I Live In Washington, D.C., Make $76,500 A Year, & Spent $411 On My Wellness Routine This Week

6 a.m — I wake up to my alarm and take my morning supplement, AXIO. It’s a naturally flavored powder mix of B-12 and B-6 vitamins and 100 mg of caffeine. I get a bag of the powder delivered to me monthly ($49.99) and drink it almost every morning in lieu of coffee.

I get all of my belongings together for the day. I have a dermatology appointment this afternoon and a softball game at 6 p.m., so I put my glove and sneakers in a backpack. I play with my cat for a little while, feed her, and head to work.

I don't know if this is a placebo effect, but these B vitamins have made me feel great! I'm always energized in the morning and I wake up for my first or second alarm instead of hitting snooze eight times like I used to. My cat and I have had a better relationship too, because now I have time in the morning for a good play sesh. 

2:30 p.m. — I leave work and head to my dermatologist’s appointment. I have guttate psoriasis and recently experienced an aggressive episode that I needed oral and topical steroids to take care of. The co-pay was $30.

The kind of psoriasis I have covers my entire body with little red bumps. It’s highly visible. I used to get super insecure when I was first diagnosed. Now, I don’t really care. People stare sometimes, but I can’t change that. I hate taking steroids to get rid of it, but I know that it will last for months if I don't. 

7 p.m. — I head to softball. I joined a co-ed slow pitch league ($70/season) with some buddies from grad school. I played when I was younger, and I love the sport. We ended up winning our game! Surprisingly, our team is really good and we’re moving onto playoffs next week. The team we played this game has a doubleheader this evening, but they’re down a player. I decided to skip the bar with my team and sub for their second game instead. 

9 p.m. — I walked the two miles home after the second game. I enjoy listening to music and walking to clear my head, especially at night. I know it’s not the safest activity for wellness, but I usually take my walks right at sundown and I know my city enough to know where not to go. 

5:30 a.m — Early-bird gym day! I roll out of bed, throw on some gym clothes, mix up my pre-workout ($39.99 for the tub) and head to the metro. I arrive at my office and head straight to the gym, which is free for employees, contractors, and interns.

Today is the first day of the next phase of the workout plan I’m currently doing, and it’s a push day. It takes me about one hour to complete all of the exercises and I add an ab circuit to the end for fun. I pay $14.99 a month for the Tone & Sculpt by Krissy Cela app, but it’s heck of a lot cheaper than a personal trainer and it keeps me up with my weights and adds additional exercises to push me. I also really like the interface. 

8 a.m. — I head to my desk after the gym. The showers at my work gym are amazing. I keep a bag with back-up supplies to shower here if I feel like working out in the morning. They provide towels, blow dryers, and body soap for us. I finish getting ready and apply my topical steroid then head to my desk. On my walk to my desk I mix up my double chocolate whey protein powder ($26 per tub) and 12 ounces of almond milk to drink. 

6:30 p.m. — Post-work grocery trip! I get off the metro and head to the grocery store to get dinner. I buy six ounces of salmon and arugula ($9). Dinner is good and simple tonight — I bake the salmon, put it over a cup of the arugula with some lemon juice, and heat up a side of red roasted potatoes I had in my fridge from a dinner party last weekend.

8 p.m. — Tonight is night one of the Bachelorette finale. I tune in and cuddle up on my couch with some birthday cake Halo Top that was already in my freezer.

6 a.m — I wake up, take my measurements and progress photos, drink my supplement, and head to work. In November, my primary doctor told me I was borderline obese. I’ve always had a naturally athletic build and can carry a lot of muscle, but I gained almost 50 pounds in graduate school. I was always stressed and didn’t have an appetite for almost two years.

Since I started my full-time job after graduation, I’ve been able to get back on track and focus on myself. I don’t rely on the scale to show progress, so I use measurements and photos. I take them at the beginning of each month. Luckily, I fell in love with weight lifting during my wellness journey. 

6 p.m. — Workout time. I open my app to see what is on the docket for today. It’s an insane leg workout that I know I don’t want to do while the gym is crowded. I decided to hang at home for a little while before I head to the gym to beat the post work rush.

7:30 p.m. — I mix together my pre-workout and walk to the gym. Along with the free gym at work, I pay for a membership at a gym near my apartment ($49.99/month). I do this because my work gym has limited equipment and my workouts are getting more intense. 

I made it halfway through this leg workout, then I throw up in the bathroom. I think that’s enough for me tonight. I leave the gym disappointed in myself for not finishing the workout, but then I get mad at myself for being disappointed in myself. I decide I need some human interaction. My roommate has been in Europe for a week and I really miss her. I’m friends with the bartender at my local spot and I know they’re slow today, so I’m sure he wouldn’t mind the company.  

