A personal training & food journal. Read about our weight loss progress at Train With Ron in Chicago, our nutritional habits and the life changes we're making to get in shape and stay healthy!

Oh Mother Nature, why do you torture me so? For me, the most difficult time to get to the gym is during that special time of the month. I stand firm against the pills that offer to stop your cycle for months at a time and let nature control my body’s cycles. Because of this, I get to enjoy each and every little nuance it offers; the cramps, the back pain, the headaches and oh yes sometimes I get a little moody. (Just a little, right?) I have to say that the moodiness and the pains last a lot fewer days since the consistent workouts but when they hit, they hit hard.

I muster up the strength and go and push through it. I really cannot even take any pain medicine because I wouldn’t have the energy for the workout. It’s just how I react to some of the pain medications out there since I try not to take them, ever. So I go and I do the workout and pray that we focus on areas of my body that still feel human and strong enough to perform. Well, my last workout with DB started with focusing pretty much all on my lower back…. Help!! I did the best I could and think I did OK despite how I was feeling. I try not to whine and complain because that is never beneficial mentally and working out has a lot to do with positive thinking and pushing through obstacles. So I pushed through and today i actually have no cramps or back pain. It’s a miracle! It’s like all of the stars aligned and Mother Nature said “ok, rather than spreading out your pain, I will have you bare it all on one day and I’m done with you” well, thank you. I hope next month you are just as kind. Maybe she was at the gym last night and heard my thoughts, who knows … all I know is I feel human and not in pain. Now if someone could just figure out a cure to this moodiness my husband would sponsor the research.

As a final thought I would just say that exercise and eating right alwasy makes this time a much more pleasant experience and I think it’s just another way your body is telling you that you’re doing the right things with it.