In the Sakara Spotlight series, we’re turning the tables on some of the amazing and accomplished souls that have chosen the Sakara Life program to fuel and fulfill their busy, beautiful lives. Take it away, Emma.
Name: Emma Forrest
Sign: Capricorn
Occupation: Writer, director, and novelist
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Favorite Sakara meal: Sakara AB+J for breakfast and the Classic Chopped Salad for lunch
MORNING
I wake up early, around 5:30, and have always preferred to do my writing early, before the humans in the world seem like they're awake, when it's only me and the animals (be it my own cat on dawn patrol or the coyotes at the garbage bins). I am definitely not a night person. I have a kid who woke up four times a night until they were three, so I've really trained myself to pass out when she does.
I piece out sections of the New York Times to read with breakfast and lunch. My favorite is the Science section, because it's the topic about which I know least. I've had so many ideas from a news story buried in a bottom corner.
AFTERNOON
I learned TM (transcendental meditation) in LA about a decade ago, and I feel my best writing has come since I started that practice. It's like turning on the taps and letting the water run until it's clear.
After twenty minutes of afternoon TM, I often get a good chunk of writing done. I never beat myself up if the first draft is no good. I know I can refine it until it is. But that it all needs to hit the page before you can start editing. [Ed. Note: Untogether, which Emma wrote and directed, is out in cinemas and all streaming platforms on Feb 8th. It stars Jemima and Lola Kirke, Jamie Dornan and Ben Mendelsohn.]
[For exercise,] I love Marnie Alton at Barre Belle and Audrey Millstein at The Sweat Spot. They're both so charismatic that I found myself distracted by watching them in class, meaning I could get through very difficult exercise without realizing it. They both want to know that your body is really stretched out well before you leave. Marnie is very warm and Audrey is just flat out hilarious. They're both extremely knowledgeable and won't let you break your body (or spirit).
EVENING
I started Sakara because I found myself so exhausted getting my daughter fed and to bed, that at the end of the day I'd just eat bowls of Cheerios. I love the chocolates and the Beauty Water Drops. I think Sakara has done a brilliant job of communicating that their program is about wellness, not weight loss. That resonates with me. On Sakara, my stomach is always flat, but that's to do with digestion, not weight. I dropped at least two meal programs before I found Sakara because they were obsessed in all their material about weight—theirs, mine, other people’s. I was like "I just want to feel strong and well slept and not crazy. Can you stay the f%$# out of my weight?"
I am good at falling asleep fast but not so great at staying asleep. If, after I've put my daughter to bed, I read myself to sleep (always a book, never kindle) my chances are best. And if I find a book that is the perfect combination of interesting but also quite dry, that works best. Los Angeles history is so rich—I’ve read so many books about the dawn of talking pictures, or about the blacklist, or about the building of the Pacific Coast Highway. Don't read biographies of any Love Goddess: Ava, Liz, Rita, Lana, Natalie Wood. They all had fascinating, mainly devastating lives and you won't be able to sleep.
