Okay, so it's the fourth day of the show for me and I am feeling wiped out. I am also feeling that familiar malaise that comes from covering a fitness convention and not being able to participate in the sessions. You might as well stick me in the middle of a room lined with the finest dark chocolate and tell me not to lick the walls.

Did you come to fitness via a need to quell pain? From my casual observation (and radar-equipped ears), I’ve seen and heard a lot of IDEA members talk about their personal histories and how they came to embrace fitness. One woman was obese in high school and decided she wanted to join the cheerleading squad in college. She also had a crush on a football player, but he ignored her.

Two weeks ago, I gave up caffeine and sugar. I gave up coffee 2 years ago, which was a feat among feats. I switched to green tea—which is much better for you—but still has caffeine. In the middle of a cleanse I realized how much better I felt without consuming caffeine and sugar and had the epiphany that I (and my adrenal glands) am super sensitive to America’s favorite drug. So I quit, cold turkey.

Today I arrived for the preconference events at IDEA World Fitness Convention™, albeit a little late thanks to thunderstorms that "narrowed the flight corridor," affecting most other flights in the sky. But I made it.