This is a blog where I plan to share lessons learned while trying to maintain the healthiest possible lifestyle as a busy professional in a career with 80% business travel. I have a passion for health and fitness, technology and problem solving, and I hope to help as many others increase their level of health by adapting their lifestyle to the demands of the 21st century.

Growing up in Baltimore County, Maryland, my upper-middle class family was not unlike many others. Both my parents worked full-time, I ate McDonald’s twice per week for dinner (almost always the #2 value meal, two cheeseburgers with large fries), and my parents would cook whatever my older sister and I would actually sit and eat without bickering. This, plus my affinity for Sega Genesis and love of candy, needless to say, perpetuated a less-than-optimal level of health, and by the age of 13 I was nearly 70 pounds overweight.

Thankfully, at the age of 17 a close friend of mine mentioned that he was doing Weight Watchers, and despite that being one of the less “cool” things to do as a 17-year-old boy, it was the motivation I needed to turn around my way of life. One year later I was a healthy 175 pounds as 6’3″, and had developed a passion for health, nutrition and exercise. About a year into college, I was recruited for the men’s crew club which whipped me into the best shape of my life.

In 2009 I set off to begin my career, working in financial services in back-office operations at a global bank. I was living in Wilmington, DE, and life was simple. I had a girlfriend living about 20 minutes down the road who was finishing her undergraduate education, I had a car with free parking, working 8:30am -7:00pm was considered going “above and beyond,” and my rent was more than manageable. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle was not a difficult thing to do…I started training for my first marathon, I bought only the healthiest foods from the local Trader Joe’s, hit golf balls at the driving range during the week after work, and was generally relaxed and calm.

A little more than a year later, like many Type-A, driven, young professionals working in finance, New York City beckoned. Shortly thereafter, I moved to Manhattan, split up with my college girlfriend, and made a shift into the world of management consulting. Needless to say, life became a little less “easy.” I began traveling for work 4 days per week, doubled my monthly rent, lost access to my car, and ordering the fastest delivering meal on Seamless became the norm on the days spent in the city. It was happy hour after happy hour and quality 3-course meals nearly every day of the week. Squeezing in a run on top of 14-hour days and critical networking opportunities became increasingly difficult each week on the road, and the shortage of time led to an increased rate of injury since stretching was the first thing to go out the window.

But the challenges I am facing balancing the typical lifestyle ofa career-driven 20-something and the desire of optimum health have taught me many lessons, and I’ve begun to pick up some tips and tricks from trial-and-error, and reading tips from experts in the world of wellness, productivity, consumer technology and life-hacking. Every day I am learning to incorporate these tidbits into my life to increase my effectiveness in my career, my overall level of health, and general personal well-being.

Here, I hope to share these lessons-learned to help others with with the desire to maintain a healthy lifestyle despite the demands of a hectic professional life.