If last year taught me anything about health, it’s this: expect the unexpected—and maybe stop assuming you can out-spin fate with a Peloton and a salad.
On paper, I was doing everything “right.” I lost nearly 15 pounds. Cardio five days a week. Personal training twice a week. A mostly Mediterranean diet—olive oil, fish, greens—with a few (OK, several) indulgences involving Michelin stars and really good wine. I was hydrated. I was strong. I was smug-adjacent.
And then November arrived with a plot twist I did not see coming: a transient ischemic attack. A mini-stroke. A full-bodied, hands-on-hips WTF moment.
Because really—what’s the point of doing all the right things if scary things happen anyway?
That question sat with me for a while, right next to the fear and the frustration. But here’s the quieter, truer answer: without the lifestyle changes, without the consistency and care, things could have been much worse. Health doesn’t make you invincible. It makes you resilient. It buys you time.
Health, I’ve learned, is about margin. Space to recover. Room to breathe. A little cushion for when life doesn’t follow the plan.
Which brings me to this issue.
As we enter our fifth year, we realized the magazine needed the same thing our bodies do when they’re working hard: a reset. A stretch. More air. This issue marks a redesign—one that gives our stories more room to breathe, our photography more space to linger, and our pages a quieter confidence. Bigger images. Cleaner lines. Less rush.
We didn’t change who we are. Just how we’re showing up.
The heart of this magazine is still here—the thoughtful storytelling, the design you’ve come to trust, the belief that real life deserves to be reflected beautifully and honestly. We’ve just leveled up the way it’s held. Because growth, whether in a body or a brand, often looks like refinement rather than reinvention. It felt right to do it now. Five years in. Wiser. A little braver. More comfortable letting things breathe.
This issue celebrates health in all its facets. Sometimes that looks simple—walking consistently, building a morning routine, stretching before your body demands it. Sometimes it looks ambitious—triathlon training, 75 Hard, choosing challenges that test your edges. The men and women you’ll meet here aren’t superheroes. They’re people like you and me, doing the best they can with what they have.
Health isn’t about controlling the future. It’s about being strong enough to meet it. So move your body. Set the goal. Rest when you need to. Begin again.
Not to avoid life’s surprises—but to show up for them, steady and alive.
Heather Anne Lee
Editor
