We Work Hard and We Eat Hard: How I Stay Active Without Losing My Mind (Or My Appetite)
Let me tell you something about balance.
I come home to a seven-year-old, a husband, and a Cavapoo named Gizmo who has decided that the couch is hers and we are guests. I run three days a week and I recently started Pilates. I go on walking meetings. At the end of a hard day I eat whatever I want without apology.
As James Kennedy once said on reality television — and I think about this more than I should — “It’s not about the pasta!”
Exactly. It’s my plate. Leave it alone. Life is about balance.
The Back That Started Everything
I have always been a runner. There is something about putting on your shoes and just going that clears everything — the work stress, the mental load, the approximately forty seven things you forgot to do before you left the house.
But this year my back had opinions.
Bad back opinions. The kind that make you reconsider every life choice you’ve ever made while lying on the floor wondering if this is just what being 40 feels like now.
Enter Pilates.
I want to be honest — I was skeptical. I am a runner. Runners do not always take kindly to being told to slow down, engage their core, and breathe intentionally. It felt suspiciously calm for something that was supposed to help.
I was wrong. Pilates has been one of the best things I have done for my body this year. My back is stronger. My runs feel better. I move differently. I am not saying it fixed everything — I am saying it fixed enough that I stopped lying on the floor questioning my existence, and that feels like a win.
The Running Math
Here is what my running looks like now: three days a week, maximum three miles per run.
I know. For anyone who has been a runner, that number feels small. There was a time when three miles was just a warmup. But here is what I have learned at 40 with a bad back and a full life: staying consistent beats going big every single time.
Three miles three days a week means I am always running. I never burn out. I never injure myself to the point of stopping completely. I show up, I run my three miles, I come home to Gizmo who is completely indifferent to my athletic achievements, and I feel like a functioning human being.
The mental clarity alone is worth it. There is not a single work problem, parenting challenge, or Real Housewives plot twist that feels unmanageable after a run. I come back with a clear head every time. It is the most reliable therapy I have found that does not require a copay.
Walking Meetings
Someone at some point decided that all meetings must happen while sitting down and I would like to formally push back on that.
I take walking meetings at work whenever I can. Moving while thinking is not a new concept — some of the best ideas I have had, some of the clearest decisions I have made, have happened while walking. There is something about forward motion that unsticks your brain.
If you have never tried a walking meeting I am telling you right now — try it. Your focus will thank you. Your back will thank you. And if the meeting is particularly painful, at least you are outside.
The Family 5K
Every weekend we do 5Ks as a family.
My husband. My seven year old son. Me. All of us — running, walking, shuffling, whatever it takes to get to the finish line together.
My son is seven. He does not always want to run. He sometimes wants to stop and look at things, ask questions about everything he sees, and negotiate the terms of how much further we actually have to go. This is fine. This is actually the point.
We are not training for the Olympics. We are building the habit of showing up, moving our bodies, and doing hard things together. The finish line is just a bonus.
We Work Hard and We Eat Hard
Here is my fitness philosophy in its entirety: move your body consistently, find what works for your actual life, and eat the food.
I do not believe in restriction. I do not believe in earning your meals. I believe in Pilates for my back, running for my mind, walking meetings for my focus, and family 5Ks for the memories.
And I believe in eating whatever is on my plate without commentary from anyone.
“It’s not about the pasta!”
It never is. That’s the whole point.
Balance is not about perfection. It is about showing up — for your runs, for your Pilates class, for your kid at the 5K finish line, and absolutely for whatever is on your plate at the end of the day.
Gizmo watched me write this from the couch. She has not moved in two hours. She is, somehow, the most balanced member of this family.