8:30 p.m. — I arrive at the bar in my gym attire and my friend, Z, is working and the bar is empty, as I had expected. I order a water and some chicken tenders. My stomach is still messed up from vomiting, but I’m ravenous so I chose something that I knew would be easy. Z and I catch up and talk about our lives. My tenders arrive and I pick the bread off like a weirdo. They do the job and I’m feeling much better. A little while later some friends of mine happen to come into the bar too, so I decide to stick around. Z gives me a PBR. He only charges me for my food ($9) so I just give him a $20 and tell him thanks.

11 a.m. — I walk to the work gym with a coworker. We always walk together if I go in the middle of the day, but we never workout together. She sticks to cardio machines and those are not my jam. I complete the rest of yesterday’s leg workout because mama didn’t raise no quitter. The second half of the workout consisted of deadlift variations and I love them for the sole purpose of booty gains. 

1 p.m. — I finally find myself back at my desk (oops, two-hour gym break!) and heat up my lunch while I chug my protein powder and almond milk. Feeling very thankful that my managers were in a two-hour lunch meeting today, so they didn't notice my absence. 

6 p.m. — I get home from work and my friend, J, comes over. I’m dyeing J’s hair for his birthday so he brings over some wine to enjoy during the process. J didn't leave until 11 p.m. I can’t believe it’s already this late. He and I get lost in conversations on a regular basis. I kind of have a crush on him, but I don’t know how to handle that part of my life. Anyway, I’m like five glasses of wine deep and I didn’t eat any dinner. I heat up a frozen Kodiak waffle and add some cherries. I hope I’m not hungover from all of this sugar. 

6 a.m. — After chugging some water and my morning supplement, I find that I'm not hungover! I do my regular routine (shower, makeup, get dressed) and head to work. 

11:30 a.m. — I have a phone call with my cousin, who has a masters in nutrition and recently started a wellness company. She provides metabolic RMR testing and customized meal and fitness plans to people. I created her company’s website in exchange for her counseling services. Today was my first call with her. She thinks I might be accidentally undereating and it’s causing my body to hold onto excess fat. Yikes!

6 p.m. — Since it's Friday, I'm able to go straight to the gym after work because it's not as crowded. I get in a nice upper body workout before going out for J's birthday. We end up going to our local spot. After a full night of drinking my tab is only $14, so I tip $20! ($34)

10 a.m. — I wake up a little later today and heat up the last of my protein waffles. I'm going on a date to a winery about an hour away. I'm making an effort to go on more dates. I'm not very good at being vulnerable in a "romantic" setting, so I'm trying to work on that. I get glammed up for the winery date, pack my overnight bag and head to the metro.

2 p.m. — C picks me up from the metro and drives me out to where the winery is. He had forgotten to mention the winery was owned by his roommate’s parents and that it was a family cookout. Immediately, I go into panic mode because I'm showing up empty handed to a cookout. He assures me everything will be fine, but I was raised to bring your own booze and some kind of food to a party.

3:30 p.m. — The winery is so beautiful and C's roommate and his family were very welcoming. We all did a tasting and were given the option to buy bottles if we wanted to. I get my roommate a bottle of their red blend as a welcome home gift that also doubled as a sweet sense of relief that I wasn't a total freeloader at this party ($35). C and I left around 9 p.m. and went back to his place.

10 a.m. — Last night C and I fell asleep immediately. He's very traditional and wasn't open to having sex so early in our relationship. This led to a morning discussion about our values on a basic level. He cooked me eggs and toast while we were talking, and it was actually kind of nice. After, he dropped me off at the metro.

4 p.m. — I take my pre-workout and head to the gym. I’m supposed to do a circuit at the gym today, but my legs are still very sore from Tuesday and Wednesday. I do an upper body session instead.

6 p.m. — After the gym, I head straight to the grocery store to prep for the week. I buy a rotisserie chicken, broccoli, almond milk, plain Greek yogurt, almond butter — and a to-go salmon roll for dinner tonight ($32). This week’s lunch will be buffalo chicken salad with a side of broccoli and brown rice.

I usually shop for food two times a week. The first is a bigger trip at Trader Joe's, which can add up to around $60. Then I'll take a mid-week trip like this one that usually totals around $30.

After eating dinner, meal prepping, and cleaning it was 9 p.m. and I was ready for bed.

Reflection: My wellness routine is one of my top priorities. The gym and meal prepping are very important to me, but living a balanced lifestyle is way more important.