How a Busy Mom and Real Estate Agent Finds Time to Work Out 5 Days a Week

Welcome to Sweat Diaries, Be Well Philly’s look at the time, energy, and money people invest in pursuit of a healthy lifestyle in Philly. For each Sweat Diary, we ask one Philadelphian to spend a week tracking everything they eat, all the exercise they get, and the money they spend on both. Want to submit a Sweat Diary? Email ccunningham@phillymag.com with details. 

Who I am: Luisa Ramondo from Bryn Mawr

What I do: Realtor for Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices and Fox and Roach around the Main Line and Philadelphia

What role health and fitness plays in my life: “Health and fitness are very important to me and my family. I realize that keeping my body fit and my mind calm helps me get through day to day life successfully and accomplish all of my goals! Also, I have been keeping an informal Sweat Diary with two of my best girlfriends for several years.  We are each other’s inspiration and we email every Sunday night with our eating and exercise report for the past week. It’s a great way to stay focused all week since you know you’ll be emailing your friends your diary. No judgements EVER, even though sometimes my diary says I took one walk and ate junk all week!”

Health memberships: I pay $9.99 for the Aaptiv app, $280 for a ten-class package at SoulCycle, and $160 for a ten-class package at Verge BodyMind.

Monday

Photographs courtesy Luisa Ramondo.

5:25 a.m. — Wake, quickly dress, and head out the door to make a 6 a.m. SoulCycle class — Yael’s Elton John Revamp Album ride ($28). It’s like a dance party on a bike. The fastest 45 minutes you’ll ever experience, you just don’t want it to end — it’s that good!  I come out of that class feeling extremely grateful.

7 a.m. — I stop at La Colombe for decaf café au lait ($2.50), then home to read the news and DailyOM and shower. Then I head down to South Philly by 9:30 a.m. for a funeral.

10:30 a.m. — Back in Bryn Mawr, I grab a Hawaiian Kona french press coffee from Turning Point, which is absolutely the only coffee I can drink black ($8.35). I also grab a BelGioioso cheese, take my vitamins (Shaklee Life-Strips with Iron), and head to the office to work for a few hours.

2 p.m. — Home for a quick (but late) lunch of Whole Foods roasted turkey and cheese romaine lettuce wraps. I then work for a couple more hours in my home office.

Photograph courtesy Luisa Ramondo.

5 p.m. — I make dinner for my family. Tonight it’s roasted Italian sausage with vegetables and green salad with olive oil and my homemade wine vinegar for dressing. My husband Damien takes the boys to Rita’s, but I grab a handful of Nestle chocolate chunks instead. I should bake with them, but I end up using them for my chocolate fix with a spoonful of Whole Foods peanut butter.

7 p.m. — Client appointment in Gladwyne. Goes well, beautiful house!

8:30 p.m. — Home, clean up the kitchen, wash my face, moisturize, brush my teeth, put my pjs on, and spend about another hour going through emails and texts, both work and personal. I check out my schedule for the next day while I hang out with Damien and my three sons who are 20, 15, and 14.

10 p.m. — In bed, I watch a little TV with Damien, then lights out at 11:30.

Daily total: $38.85

Tuesday

Photographs courtesy Luisa Ramondo.

6:45 a.m. — Wake up and check that all of the boys are getting ready for work and school. After they all leave, I get back in bed and sleep in an extra hour. I’ve been so tired this season, so I’m not going to deny myself a little extra sleep.

8:30 a.m. — I get up for the second time; make myself Tazo Green Ginger Tea in my favorite cup and start going through emails and texts. Read the news and DailyOM. I eat a hard-boiled egg for breakfast — I always have them ready in the fridge since my whole family eats them — and take my Shaklee vitamin pack.

10 a.m. — I work out in my home gym. It’s an abs and arms day while listening to my favorite playlist.  I then do some great yoga poses like down dog and pigeon just to get a good stretch. Then I do a morning meditation using my Aaptive iPhone app.

11:30 a.m. — I pick up a Wawa 20-ounce coffee ($1.80) with skim milk on my way downtown to serve lunch to the homeless at a Christian organization. It takes about 30 minutes but the great feelings I get from it last much longer than that.

Photograph courtesy Luisa Ramondo.

1 p.m. — Pick up a Naruto Roll (no rice with yellow tail and tuna) from Samurai  ($15), then home to have lunch on the deck. After, back to the home office to work.

5 p.m. — I prepare a pasta and chicken dinner for my family even though I’m going out. I shower and get ready for my evening out.

6:30 p.m. — Dinner out with my tennis team to celebrate the end of our season.  Such a great group of beautiful, strong women who all inspire me in different ways every day. I have a Grey Goose with club soda and lime to drink.  I order snapper soup and a house salad with a very small piece of filet mignon ($38). I don’t like dressing, so I just ask for lemon wedges.

10:30 p.m. — Home. Bedtime routine and lights out by 11:30.

