How This Philly Attorney Makes Time for Healthy Food and Fitness

Callie Kim shares her week, including her strategy to cut back on wine, all the classes she teaches, and the meals she makes. Photograph courtesy Callie Kim.

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: Callie Kim (@tuckbarreyoga), 32, from Lansdowne

What I do: I’m a corporate attorney at Morgan Lewis and owner/instructor at Tuck Barre & Yoga.

What role healthy living plays in my life: If you had asked me this question 10 years ago, I would have responded with a detailed calorie journal, a description of an exact and unforgiving exercise regimen, and an obsession with sticking to my routine. Now I take a different approach: I eat what I love, give my body what it craves, don’t weigh myself, don’t count calories, and I still have abs (we’re talking four, not all six…I like food a little too much). People always ask me how I balance being a corporate lawyer and small business owner. I don’t have a simple answer for that, but a big part of it is eating well and exercising. It sounds cheesy, but my healthy lifestyle is a way of loving myself and nourishing the gift that is my body.

Health memberships: I get free classes at Tuck, so I don’t have a need (nor the time) to go anywhere else. But when I do have time, I love to try new classes! Megan Tahan (one of my favorite teachers in Philly!) teaches at SLT on the weekends, so I try to hit up her class when I can (and when I can afford it — $32 for a drop in). I also go to Wake Up Yoga on Passyunk for yin yoga occasionally ($75 for a five class card).

Monday

Meal prepped rolled omelettes make breakfast on the go a breeze. Photograph courtesy Callie Kim.

4:45 a.m. — Alarm goes off. I warm up a cup of Califia almond milk cold brew (caffe latte flavor, my absolute favorite). I’m obsessed with this coffee – creamy, not too sweet and the perfect amount of caffeine to wake up. While my coffee is heating up in the microwave, I take a shot of organic apple cider vinegar mixed with water and a little lemon juice. I go upstairs with my warm yummy coffee and a big glass of water and get some work done before my morning class.

I’m hungry but can’t eat too much before class (I always get nauseous if I eat a full meal then do core work), so I eat my favorite yogurt that’s packed full of protein — Skyr Icelandic Provisions yogurt in coconut. I walk our four dogs and pack my clothes/food for the day.

6:30 a.m. — I head to our University City studio to teach my 7:15 a.m. barre class. When I teach, I don’t do too much of the class, but I still get my heart rate up and work up a good sweat because I’m running around giving my energy to my clients.

8:10 a.m. — I wash my face, use some dry shampoo (who has time to wash their hair?) and get my work clothes on. I walk from our UCity studio at 34th and Lancaster to my office at 17th and Market. I love walking in Philadelphia — there’s no better way to exercise.

9 a.m. — I wrap up my first conference call of the day. I fill up my giant water cup. It has a reusable straw, which is great because I drink so much more water if I drink out of a straw. I heat up and eat my scallion rolled omelette. My husband and I (i.e., mostly husband) do our grocery shopping and a ton of meal prep on Sundays, so we made several of these bad boys yesterday.

10:15 a.m. —  More water.

11:50 a.m. — I’m tied up with work until 1 p.m., but I’m starving, so I eat a banana and an RxBar while I’m on a call to tide me over. I refill my water cup and chug it.

1 p.m. — I heat up a bowl of my homemade vegetarian chili that we prepped on Sunday. My work kitchen has snack bags of Pepperidge Farm goldfish, so I sprinkle some on top of my chili. Genius!

3 p.m. — A client meeting with caramel chocolate things. I eat one. Worth it. More water! There’s a plumbing issue at one of the studios, so I call our very amazing plumber and get a text in 30 minutes that the toilet is up and running again! That’s a relief.

5:30 p.m. — Walk to the University City studio to help open it for the night. We’re on a reduced schedule for the holiday break, but we still have a few evening classes that are busy. After hanging out for a bit, I head home!

