Prepping for Spring Fitness with Westin

Last week I was invited to The Westin Grand Central for their Spring Fitness Break event. As a resident of NYC, it's not often I step into hotels here, although I had actually visited this hotel when my Dad came and stayed here last year.

This event was FULL of freebies. Upon entering I got a water bottle from FiTMAPPED and a Westin t-shirt. I also got a raffle ticket to win prizes like a one-night stay at the Westin, new running shoes, or a pack of classes to Mang'Oh Yoga.

Sadly my luck was not turned on that night as I didn't win the raffle, however I went home with a bunch of great (mostly liquid!) samples. Citibike was also on hand giving out a couple yearlong memberships and free bike maps.

Plinko with the Moonwalk

Pacific Flavored Almond Milk

Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Kind Bars

Oat Works Drinks

Bai Antioxidant Infusions

For the actual event, a panel of fitness experts including nutritionists, a fitness entrepreneur, a yoga teacher, and a wellness coach. They took questions from the audience about the best foods to eat when trying to lose belly fat (it's all about balance), exercises to try if you haven't worked out in a while (low-impact activities and yoga), and how much water/liquids we should be drinking every day (72 oz. for women and 100 oz. for men). The yoga teacher also led us in a revitalizing and relaxing stretch and meditation.

A representative from Westin gave a short presentation on their many options for health-conscious guests. First, they offer a gear rental program for hotel guests. For $5 you can have a bag of New Balance gear (shorts, shirt, shoes and socks) to use throughout your stay, and you get to keep the socks when you go home. The Westin Grand Central also offers twice-weekly group runs for guests, discounts at Mang'Oh yoga, and flavored water to keep you hydrated.

Westin running map and flavored water stations

Westin's group run leader and panel

As a side note, that Oat Works is really good stuff! They said that one bottle has as much protein as two bowls of oatmeal, and the flavors are really great. I would definitely try the peach mango again!

Screw the Cold! Order Delivery and Get Free Stuff!

I have to admit, I don't order food for delivery that often. My philosophy is if I'm going to spend money on food from a restaurant, I'd rather make a night of it and enjoy the ambiance. However, on frigid days like today (and on lazy, especially rainy days) I make an exception.

So what did I want for lunch, I thought to myself at about 10:45 this morning when my stomach began to rumble. I could be like everyone else and use Seamless, but instead I opted to go with Delivery.com, and I'll tell you why. The basic concept is the same--login, pick a cuisine, add your items to your cart, list any special instructions, hand over your credit card info and the rights to your soul, and soon food will be delivered right to you without you ever having to interact with a human being (with the exception of the delivery person of course). However, Delivery.com is a smaller operation compared with Seamless and hence offers more perks to try and lure new customers.

For example, instead of choosing a cuisine first, I entered my office address and opted to sort the available delivery choices by discount. Low and behold there were 6 different restaurants that offered a 25% off deal for your first order. Score! I decided to order from Marrakesh because I was in the mood for hummus and I could get a shish kebab combo platter for $12.95 (includes a garden salad or rice, 2 pieces of pita, and 2 vegetarian sides including hummus, grape leaves, falafel, etc.).

Nothing surprising so far, BUT not only did I get my food and my 25% off discount, but I also received 316 loyalty points and one stamp on my loyalty card. Basically, the points can be redeemed for anything from a $5 charity donation (10,000 points) to a $50 iTunes card (125,000 points) to an 11 inch Macbook Air (1,380,000 - you have to order A LOT of delivery for this guy but I guess it's incentive to take the office's lunch orders!). In addition, you get one "punch" for every order and a $5 credit for each 10 orders no matter how much you spend.

There are other ways of earning points as well. You get 1,000 just for signing up, plus 1,000 more for each friend you invite to Delivery.com. So what are you waiting for? Start making your delivery dinner plans for the rest of this awful freaking cold week!