“In November of 2014, I was on tour with A Great Big World. I remember it was the first time in a really long time that I felt sluggish on stage. I was about to turn 35, and I just sort of realized that if I don’t change this now, it’s going to get harder and harder. That tour was my wake up call. I had a cruise gig that following February with Ingrid Michaelson, so I told myself from December to February, I was going to try to lose some weight, and get in the gym again. So, I did, and I lost 15 pounds. I felt great on the cruise. Then I knew Ingrid had a summer tour coming up, so I thought I’ll just keep going and see what kind of shape I can be in by the summer. I lost 25 more pounds and felt like a million dollars. I’ve been a vegan since February and I’ve stopped drinking alcohol. Between losing the alcohol, losing the meat, and adopting a daily exercise regimen, I feel more alert in my waking state, and more focused on everything in my life. My whole life is different now. I feel better in my skin and that helps me interact with people better and more confidently. I don’t feel tired. I have way more energy. I feel great on stage. I have more fun playing music. My life is about playing music, and the fact that my relationship with my body has changed my relationship with playing music, is huge. Before, I just got tired of waking up feeling awful every morning. Every aspect of my life was sort of suffering because of my physical state and I got tired of that being my norm. I feel so much better now. It’s coming up on two years, and I don’t want to give it up. I don’t want to go back to the other ways of feeling like shit every morning. I just want to be at my optimal health and maintain it for the rest of my life.”