6 p.m. — I walk the dogs then log in for work and finish up something that needs to go out tonight. I drink a glass of Malbec as I work. It’s no secret that attorneys are at risk of substance abuse. I find it very easy to have a glass (or two) of wine every night. About a year ago, I started limiting myself to one glass of wine on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays, and knowing that wine is off limits the other nights has really helped.

Bibimbap for dinner. Photograph courtesy Callie Kim.

8 p.m. — Dinner! Tonight the spouse makes vegetarian Korean bibimbap. I put meatless ground meat from Trader Joe’s and an egg on mine and add sautéed kale and spinach, shredded romaine lettuce, pickled radish, bean sprouts, and mushrooms.

9 p.m. — I shower (and wash my hair) and squeeze in 20 minutes of foam rolling and yin yoga before bed. I eat a CBD gummy and lights out!

Daily total: $0

Tuesday

Vegetarian dumplings for dinner. Photograph courtesy Callie Kim.

5:30 a.m. — Wake up, drink a cup of my Califia latte, do the morning ACV shot and walk the dogs. Send out a few work emails, and I eat two hard boiled eggs with a touch of sea salt.

6:45 a.m. — Out the door and headed to Tuck in University City. I’m taking Ann’s 45-minute “breaking barre” class this morning. She broke me about five minutes in with her core series.

8:15 a.m. — I’m headed to New Jersey for a client meeting. I know they’ll have food at the meeting, but I’m hungry now and don’t want to wait. I stop by a Starbucks and get a small soy latte and spinach and feta egg wrap ($10.05 with tip). I also refill my water bottle.

Callie Kim takes a barre class at her studio. Photograph courtesy Callie Kim.

12:30 p.m. — Back in my office finally, I eat my tomato mozzarella salad with basil that I made on Sunday. This is one of my favorite salads (is it really a salad?), and it’s so simple. I mix some sliced mozzarella and small grape tomatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper. I top it with some basil. That’s it!

3 p.m. — I eat a couple pieces of Blissfully Better chocolate. I got these chocolate bars as a gift a few years ago, and now I buy them by the case. They are sweetened with organic coconut nectar and don’t give you that sugar high/crash feeling.

5 p.m. — I have to sub for one of our barre teachers who is sick. I eat an RxBar and bag of blackberries while I walk to our Point Breeze studio. I rarely teach at night so I feel disoriented, but I teach a tough 45-minute session that includes plenty of cardio. I rush home so I can see my dogs! Does anyone else actively miss their pets when they are at work?

6:30 p.m. — Dogs walked! I open my laptop and finish up some work. My husband (an ANGEL) brings me some blueberries to snack on while I work.

8 p.m. — We eat vegetarian dumplings for dinner. I eat a bunch and we have some chocolate truffles that a friend gifted us for dessert.

9 p.m. — Sleep!

Daily total: $10.05

Wednesday

A homemade yogurt parfait. Photograph courtesy Callie Kim.

4:30 a.m. — I teach a double on Wednesday mornings at the Point Breeze studio. I have my Califia coffee, two hard boiled eggs, walk the dogs, and check my work email. I’m out the door by 5:15 a.m.

6 a.m. — I teach my intermediate vinyasa flow class. The past few weeks we’ve been working on fun backbends, so today we meditate and open our hips.

7:15 a.m. — My barre shred class starts. This class is intermediate/advanced barre mixed with some HIIT. We always do some crazy stuff, but today we hit abs really hard.

8:10 a.m. — I walk the mile from the Point Breeze studio to my office. I stop at Nook Cafe and Bakery (the BEST) on 20th and Market for a chai. Yes, this is mostly sugar, and yes, I love it. It’s cold outside so I get a small soy chai served hot. I get a plain croissant to go with my chai ($9.75 with tip).

10 a.m. — Croissant wasn’t enough. I eat my homemade yogurt parfait. It has Icelandic Skyr yogurt, blackberries, pomegranate seeds, blueberries, and grapes with some granola mixed in. I drink two bottles of water.

11 a.m. — More water.

A packed salad for lunch. Photograph courtesy Callie Kim.