Daily total: $54.80

Wednesday

Photograph courtesy Luisa Ramondo.

6:30 a.m. — Wake up and make sure everyone in the house is up and getting ready to go.

7:30 a.m. — Interval training run on the Radnor Trail. I only go for about 2.5 miles, but it felt good to get out and run a little. I’ve been avoiding training runs since they are boring, but I want to work on my speed. Last race, I ran about 10:30 minutes per mile, I’d really like to get that under ten.

8:30 a.m. — Drop off some lacrosse jerseys that needed to be turned in at a team mom’s house, then go to La Colombe to pick up a decaf coffee with oat milk ($2.50), then home to shower.  I eat a hard-boiled egg and take my vitamin pack. I use my Aaptive app to do yoga for runners. It’s a great stretch and so easy to fit in since it’s only a few minutes.

10 a.m. — Work.

11 a.m. — I go to Cameo to go bathing suit shopping. I seriously try on about 20 suits, I buy ONE and then head to Bryn & Dane’s to pick up a kale and romaine salad with avocado, tomato, and chicken with a squeeze of lemon and an unsweetened black iced tea ($14.29).

Photograph courtesy Luisa Ramondo.

12 p.m. — Go to get my hair done at AME in Wayne.  I bring my laptop so I can search for houses for my buyer clients and send emails.

2:30 p.m. — I run a few errands before I go home to work for a few more hours in my home office.

7 p.m. — High school graduation party for one of my best girlfriend’s daughter.  I have shredded beef with a little BBQ sauce and salad, a small piece of corn bread, and some chocolate-covered pomegranate bites for dessert.

10 p.m. — Home, check email, check my schedule, then start bedtime routine.

11:30 p.m. — Lights out!

Daily total: $16.79

Thursday

Photograph courtesy Luisa Ramondo.

6:30 a.m. — Wake up and make sure everyone is up and out on time.

7:30 a.m. — Tennis with Damien.  He’s a natural athlete…I’m not. He always hits tough shots and has me running all over the court. He beats me, but I see it as a big fat W since there once was a time when I couldn’t win even one game against him.

8:45 a.m. — Home to shower and eat a quick breakfast of Nova Lox wrapped in lettuce and a handful of organic blueberries.  Use my Aaptive app to do a little morning meditation.

10:30 a.m. — Pick up a grande half caffe misto coffee from Starbucks ($3.25) and then head to a settlement for one of my listings.

12 p.m. — Back to the office to work for a couple of hours. Paperwork to do, houses to show, and appointments to make for the weekend.

2:30 p.m. — Home to pay some bills, do laundry, and eat a late lunch.  Today, I make myself a Greek salad with feta and grilled chicken. I use olive oil and my homemade wine vinegar for dressing.  Then I have a handful of chocolate chunks just because.

6 p.m. — Eighth grade graduation for our youngest son, then dinner at Margaret Kuo’s in Wayne to celebrate. We order family style and share house special wonton soup, vegetables, rice, and gyoza.  I have a glass of Chardonnay.  We spend $153 on our meal for the whole family, with some leftover to take home.

11:30 p.m. — Bedtime routine, watch tv and play a little solitaire on my iPhone before lights out at 11:30.

Daily total: $156.25

Friday

Photograph courtesy Luisa Ramondo.

8:15 a.m. — Yoga with Damien at Verge. We love to do Stability class together since it’s a great stretch for both of us ($16).

9:45 a.m. — Chiropractor appointment. Absolutely love seeing the very funny and talented Dr. Crooker at Bryn Mawr Wellness  for much-needed adjustments and light massage, especially after a tough work out week or before/after a race.  This is covered by my health insurance so there is no charge. Yay!

10 a.m. — I pick up a coffee at Wawa ($1.80) and head home to do some laundry and other household chores. I try not to work too much on Fridays since I work Saturdays and Sundays.

12 p.m. — Walk on the Radnor Trail with one of my informal Sweat Diary sisters and my little dog who manages to keep up with us at a fast pace with his tiny little legs. We then head to Playa Bowls in Wayne for a lunchtime smoothie ($6.99).

2:30 p.m. — Home to shower and finish up on house chores.

5 p.m. — Search for a weekend race. I signed myself up for two half marathons in the fall (crazy!), and I decided to try to sign up for races every week since training runs can be boring.

7 p.m. — I watch my son’s lacrosse game and we get home around 8:30. We have a quick dinner of Whole Foods turkey and roast beef that we have in the fridge. My cousin stops over and the adults have some Chardonnay and chat for a bit.

10:30 p.m. — Bedtime routine. I watch some TV, play a little solitaire, and lights out by 12:30 p.m.  Life is good!

Daily total: $24.79

Weekly Totals

Money spent: $291.48

Workouts: 6

Meditation: 2

Cups of coffee: 6

Alcoholic drinks: 3

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