After spending a suitably uneventful day unceremoniously ringing in the last year of my twenties, I thought I might log a few thoughts and good intentions.

One of the biggest changes I’ve made in the last few months has been to get more serious about what I eat and and how often I work out. During the last few years, I had binged/purged my way through multiple gym memberships and diets, and it was becoming harder and harder to ignore the slow creep of pounds as my jobs became more sedentary and my eating and workout habits stayed more or less the same. While getting rid of my car, and moving to a more pedestrian-friendly city definitely helped to balance out the hours of sitting at a desk, the free pantry at work and easy access/constant temptation of bars and restaurants brought new challenges. It seemed like I was always planning on losing 5 or 10 pounds ‘next month’, for a friend’s wedding, for summer swimsuits or halloween costumes and always watching these big benchmarks come and go without any real change. Diets were frustrating- it seemed the more I cut back on things like fast food, soda, and high-carb deserts, the harder I fell back on old comfort foods when my resolve inevitably broke.

I’ve had a few moments of clarity this past year though and have found that the slow/steady approach to wellness is more maintainable and successful than an extreme lifestyle change. For me, it’s all about good habits and letting myself break them without feeling guilty (I still get my weekly fix of orange soda, and when the craving for a fish filet sandwich hits, I don’t fight it, but I also don’t add on fries and hamburgers when I indulge). When it comes to working out, there have to be milestones that don’t involve pounds- this summer, I started signing up for runs and rides around the city. I liked biking so much (way easier on my legs than constant running), that I bought a bike a few months ago. I don’t like riding as much in the winter, but I love spin classes, especially when they’re to good music! I also signed up for my first triathlon this spring! I haven’t done any real swimming since middle school (truthfully, it took me a few years longer than the average human before I could master the art of not-drowning in water), but after years of pounding pavement and treadmill monotony, the joys of laps in a quiet pool (and not sweating to cardio) are not at all lost on me. It’s taken me a couple of months, but I’m able to swim around a mile these days without getting leg cramps or running out of breath. It’s definitely an activity I’m glad I went out of my comfort zone to try, and definitely something I’m going to keep doing, whether or not triathlons turn out to be a lifelong pursuit for me. In any event, I think I’ll start logging my progress here, if anything, to share what’s worked for me (and what hasn’t) and maybe motivate friends (or the random person who’s gotten lost on the internet and found their way to this blog).

When I’m not working or working out, I’ve been trying to balance things out with orchestra and other creative pursuits. As per usual, I’m not the best at practicing regularly, but things always seem to come together before the concerts, and the group is laid back/I sit far back enough where it’s more about making music with friends and less about hitting every note. Even so, I’d like to get better, and when money is less tight, I think lessons will help in keeping me accountable to someone other than myself. I’m saving up these days to move into a one bedroom this spring, and I’m hoping to find a space big enough to buy an upright piano. Not the most practical purchase in a place like New York, but I can’t wait to have a place where I can come home, sit down, and belt out Bohemian Rhapsody, Rachmaninoff, or songs from Hedwig in the Angry Inch after a stressful day at work (and unlike a dog, dreams of which I’ve given up for now on account of being single and working long hours, a piano doesn’t need walks, chew furniture, or pee/poo in corners). If there were 32 hours in every day, I’d be taking a creative writing or painting class, but that might have to wait until the summer after I move and when the days are a little longer. In the meantime, there’s always BYOB painting in Brooklyn and Tango classes in the East Village (neither of which I’m particularly good at, especially when alcohol gets mixed in, but luckily proficiency isn’t really the point for activities like these ; ) )

Anyhow, that more than does it for tonight. More later.