During 2017 and 2018, two years of pretty consistent disaster, I found solace in food and booze. I do not have a drinking problem, for which I am very grateful, but I certainly overindulged, as well as making some not great choices on the nutrition front. I put on weight and felt sluggish and sore, which I attributed to just getting older and having a physically demanding job. It’s not like I went from a size 2 to a size 22. I’ve never been petite, and the weight gain was marginal, and as I’m 5’10”, it was spread out over a lot of height.

But I felt it. And I saw it in photos.

And then Elvis came into my life.

Elvis isn’t small—16.3 and well sprung. But I am very, very tall, with very, very long legs. And I think a healthy body is a beautiful thing across a spectrum of sizes, but mine was bigger and clunkier than I wanted it to be, particularly perched on top of a horse at the bottom of the size range I can sit on without making him look like a pony.

I started working with a nutritionist at my sponsors, InForm Fitness of Leesburg. And I started chronicling my journey to better eating habits on my Facebook and Instagram pages, and a few people reached out to ask great questions and learn more about what was working and not working, particularly as someone with long hours and a wild travel schedule. So I thought I’d share some thoughts here.

Read the rest at The Chronicle of the Horse!