The Week Movement Held Me Together

A Week of Moving My Body Through Chaos

Today I’m sharing a new video on YouTube showing what a real, imperfect week of movement looks like for me: 125 lbs down, four months post-op, still easing back into strength training, and living my everyday life.

But what the video doesn’t show is why that week felt so heavy. Why movement mattered so much more than usual. Why I clung to my habits like a lifeline.

I had a genuine health scare.

A few weeks ago, I went to the ER for what I thought was a UTI. I ended up being diagnosed with a bad kidney infection and needing IV antibiotics and fluids. They also ordered a CT scan to check for kidney stones, which they didn’t find. But they did find a 3–4 cm mass in my abdomen.

If you’ve ever had one of those moments where the ground shifts under your feet, you know what that felt like.

CT scans can’t pinpoint exactly what or where something is, but the radiologist suspected it was on my uterus. And my mind spiraled.

Best case scenario? A hysterectomy.

Honestly, I was fine with that. My uterus has done its job well, and I’m done having babies.

Worst case? Cancer.

And with three young kids, that possibility terrified me.

I walked through my house that night in a fog, picking up piles, reorganizing drawers, deep cleaning corners I never think about. It wasn’t nesting, it was some strange version of “death cleaning,” like preparing my home just in case. I’m not proud of that thought, but it’s what my brain did to cope.

Then the waiting began.

Almost a week until my MRI.
Another week for results.
And an endless internal loop of What if? What if? What if?

The day before Thanksgiving, I finally got a message from my doctor.

“Your MRI shows no mass.”

None.
Not a single thing.

It turns out I have a uniquely shaped uterus that confused the radiologist who read the CT scan. The “mass” wasn’t a mass at all.

I felt a wave of relief.
I felt my lungs open again.
I felt color rush back into my world.

We got to enjoy Thanksgiving with family and you can see the joy on my face!

And in that week of fear and waiting? Movement saved me.

Not in a dramatic, superhero way. But in quiet ways.

A morning walk to remind myself I was still alive.

A short strength workout to burn off the panic.

Yoga to breathe through the fear.

Pickleball with my kids because joy felt like medicine.

Steps around my house, up the stairs, out the door- anything to keep my mind from drowning in the unknown.

If this had happened 2.5 years ago, food would have been my comfort. A drive-thru would’ve been my coping mechanism. I would’ve eaten my way through the uncertainty. I would have binged to numb the unknown and binged again because of the shame.

This time, I moved my way through it. Even with the chaos of the rest of my regular life that never stoped moving even when I was spiraling.

What a difference.

And that’s why I’m sharing this week of movement today. Not because it’s inspiring or pretty or perfect, but because it’s real. Because this is what habits are for: the hard weeks, the scary weeks, the weeks when life shakes you.

If you want to see the full week, you can watch the video here:

A Realistic Week of Movement 125 lbs Down

And if you’re in a season of stress or waiting or worry, I hope you remember this:
You don’t have to be perfect.
You don’t have to have an aesthetic routine.
You just have to start where you are and move through it, one small thing at a time.

I’m breathing easier now.
And I’m grateful for a body that can move.
Grateful for a habit that held me together.
Grateful for another normal, ordinary day.

And grateful for you, for being here with me.