1 p.m. — Finished up a call and have time to eat. I brought a Caesar salad. I’m not going to lie: I usually don’t eat salads for lunch, but this one is filling and tasty, as it has romaine lettuce, cheese, roasted plantain chips that I buy from Trader Joe’s, tomatoes, and two sliced hard-boiled eggs.

2 p.m. — More water.

3:30 p.m. — I need some chocolate. I eat three Dove chocolates at my desk. I keep a bag of these in my drawer. Easy access to chocolate is life.

7 p.m. — Get home from work and walk the dogs. I have to finish up a few small things for work. I snack on kettle popcorn and Cheez-Its.

7:45 p.m. — It’s late, and spouse and I are both hungry. We talk about getting Chinese takeout, but we decide to make frozen pizza. We pop a veggie cauliflower crust pizza from Trader Joe’s in the toaster oven.

8:30 p.m. — I do 10 minutes of foam rolling and yin yoga while we Netflix.

9:15 p.m. — Lights out!

Daily total: $9.75

Thursday

Protein pancakes for breakfast. Photograph courtesy Callie Kim.

6 a.m. — Wake up, have coffee and ACV shot, and walk the dogs.

6:30 a.m. — Head to the University City studio to teach core barre. My teaching energy for the week is waning, but I wake up when I turn on my new playlist and start chatting with our clients.

8:10 a.m. — I’m working remotely today so I can get some furniture delivered at home. I use the time I’m not commuting to enjoy another cup of coffee (why not?) and make what I call my protein pancake Big Mac. I toast three Kodiak frozen pancakes (they have 14 grams of protein!) and top them with crunchy organic peanut butter and sliced bananas. I stack them on top of each other and drizzle the stack with some local honey.

9 a.m. — Water!

11:45 a.m. — I heat up some vegetarian chili for lunch. I also have a lemon sparkling water.

3:30 p.m. — I need a break from my desk, so I take the dogs for a long walk.

5:30 p.m. — Spouse comes home and we walk the dogs together. We decide on takeout for dinner. The Chinese takeout craving hasn’t left us, so we get crab rangoon, vegetable fried rice, and General Tso’s tofu to share ($10.85 for my half).

7 p.m. — Not ideal after Chinese food, but I head to the University City studio to meet our videographer and a few of our barre teachers. We are filming an online barre teacher training course, and tonight we are filming the last bit of core work. I mostly talk through corrections and modifications while our teachers hold plank (sorry, guys).

9:45 p.m. — OMG, tomorrow is my sleep-in day. Never been so excited for anything.

Daily total: $10.85

Friday

A grain bowl at Vernick for lunch. Photograph courtesy Callie Kim.

7:15 a.m. — Wake up, have some coffee and my ACV shot, and I walk the dogs. I make some oatmeal with brown sugar, blueberries, and bananas.

8 a.m. — Walk to my office. Drink a bottle of water.

12:30 p.m. — I have a friend date today! We meet at Vernick Coffee Bar for lunch inside the new Comcast Center. I order the coconut and pineapple juice and wild mushroom and avocado grain bowl ($30 with tip).

2 p.m. — Water and chocolate break. I eat a few Hershey bars from my work kitchen.

4 p.m. — I finished everything I need to do for the day, and I head to Tria for happy hour with friends! This never happens. I get a glass of Malbec, and we share the cheese plate and olive oil rosemary potato chips (my share is $25). We move to Spice Finch for dinner, getting a few appetizers (herb fries, hummus, and a whole snapper). We split it all four ways ($40 for my share).

Spice Finch for dinner. Photograph courtesy Callie Kim.

7 p.m. — I’m home and in my comfy pants for the night. We walk the dogs together and are in bed by 9 p.m. because I have to teach a double in the morning.

Daily total: $95

Weekly Totals

Money spent: $125.65

Classes taught: 5

Classes taken: 1

Apple cider vinegar shots: 4

Foam rolling sessions: 2

Cups of coffee: 6

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