IMAGE GAL The Last 20 Lbs. – The Sandy Workout

By Samantha von Sperling | November 7, 2012 | Entertainment, Fitness, Relationships

Image Gal Samantha von Sperling continues on her quest to lose the last 20 pounds, from a most unusual source.

Who needs a gym when there’s no electricity? Living in New York City, I encountered Storm Sandy, and since Oct. 28 when I was evacuated from my apartment next to New York’s Battery Park City, I’ve been on the Sandy diet and exercise plan.

This includes:

Packing an emergency bag and lugging it to a friend’s place.
Shivering off the fat because there is no hot water or heat.
Rationing off the bag of almonds you grabbed as you fled from your home, because now that’s all there is to eat and you’re not sure when your next meal will be.
Eating hot broth, vegetables and fish or chicken when the kindness of strangers permits.
Climbing 33 flights of stairs in noxious fumes in the dark to get necessities youΓÇÖre your uninhabitable apartment.

Image Gal Style Tip: Pack all black, you won’t have to worry about coordinating outfits. Don’t worry if you think some of it won’t fit: given a few days in these conditions, it’ll fit.

Don’t leave home without red lipstick and mascara. You’ll look less like a refugee, which will help you feel better, and long lashes come in handy when having to flirt to get basic necessities.

Forget the fact that your legs are still trembling from the last time you made the climb to you’re apartment. Embrace the pain and do it again, because you literally have no choice. Climb 33 flights of stairs again under the same conditions because you forgot your passport (just I case you need to flee to somewhere else to survive!).

Walk 45 blocks because you need cell phone reception. Walk everywhere because public transportation in beyond difficult if not impossible.

In spite of these hardships, I am glad to be safe and have friends who have given me shelter and other amenities. Mine and the rest of the Divagals’ hearts go out to the families who lost their homes, livelihood and loved ones.

I have no idea how much weight I lost this past week, but my legs sure are shaping up!