December Recap: 305,438 Steps Forward
If I had to sum up December in one word, it would be movement.
Not just across cities and time zones, though there was plenty of that,but forward movement. In mindset. In habits. In choosing, again and again, to do the best I could with what I had.
This month took me from the NY Produce Show, to hosting my brother and sister-in-law in the city, to Northern California with the North Carolina Sweetpotato Commission for the Teaching Kitchen Collaborative meeting, and then across the Atlantic: San Francisco to Paris to visit my colleague Olga, then taking the Eurostar to London to meet my husband on his work trip, and finally to Ireland to spend Christmas with his family. Add in festive gatherings with friends and family, countless shared meals, airport sprints, and living out of a suitcase for weeks — and it could have easily been a month where my routines disappeared.
But here’s what didn’t disappear: my steps.
In December, I took 305,438 steps.
Three hundred five thousand, four hundred thirty-eight steps across five cities, multiple countries, conference halls, cobblestone streets, airports, train platforms, family neighborhoods, and holiday markets.
And truthfully, I know the real number was even higher. Less than two weeks into the month, my Apple Watch broke, and from that point on I was relying on my phone’s pedometer alone. Which means every time my phone wasn’t in my hand or pocket — walking through conference halls, exploring cities, moving around family homes — those steps weren’t captured. So, while 305,438 is the official total, I know there were thousands more that simply weren’t recorded.
That number isn’t about hitting a goal. It’s about what it represents.
It represents walking the floor at the NY Produce Show — energized by conversations about fruits, vegetables, and the future of food.
It represents pacing between sessions in Northern California, deep in discussion about teaching kitchens and impact and taking advantage of the beautiful weather and surroundings.
It represents long walks in my favorite city in the world with Olga and Melinda, catching up on work and life. Bonus – getting to share this magical city I have loved most of my life with Melinda, who had never been before!
It represents wandering through London in the festive December glow. Going from show to show in the West End and retracing my steps from decades before when I was lucky enough to study at Oxford and getting to go to London on the weekends.
It represents brisk Irish walks before festive dinners with family and friends.
It DEFINITELY represents doing a one mile run after mass but before lunch and drinks in Galway City on Christmas Eve (really proud of everything in that sentence!)
And maybe most importantly, it represents consistency in the middle of chaos.
December was not a month of perfectly portioned meals or carefully prepped sweetpotato bowls in my own kitchen. I didn’t have my pantry. I didn’t have control over most menus. There were conference buffets, celebratory dinners, pub nights, Christmas spreads, airport snacks, and long travel days fueled by whatever was available.
But this month was never about perfection.
It was about the Clean Eating Challenge — not as a rigid rulebook, but as a practice in awareness. In small decisions. In mindset.
It looked like choosing water more often.
Pausing before going back for seconds…and even not wanting seconds at all
Prioritizing vegetables when they were available.
Enjoying dessert without spiraling into “well, I’ve already blown it.”
Walking whenever possible instead of defaulting to convenience.
Letting movement anchor me when everything else felt fluid.
Living out of a suitcase forces clarity. You can’t control everything. But you can ask: What’s the best choice available right now?
Sometimes the answer was a long walk before dinner.
Sometimes it was splitting a rich dish.
Sometimes it was fully savoring a festive meal and moving on.
Sometimes it was simply tracking the steps and calling that a win.
An average of nearly 10,000 steps a day — not in ideal conditions, but in real life — feels like proof of something bigger.
Proof that health isn’t built in perfect weeks.
It’s built in airports.
In hotel rooms.
In other people’s kitchens.
In celebration.
In jet lag.
In joy.
305,438 steps forward.
Not flawless. Not rigid. Not all-or-nothing.
Just steady. Intentional. Conscious.
And that, more than anything, is what I’m carrying with me into January.
