Get to Know Wellness Expert Nikki Sharp

The wellness expert on the snacks she always has on hand, her favorite (and least favorite) workout move and what she’s currently reading.

From former model to social media maven, Nikki Sharp is many things, including wellness blogger, yoga teacher, social media influencer and best-selling author of “The Five-Day Real Food Detox” (Ballantine Books, 2016). Her second book, “Meal Prep Your Way to Weight Loss” (Random House, 2018), is set to be released in May.

In our February issue of 24Life magazine, Sharp shared four self-love practices she does regularly, and we asked the wellness expert to share a few things about herself related to food, fitness and more.

24Life: What accessory can always be found in your kitchen?

Nikki Sharp (NS): I will always have my Vitamix. It’s expensive, though, so if someone’s starting off, they don’t need to go crazy and buy a $700 blender. Go buy the Ninja or the Magic Bullet.

You can make soups with it. You can blend sauces. You can make nut milk. You can grind your own oat flour. You can do everything with it. If I could travel with my Vitamix anywhere I go, I would!

24Life: Any snacks you always have on hand?

NS: I love having raw nuts. I always have hard-boiled eggs. And if I am eating any sort of animal products—this to me is a non-negotiable—it has to be organic. I love having chopped vegetables—jicama or carrot slices or cucumber, and roasted vegetables, too. I have those in the fridge … roasted butternut squash and sweet potatoes.

24Life: What’s your favorite ingredient or spice?

NS: I’m obsessed with truffle salt. It just makes everything so much better. Also cinnamon. I am utterly obsessed with cinnamon.

24Life: Go-to pre-workout (or post-workout) fuel?

NS: You can never go wrong with a smoothie because it’s just so easy. I love smoothies because you can put in superfood ingredients like a spirulina, and chia seeds, and coconut oil. They taste absolutely horrific by themselves. I remember when I was starting my health journey, I went to Whole Foods and I spent $100 on seven items: turmeric, chia seeds, bee pollen, goji berries, chlorella, spirulina. And I went home and put the spirulina in my water and nearly threw up. (And if you just laughed at this, I’m guessing you’ve done the same thing.) But you can add all of these into a smoothie with a banana and some protein powder, and boom, you have an incredibly nourishing smoothie.

24Life: Go-to breakfast?

NS: My go-to is definitely savory. I love anything with avocados. I make this delicious paleo bread with smashed avocado. I go between just the smashed avocado and then also putting a fried egg on top.

24Life: Are there any “healthy” trends you can’t stand?

NS: I think green juice is fantastic, but I think that the priority that people are putting on it, and the money that people are spending on it [doesn’t add up]. You’re not getting as many benefits as you think you are, because you’re taking away all of the fiber, where most of the nutrients are. It drives me insane that people say, “I just got a really great juice that has beets, and apples, and carrots.” That’s 30 grams of sugar with no fiber for your body. That’s not good.

I was at the juice shop the other day, and they had an activated charcoal juice, which was coconut water, activated charcoal, bentonite clay, agave and a lavender essential oil. I was about to buy it and then I thought, “OK, not only do I have all of these ingredients in my pantry, but they are adding agave to make it taste good.” You are basically replacing a soda with a “healthy juice” that, yes, has good ingredients in it. But putting agave into a juice—that’s 12 grams of sugar, which is not healthy. … [And] juices are $10 a pop. Do you realize you could get one zucchini, one cucumber, and a banana and an apple, and make three smoothies for $2?

24Life: What is one thing you would go back and tell your younger self?

NS: I would tell myself to enjoy life and stop trying to take everything so seriously, because you have a long time to live.

24Life: What is something many people may not know about you?

NS: I have lived in seven countries, and I have dual citizenship in England and America.

24Life: Favorite workout move and least favorite workout move?

NS: Honestly, my least favorite move is just plain sit-ups, because they hurt your neck if you do them incorrectly. And they’re just not that effective. I do kettlebell swings instead.

24Life: How do you warm up for a workout?

NS: I don’t stretch, but that’s because I do yoga throughout the week. My favorite warm-up is jumping rope.

24Life: How do you spend your rest days?

NS: I like to do nothing and sit on my couch and eat whatever, and just enjoy the hell out of it.

24Life: What is the best fitness advice that you can give someone?

NS: The best fitness advice that I could ever give someone is to stop making fitness a punishment.

24Life: What do you like to listen to while working out?

NS: I love remixes of songs because typically it means that there’s a faster beat. I find those songs more motivating. So a remix of a Taylor Swift song, or Kanye West remixes. Anytime the word “remix” goes into it, it’s going to be a pretty good song.

24Life: What are you currently reading?

NS: I read three books at a time. I’m a huge reader. I have the new Richard Branson book, “Finding My Virginity.” I’m also reading “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F***.” My dad sent that to me for Christmas. And then the other one that I have is “Hit Makers.” I always try to balance it out between a spiritual book, a self-help type book or a business related book, and then a really good, fun story.

24Life: What is your food philosophy?

NS: Stop stressing about what the f*** you eat.

24Life: Finish this sentence: I work out so I can…

NS: Feel absolutely amazing.

Photo credit: Tamara Muth King