruit smoothie made with Greek yogurt.

Q: What is your go-to healthy breakfast?
A: A warm bowl of oatmeal, sweetened with bananas and honey. It’s nutritious and definitely fills me up enough to power through the morning.

Q: What is your favorite type of exercise?
A: I love the variation and fast-paced aspect of HIIT and aerobic exercises. When I start my day with this, I feel ready to accomplish anything!

Q: What keeps you motivated during your workout?
A: The feeling of accomplishment. Whether it’s running a mile or completing a HIIT workout, I don’t like to quit and I can say that I achieved something I put my mind to. I also love being a role model to my patients so I can encourage them to stay fit as well.

Q: What activities do you do when you can’t fit in a full workout?
A: Simple things like parking farther away, taking the stairs or taking a walk outside if the weather is nice.

Q: What is your favorite healthful snack?
A: My favorite snack is apples with peanut butter or whole-wheat crackers with cheese.

Q: Do you take vitamins and if so, which ones?
A: I take a women’s complete multivitamin daily.

Q: How do you make an unhealthy recipe healthy?
A: I enjoy cooking a lot and being innovative is fun. I love making healthy substitutions like using zucchini noodles instead of pasta or cauliflower crust pizzas and air-fried sweet potato fries.

Q: What hobbies do you have to help you relax?
A: Spending time in nature outside, getting a nice massage, or unwinding with a good TV show or book.

Q: What is your go-to Houston restaurant for a healthy meal?
A: True Foods Kitchen is my favorite restaurant for a healthy meal. The chain was started by a chef and doctor combination, so they have a meal for every type of diet that maintains nutrition and taste!

Q: Do you use an activity tracker or Fitbit and what is your daily step goal?
A: I use an Apple Watch to track my steps and it keeps me motivated to get all my steps in by the end of the day. I try to get at least 10,000 steps per day.

Q: What is your favorite health tip that you live by?
A: Everything should be done in moderation – whether it is picking the right food to eat or working out. Enjoying all aspects of life in balance is the best way.