Lay off me! I’m starving.

I’ve been keeping very busy lately.  As I’ve mentioned before, I love to play sports and recently I have joined a couple leagues during the week to keep me active.  So as it stands right now, I’m playing on three teams (one volleyball, one dodgeball and one basketball) and then working out as much as I can the rest of the week.  On top of that, work continues to be challenging and I do my best to be social as well. Overall, I sometimes feel like this about food when I get home from a game or a workout…

All joking aside, I do feel rather ravenous after so much activity and I am tempted to eat whatever I have in my fridge or cabinets.  Luckily though, more often than not (I do have weak moments!), I find the restraint and decide to “overindulge” on something good and I would like to share this delicious discovery with you.

It’s pretty simple (aka time-efficient for me!) and may not be a “Eureka!” moment for most. In any case, I love vegetables.  Love them to the point where when I don’t have them I crave them!  But I don’t have the time or energy right now to buy fresh vegetables and clean and cut them up (I love to do this when I do have time, but these last couple weeks have not given me the opportunity!).  Even with the best intentions I sometimes waste perfectly good veggies and I would rather save some cash and not waste.  Here comes the solution: frozen vegetable steamer bags from the supermarket (cheap and filling!).

 

In moments of little or no time, I pop the steamer bag in the microwave, drain and pour into a bowl.  Then I pop a lean frozen entrée into the microwave right after and mix in with my vegetables, creating a larger meal and an opportunity for me to fill up on something good for my body.

What are some quick  food fixes you enjoy?

 – Kate

I Love the Olympics

I love the Olympics.  Love.  And I do not use hyperbole lightly. 

For weeks prior to the opening ceremonies, I have been anticipating this culmination of athletic prowess that is the Winter Olympics.  Beyond the physical displays, I am such a sucker for the testimonials and athlete profiles that even the commercials have been choking me up.  The bigger the personal tribulations and triumph, the more of a sap I get while watching the performance.  I often cannot watch the medal ceremonies without getting a little teary. 

Part of my excitement in being an Olympic spectator is derived from my upbringing.  We are a skiing family, and every single weekend, my family drove from our house in New Jersey to our ski home in upstate New York.  In retrospect, I don’t know how my mom did it; she wrangled two kids, packed clothing and groceries, planned dinners for the weekend, and had us in the car after school by 4:00 on Friday afternoon.  My parents would have dressed us in about 18 layers, shoved breakfast in our mouths, tossed us into ski boots, and deposited us on the mountain to join our clinic group by 9:00 am on Saturday and Sunday.  And then they would ski with their friends. 

I know the devotion it takes to be invested in a sport from the age of three years old to adulthood.  While I certainly was not on the Olympic track, kids I skied with have made the Olympic B team or have raced against Bode Miller.  Sometimes won against Bode Miller.  Being immersed in this atmosphere makes me aware that it’s not only the devotion of the athlete; it’s also that of the athlete’s family.  At the end of every single ski run aired during the Olympics, I look for the skier to find his or her parents.  That moment always gets me, as I remember my own parents taking turns transporting my sister and me to different mountains, getting up at 4:00 am on a Saturday, and staying at the bottom of a race course in the cold to congratulate or console, as needed.    My dad always says that was the happiest time of his life, and for his sacrifices, I empathize with all the Olympic families. 

Of course, there is more than the emotional aspect which I find awe-inspiring.  The sheer physicality of it all astounds me.  I was watching biathlon Sunday afternoon, and was fixated on the thigh muscles of those cross-country skiers.  It seems super-human, which I guess is the point of putting all those athletes together on display for the world.  The women athletes, in particular, embody all that is empowering about women in sports: they are svelte and muscular, embraced in a society where, while their body types may not be the “ideal,” are lauded for what their bodies can do for them, whether it is catapulting them in the air off a ski jump, shuttling them down a mountain at 80 mph through a super-G course, or hurling themselves in loops over an ice skating rink.  When I was in high school, Picabo Street was pretty much my role model – and she was a size 10, muscular, fierce role model.  Now, I think Lindsay Vonn, in her strength, speed, and general brazen attitude serves as a role model to girls. 

Now, to revisit my glory days, here is a picture from the racing years.  I will spare you any shots of me in a GS suit (luckily, I don’t think those pictures survived). 

my glory days

Looks just like Lindsay Vonn, right??  Oh, how I wish.  I’m going skiing this weekend, and I may just be humming the Olympic theme down the slopes.

What is your favorite Olympic event to watch?

– Joanna

Meet-up.com

Sometimes life and work can get in the way of playtime for me and of course, that makes me sad.  Because of this fact of life, I wanted to share a cool website that I’ve found to be useful for getting back into the things that I like to do, especially the team sports I used to play regularly.  

I mentioned early on that I am a volleyball player.  I began playing as a kid in middle school and I find it to be the best all around sport to play because not only does it take physical skills but it also takes some smart and sometimes sneaky thinking.  Either way, I love to play the sport but I’ve found it difficult to find others who play it, too.  And that’s obviously a problem when you want to play a team sport like volleyball.  That’s where the website meetup.com has saved the day.

With over 68,000 “meet-up” groups throughout the country,  Meetup’s goal is to organize people locally.  Meetups are gatherings of people with a similar interest such as playing volleyball, watching movies or reading fiction.  It is a great tool for those who want to be active because there are so many fitness-related meetups.  For me, I found a great volleyball meetup in my neighborhood and have started meeting new people each week I attend.  Getting people together to share in a similar interest has never been easier.  Not to mention you can also get in a fun workout, too!

There is something for everyone including walking/running groups, beginner sports get togethers and yoga meetups.  Take a second and check out the site.   Happy Meetup!

 – Kate

What kind of groups have you found that suit your interests?

Mixing up your routine

A dance class

One of the great things about a Healthworks membership is the variety of exercises you can do on any given day.  You can dance, run, bounce or ride yourself to a better body.

Because of these options, I’ve really been trying to do more than my usual run on the treadmill and strength training routine.  In addition, I’ve been adding yoga workouts to my regimen and playing team sports such as basketball and volleyball once a week.

I find that doing different activities helps work different parts of my body.  When I run on the treadmill I build endurance in my legs for longer runs.  In basketball, I sprint shorter distances.  For volleyball, I jump and tend to squat a lot more and I give my arms a work out.  In yoga, the movements are slower and have less impact but I focus on building my core.   The best part is that over the last 3 months as a member, I have noticed a difference in my ability to hold poses and jump higher from the training I have done at Healthworks but I also think I am going to do my body a favor by keeping it moving by playing sports and mixing up my workout.

 – Kate

What sort of activities do you like to throw into your workout regimen?