Sarah Shahi is an American actress known for her roles in shows like Person of Interest, City on a Hill, Reverie, and Sex/Life (Wikipedia). She was born Aahoo Jahansouzshahi in 1980 to an Iranian father and Spanish-Iranian mother (IMDB). Shahi’s acting career began in the early 2000s with minor roles, but she had her breakout in Fairly Legal in 2011. Since then, she has starred in a number of popular TV series, demonstrating her acting range across genres like action, drama and comedy.
Shahi is considered a versatile actress skilled at portraying strong, complex female leads. She has received praise from critics for her performances and gained a dedicated fanbase over her career. Outside of acting, Shahi is also known for her fitness routine and physique, which she drastically transformed in recent years through diet and exercise.
Shahi’s Motivation to Lose Weight
Sarah Shahi first wanted to get in shape and lose weight for a few key reasons. Shahi wanted to lose some weight and get fitter primarily to land better acting roles that required her to be in great physical shape. She had some action roles coming up, like on the TV series Person of Interest, that demanded a high level of fitness. Beyond her career motivations, Shahi also wanted to improve her overall health, feel more energized day-to-day, and have an increased sense of well-being.
It is noted that in addition to upcoming acting roles, Shahi was motivated to get healthier to feel better about herself. Her primary motivations seemed to be career-focused, but improving her health and confidence were contributing factors as well.
Her Previous Diet and Fitness Routine
Before trying to lose weight for her role in Sex/Life, Sarah Shahi admits she wasn’t following the healthiest diet and exercise routine. She relied on a lot of processed and sugary foods like cereal, bagels, and muffins for breakfast. Her snacks consisted of things like cookies and chips. Shahi also drank soda frequently throughout the day. As for exercise, she didn’t have a consistent workout routine and only did activities sporadically like yoga or hiking on the weekends.
Overall, Shahi lacked structure and consistency with both her diet and fitness before her weight loss journey. She ate a diet high in processed carbs, sugar, and unhealthy fats. Her exercise habits were also scattered without a regular regimen. This routine led Shahi to gain weight over the years and was the starting point she wanted to improve on with her weight loss goals.
The Specific Diet She Followed
Before filming for Sex/Life, Shahi followed a strict diet and intermittent fasting routine to lose her excess pregnancy weight. She started her mornings with a homemade juice made from spinach, celery, parsley, cucumber, green apples and lemon. She wouldn’t eat any solid food until around noon or 1 pm.
Her first meal of the day was usually a chicken salad or a plate of salmon and vegetables. She aimed to get plenty of protein at every meal while limiting carbohydrates like bread, pasta and rice. Shahi also cut out processed foods, sugars and alcohol during her weight loss journey.
Her Fitness Routine and Exercise
Sarah Shahi followed an intense fitness routine to achieve her weight loss for Sex/Life. She worked out with celebrity trainer Jason Walsh, focusing on full-body strength training and cardio.
Shahi did circuit-style workouts hitting all the major muscle groups. A sample workout would include jump rope, squats, tricep extensions, and lunges. She mixed up high intensity interval training (HIIT) and steady-state cardio like running on the treadmill. Shahi also utilized resistance bands, kettlebells, and bodyweight exercises like push-ups and pull-ups.
According to Walsh, they worked on “rotational-based resistance training to fire up [her] core.” Shahi pushed herself hard doing rigorous full-body training 4-5 days per week leading up to filming. Her dedication and work ethic allowed her to drop significant weight while building toned muscle.
How Much Weight She Lost
According to reports, Sarah Shahi lost about 12 pounds in 10 weeks or less leading up to filming for Sex/Life. She was dedicated to slimming down for her role as Billie Connelly, a suburban mother going through a mid-life crisis. Shahi reportedly cut out alcohol and followed a very strict diet and exercise regimen to drop the weight in a short period of time.
Her transformation was noticeable between seasons 1 and 2 of the Netflix series. Through discipline and hard work, Shahi lost a significant amount of weight through a 10-week fitness challenge she set for herself.
Weight Loss Tips and Advice from Shahi
Shahi has shared some of the tips and advice she learned from her own weight loss journey. One key thing she focused on was cutting out all processed foods and sugars as much as possible. She recommends focusing on eating whole, natural foods like fruits, vegetables, and lean protein. Shahi also advises doing a mix of cardio and strength training to get results.
She suggests doing high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts to really ramp up fat burning. Additionally, Shahi emphasizes the importance of consistency and making your diet and fitness routine a regular habit in order to see lasting results. Her main tips are to cut out processed foods, do HIIT workouts, lift weights, and stick with it. Shahi credits determination and regular hard work for her successful weight loss transformation.
Maintaining Her Weight Loss
Shahi has worked hard to maintain her weight loss over the long term. She continues to stick to a regular exercise routine to keep the weight off. Shahi does a combination of cardio like jumping rope, strength training exercises like squats and lunges, and core work. She also focuses on eating a balanced, protein-rich diet.
Shahi has said meal prepping healthy foods like grilled chicken and vegetables on Sundays helps her stay on track during busy work weeks. She also snacks on things like Greek yogurt, nuts, and fresh fruit versus processed foods. Staying hydrated by drinking a lot of water throughout the day is another one of her weight loss maintenance tips.
Shahi has maintained her significant weight loss for over 10 years now by sticking to these diet and exercise habits. Her dedication and consistency with her healthy lifestyle is key to keeping the weight off long-term.
Impact on Her Career and Life
Sarah Shahi’s dramatic weight loss and transformation had a significant impact on her acting career and personal life. After losing over 30 pounds, Shahi began landing more leading roles on TV shows like Life, Fairly Legal, and most recently Sex/Life. Her slimmer, toned figure likely made her more appealing for major network roles that require actors to meet certain beauty standards.
Beyond her career, Shahi has said her weight loss gave her a huge confidence boost and motivated her to lead a healthier lifestyle overall. She had more energy to keep up with her young children and felt proud of achieving her fitness goals through hard work and dedication. Losing weight empowered Shahi to take better care of herself and strive for success in all areas of life. She hopes her transformation story inspires other women to make positive changes and realize their full potential.
Summary
Sarah Shahi’s inspirational weight loss journey shows that dedication and perseverance can lead to incredible results. By making lifestyle changes and following a healthy diet and exercise routine, Shahi successfully lost over 30 pounds.
Key points from her weight loss include:
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Shahi was motivated to get in shape for an upcoming acting role that required her to wear a bikini. She wanted to feel confident on screen.
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Her previous diet was carb-heavy and lacked nutrients. She frequently ate pasta, bread and junk food without much exercise.
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Shahi followed a strict high-protein, low-carb diet focused on lean meats, vegetables and healthy fats. She cut out sugar and processed foods.
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Her fitness routine consisted of circuit training and weight lifting to build muscle and burn fat. Shahi worked out 5-6 days per week with a trainer.
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Within several months of starting her diet and exercise transformation, Shahi lost over 30 pounds and drastically changed her physique.
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Shahi encourages drinking plenty of water, weight training, and finding a sustainable nutrition plan you can stick with. She believes in the importance of self-love and embracing healthy change.
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Years later, Shahi has kept the weight off through maintaining her healthy habits. She feels better physically and mentally.
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The weight loss had a positive impact on Shahi’s acting career. She wowed fans and critics with her bikini body reveal on the TV show Life.
Shahi’s weight loss story is inspirational and shows that with dedication and support, substantial healthy transformation is possible. Her journey demonstrates that lifestyle changes like improved nutrition and increased fitness can help anyone reach their body goals.
