I mean, you can…but it’s hard on your body.

I’ve lost 73 pounds through a coordinated effort of working out AND good nutrition. And these two new behaviors are sort of like an orchestrated dance. Eating whole foods gives me energy, balanced blood sugar, and a settled gut. When I walk into #39MinuteWorkout with those assets on my side….I have the ability to put it all out there. I’m not flexible enough or coordinated enough to do all the moves, yet! But when I work out…I go a.l.l. o.u.t.

I put all my heart, soul and effort into it. Every time.

So how do I know…nutrition makes kettlebells possible? Well….let me tell you about tonight’s workout. It’s a case study, for me anyway.

I’ve missed 3 workouts. Last week was just awful at work. So much stress, high pressure projects, preparing for some senior executive meetings. Last week was a string of late nights that kept me from getting to my workouts. I made it home late at night, with just enough energy to clean up, prepare for the next day….and E.A.T. my stress.

Oh, I fell down the rabbit hole this week. Sugar. Junk. Snacks. Whatever I could find in my daughters’ snack drawers. And once I started gorging….I cared very little about how far off track I went. Who am I kidding? I cared. But the vicious cycle was starting again. I was getting down on myself. I was getting sad. Then I ate more. And felt worse. On and on it went all week long.

Fast forward to today. I promised myself I would go to workout today. I saw it as an end of the cycle. A period, an exclamation point! Diane – WAKE UP!

Heading out to my workout, I felt like I was driving to a stranger’s house. So nervous. How w.e.i.r.d. that those feelings can come back in just 1 week. But then, I walked in. There was Abby and a couple of others. She said hello, she smiled. And I was fine. I was in a comfortable head space. That’s how it feels there. It’s a real community. All I had to do was S.H.O.W. U.P. Diane, just show up.

I worked out. It was harder than it needed to be. Yea, the weights were heavy, because that’s how it feels when you’ve been away. My little muscles got little-er in a week. But what really shocked me was how God Awful my gut felt.

Every burpee, each jumping jack —- I felt my stomach twisting and turning. My gut was UP-SET. When we were done….I tried to relax. Was fighting nausea and intestinal pain.

That’s SUGAR.

My gut is not used to sugar anymore….and I was creatng a toxic soup in my stomach…then expecting my body to perform. 39 minutes of kettlebells and Toxic Sugar Gut are not a good combo.

I drove home tonight and made myself a pot of hot decaf tea. I did not feel like eating. I wanted to settle myself. I think tonight I’m beginning the cleanse to get back into shape.

I want to be the person I was becoming.

I took a bath, dropped in a Lush bath bomb. Let myself soak in the warmth of the water, soak in the aroma of jasmine, soak in the sips of hot tea. Once I toweled off and slipped into my night gown..I felt better.

My muscles are that nice sore feeling, the kinda feeling that makes you know you did something good today. And my stomach feels more settled.

I feel more like me. I’m showing up for myself.

Ciao for now…..Diane