Olympic Inspiration 

As the Winter Olympic games come to a close I am still in awe at what the athletes have accomplished in these very memorable games. I could never have imagined that four years ago, when James Chatto – the head judge of the Gold Medal plates Olympic fundraiser, asked me to be on the judging panel to help raise funds for our Olympic athletes, we would end up raising $4 million dollars to help support our Canadian Athletes! Fundraisers can be tedious and difficult and require so much effort on the part of a huge number of people , although I learned that if each of us does something small, collectively it does add up.   Watch this video message from founder Steve Leckie here: http://goldmedalplates.com/leckie/leckie.html

Being Greek , every time I hear the word Olympic I somehow feel I should get some invention ownership. I’m trying not to imagine myself at the ancient games with an olive wreath around my head, but this time I am more inspired than ever to push myself to maintain my fitness regime during my grueling  12-14 hour work days.   Well maybe not that tough compared to what the athletes endure but television is a lot more time consuming that it looks.   So it's my mission on the heals of such amazing athletic performances, to have a few personal best moments.  

Here are the things my trainer – says I need to work on : staying hydrated, and eating the right kinds of food on set and doing a minimum of three  days of cardio per week.

I will drink  a lot of water as soon as I wake up, between takes, with any meals or snacks-there’s always a water bottle nearby so I can stay hydrated. And when it comes to lunch, I need to eat foods that aren’t loaded with fat and sugars so that my energy stays with me throughout the day instead of spiking and crashing. I’ll  graze if possible, so that by the time I get home and don’t feel like cooking because I’m bushed and have been cooking all day on camera, I won’t have to.

In between shoot days, I’ll find at least two days a week to devote to the gym and working out. If there’s a day off, I'll be doing cardio exercises and working on my core. Keeping that area strong is one of my biggest fitness challenges. I stand for most of the day, especially when we’re shooting, so keeping the stabilizer/abdominal muscles (you know, the ones that wrap around your waist and run along your lower spine) strong is crucial to my overall health.

My personal goal regarding food when my schedule is packed and I need to stay on top of my game is to keep the inspiration. Once food starts becoming mere fuel (carbs versus proteins etc..), I don’t feel the excitement anymore of eating well. I need to be passionate about the food I’m eating- all the time. Even if the soup is low fat- it has to taste great and give me a warm, fuzzy feeling to really enjoy it. When I enjoy it , I have more strength to stay fit and keep the energy levels up.   I feel on top of the podium when I am having fun, excited about the next thing I’m going to cook and helping someone else conquer their fears and find their passion in the kitchen.