I (re)started this blog a little over a year ago because I needed an outlet. My background is rooted in fitness and health promotion, which is my formal education and where my formative professional years were spent.
But as life often does, my career evolved. Today, I work in the tech industry, which means I spend 8 to 10 hours a day sitting at a desk.
In my free time, I still apply my training and education to my own life. However, I’ve come to realize that being a professional woman in your 30s requires a different kind of training. It’s a constant, delicate act of balancing physical health, career growth, relationships, mental well-being, and financial stability.
I also recognize that not every woman has a degree in fitness and health promotion, or the kind of upbringing that I had, where we were always talking about exercise and nutrition. For many of you, you are trying to answer questions about your health using whatever resources you find on TikTok or in your social circles.
While that information can be helpful, it’s often sensationalized or designed to exploit insecurities just to sell a product you probably don’t need.
That’s why the purpose of this site has shifted. It started as a personal repository for my workouts, but it has grown into something more: a place to connect with women and help them make informed, evidence-based choices.
As someone currently navigating the same life pressures you are, I want to distill the noise into something actionable and realistic. I’m writing this today because I’ve recently hit a stretch where my own balance felt… off. I want to be honest about that struggle, because “perfect” isn’t the goal, sustainable is, and there’s always so much to be learned from someone else’s mistakes.
A Season of Challenges – and Valuable Lessons
I don’t know about you, but this year started at max speed and has not slowed down since. It seems the pressures of AI making its way into the workplace have not only ramped up conversations about how AI will “take our jobs” but also how we should all integrate AI into our jobs so we can produce at an unheard-of rate.
Outside of work, I entered the home stretch of my Maid of Honour duties. This meant planning a bridal weekend with my sister, where I took her to local boutiques to buy her bridal accessories – complete with a fancy hotel room and concert tickets; planning a bridal shower and all the time, crafting, and costs associated with that, and of course, planning and booking ($$) all of the bachelorette weekend activities.
Don’t get me wrong, I am loving the process. However, as someone who holds themselves to a high standard at work, and someone who wants to make every aspect of my sister’s wedding perfect, stress has been at an all-time high.
This is where a solid exercise routine and good eating habits can really shine. Truthfully, at the beginning of the year, I was really crushing it. I was really consistent at the gym, and I was also really enjoying being keto as well. My mind felt sharp, and I was starting to see changes in my body composition.
Then I got sick at the beginning of March, and everything was thrown off. I wasn’t able to go to the gym for 3 weeks, my diet changed to try and soothe myself after not feeling well, and the momentum I had at work was completely gone.
This was one of those moments where I was reminded why I keep writing articles for you. Life very rarely moves along exactly how you planned it. When those bumps in the road happen, are you prepared to adjust and adapt and create a plan to get yourself back on track?
Not only that, but have you worked on being mentally prepared to give yourself grace and be patient with yourself as you work to get yourself back on track?
This is what I’ve realized is probably the most important piece. In the last month and a half, since I’ve been well enough to get back to the gym, I’ve had to remind myself of the central mantra of my website, which is to do something – even if it’s just one thing – good for your body today.
What has that looked like for me lately? It was as simple as going for a walk around the block to get fresh air after being stuck inside when I wasn’t feeling well. It also meant believing in myself, and knowing what was best for myself on a morning when I thought I was too tired to work out, and then I ended up having one of my best workouts in weeks!
It has also looked like going to the resources I have at my disposal to support me on the tough days, such as opening up the Headspace app and finding something to quiet my busy mind after a long day at work.
I’ve put in years of work to be able to bounce back and trust my ability to bounce back, and so if I can help you get to a place where you trust yourself to bounce back from bumps in the road, and to also be excited about the healthy, balanced life that you have designed for yourself – then that’s all I can hope for!
How to Restore Balance
So what does the next 90 days look like for me, and how am I planning to restore balance in my life? Truth be told, the next 90 days are anything but “normal”. I’ll be in Lisbon for 2.5 weeks, then when I get back, I’ll go right into the bachelorette weekend and then the final two weeks of supporting my sister’s wedding preparations.
I will be away from my home and my gym and, for a short period of time, my usual groceries and my regular timezone!
But I have known that all of this was going to happen right before the wedding, so I have been planning how I can adapt to new environments and schedules so that I continue to do something good for my body every day.
For example, I have looked up gyms near where I will be staying in Lisbon. I thought about “just running” or following workout videos on YouTube, but in the past, I have never stuck to either of those as consistently as I have when I’ve found a gym to work out. So we learn, we listen to our better judgment, and we adjust.
I am also very excited to be using my Garmin and my Ultrahuman for this upcoming trip. They both offer insights and tips on how to adjust to new timezones. This has always been something that throws off my eating habits, sleep quality, and exercise, so I’m really looking forward to following the guidance provided and hopefully establishing a routine much faster than I have in the past.
Finally, when it is time to support my sister in those final 2 weeks before her wedding, I know that she will want to be really good about exercise, sleep, and nutrition, so part of my supporting her will include all the habits that support a healthy lifestyle. I’ve also taken some time off work around the Bachelorette weekend and the wedding so I don’t have to try and balance life, work, and my health.
All of this is supported by a supplement regimen that gives me peace of mind. As my body adjusts to a new timezone, I know that it will still be getting its baseline nutrition from the IM8 Daily Essentials. My workouts – whatever they look like over the next 90 days – will continue to be supported by Arrae’s creatine supplement, and my PE Science BCAAs and preworkout.
And when things get crazy, and I feel like my mental chatter is getting too noisy, I’ve got my Organika Mind Calm supplement, which has been one of the best new additions to my routine during this time. If you test it out, be sure to use code RILEY_25 to save 25% on your order.
When In Doubt, Go Back to Basics
Ultimately, the best thing to do when life gets crazy and you feel like things aren’t in balance, is to go back to basics.
What’s the most basic thing available? “Do Something Good for Your Body Today”. Start with just 1 thing, and keep finding 1 thing until you feel like you can add another. Create the habit of intentionally looking for 1 thing you can do that benefits your body.
I’d love to know what your 2026 has been like so far. Anything you are looking forward to for the rest of the year? Any specific health and fitness topics you’d like to see me cover?