sedentary complacency

September 20, 2025

I’m on a journey. A journey with my body.

I tell the cautionary tale of the sedentary lifestyle. It’s alluring. Alluring, but dangerous.

When I started working here in Los Angeles, I started in the food industry. During that time, I always told my mother I could never do a desk job. You just sit there - all day. I have to move. I can’t be still. I have to be carrying a 3’ wide tray of 7 entrees, 4 side dishes, 2 cups of coffee and 15 ramekins of ranch, ketchup, and mayo while I hold a coffee pot in the other hand. Yes, that was my existence. Up until about 3 or 4 years ago.

I started working a desk job. I thought, it will be fine. I have a fast metabolism. I live a healthy lifestyle. I eat healthy. I’ll be fine. Course, when you start working in an office, there’s the weekly “let’s go out for lunch” and “cookie Friday”. I had an optional standing desk, but that wasn’t always the best option. It was pretty small and only held my laptop, which compared to my desktop, was basically an iPhone. So, I sat. A lot.

Now, I’m certainly not blaming my desk job for my less-than-cute curves. Well, not completely. I also moved in with my boyfriend. Yes, it’s like the “freshman fifteen” but it’s the newly-moved-in-together-we-love-each-other-no-matter-what fifteen. Fifteen… or, thirty? I don’t know. Who was keeping count? No one! That’s the problem.

All of this is to say, my body has been on a journey. A journey from slim and slender to …ugh, let’s just call it what it is: skinny fat.

The thing is though, I’ve never been as thin or fit as I’ve wanted to be. Sure, for a number of years, I worked out almost every day, but not in any kind of intentional or meaningful way. It was like, let me do 5 minutes of intense squats and lunges and then I can go out tonight. Honestly, my serving job did my workout for me- how I got my steps in. During this time I thought, I am so healthy. I watch what I eat. I have a healthy relationship with my body. No. Wrong-o. Never.

I don’t think I’ve ever had a healthy relationship with my body. Maybe before 11 years old. Maybe.

It started one hot summer day sitting in front of my computer working my remote job. I had gone out with a friend over the weekend and she had sent me pictures we took together. Yikes. Is that what I look like? I went back to work, and then I had the distinct thought - let me analyze this. Really analyze it. What exactly is wrong with the way I look in this photo? So, I sat there and looked at it. I looked at my own body in this photo as if I was a scientist analyzing a specimen in a jar. Suddenly, everything became perfectly clear. I sit too much. (Wow, plot twist, huh? Admit it, you were on the edge of your seat with that one.) If I want to look the way I imagine Future Chelsea will look one day, I have to start as soon as possible. I have to start now. I have to run.

Well, I don’t have to run. I can walk. Walking is still moving. Fast walking is even better. So, I walk. Or jog. Or run. Or follow a kickboxing video on YouTube. Even belly dancing sometimes for those core workouts! No matter what I choose, those short hot breaths and the neverending sweat from my brow are now a part of my everyday. I perform up to an hour of cardio and/or a core workout every damn day. And you know what? I feel amazing. Now, no- I don’t look like the Future Chelsea I imagine, but we’re sure as hell getting there.

The really frustrating part of all of this is I wish I started sooner. I wish the very first time I hated a photo of myself, I got up and did something about it. But, I was in denial. I thought my fast metabolism would take care of it all. I was also deeply confused as to how I should react to a little weight gain. As a woman in my thirties, am I supposed to accept it? I can. I can accept it and carry on. I can be one of those beautiful body-positive influencers who tell you it’s okay to look normal, to not look like a Barbie or Margot Robbie. So I tried to be body-positive. I be positive that I can’t be positive about this anymore. This isn’t about not accepting my body for what it is. This is focusing on my future, and my everyday. I want to live a long healthy beautiful life. I want to be strong. I want to be happy.

This brings me to the inevitable and frustratingly obvious duh of it all. I’m happier. I noticed after a week of everyday workouts that I was a happier person. Not just because I could tell I was losing the weight, but also because I was just happier. My mood had become significantly elevated. What’s crazy is, I thought I was happy. The truth is, I was complacent. There’s a difference. I was Judy Garland living in a world of sepia and hay. Now, I’m Judy Garland walking into a technicolor wonderland full of flowers and bubbles. I had no idea. I think that’s the problem. This was a slow decline into sedentary complacency.

Here’s another aspect to all this: I really thought I had decent eating habits. I ate reasonably healthy, but not as healthy as a vegetarian gluten-free woman should in her 30’s. Along this body journey, I discovered I’m lacking in iron, so I eat way more spinach now. Like, pretty much almost every meal. Turns out Pop-Eye was onto something. And, as much as I hate to admit, I really am gluten-free. I know I mentioned it before, but you know, the first step is acceptance. When I eat gluten (bread, bagels, donuts, pasta, tortillas, etc.) I am not a happy person. I’m happy for the moment I’m eating said gluten. But after that, I’m bloated with fatigue, rashes, and stomach pains. The week or more after I stopped eating gluten -even the tiniest bit- I felt so much better. I felt lighter. Such a difference.

Here’s where I am now. I take breaks throughout the work day to go on walks or simply walk in place for 5-10 minutes. I perform up to an hour of cardio or whatever sweat-inducing workout I find on YouTube. I stretch before bed. I sleep 8-9 hours every night. I’m way more conscientious of what I put in my body. I drink so much more water. Now, I want to be clear. I am not perfect. I am trying to be persistent and consistent to reach a goal but that doesn’t mean I won’t get the occasional treat or follow a yoga YouTube video instead of cardio. I’m trying to listen to my body more. I think that was the problem. I was hating my body without listening to what it needed.

My goal: I would love to have visible abs and arm and leg muscles in 6 months. I would love to be able to run longer than I do now. I would love to wake up less sore. I would love to be ridiculously happy with the way I look in a photo. I know I can.

I’ll keep you updated.

xoxo