The Scale Tales: Week 2 (Resisting tempation. I'm not great at it.)

 

Are you there?

Are you really there?

YES!

I don't want to do this exercise thing alone. My vision for sharing this journey is that I can tell you a little about my experience working with Sean over at Fitness 101 so that you can learn about the services he offers, his gym, etc. AND so that we can encourage EACH OTHER to keep after it.

You can read about how it all started here, but the breakdown is that Sean offered his personal training services and gym to my husband and me for a four-month period while I spread the word. THIS GUY IS GOOD. That's the main word I'm spreading because it is true.

My workout starts out with me getting my kids situated in the gym. That is workout, so I'm including it. Then I grab a water, go to the elliptical and pound on that for a few minutes. I am supposed to warm up longer but girlfriend is always running in there RIGHT on time. I've never been good with early, but I am going to try to get better. Then, Sean takes me around the gym for 30ish minutes and has me doing things on those machines that make me sweat a lot. (Those are the same machines that I used to run from as I pointed and cried. We are slowly becoming friends.) The workout ends with me getting my behind back on the elliptical for 15-20 minutes.

It seriously feels like I'm in the gym all of 20 minutes. Sean really does make the time go by fast with his encouragement and stories and whatnot. I was just thinking...if I had a personal trainer that was anything like that masseuse I had one time with really horrible body odor and a matching personality, I wouldn't be able to stick around to do any leg lifting. I'd leg lift myself right out of there.

The temptation problem is not when I'm in the gym the two days a week I go. I've got that mastered in that I am doing what I'm told. It's the days in between. The days that I am supposed to be exercising on my own. I can go into the gym to get on the elliptical, but I would rather ride my bike with the kids, go walking around the neighborhood, get on Wii Fit (not that I've ever done that once), etc. Like, right now...after I finish this post, I told the boys we are going to go ride bikes. Both say they just want to watch Home Alone for the 300th time this summer. Also, one of them has football practice in a little over an hour and I have dinner to still make. If I could just hop on my bike without any other responsibilities coming at me, I think it would be easier. Knowing me, I would have other reasons I just couldn't get the work out done. I just know I continue to be tempted to leave working out to another day so that I can get x, y and z done 'round here.

Then, there's food.

My sons begged me to take them to Chili's to get some skillet queso yesterday. That is their favorite thing just about in the whole world. They scrounge around for every last lick of queso they can pack onto their little chip shards. I LOVE IT, TOO. I allowed myself to eat about 7 chips with queso on it and then I had to push it away. It was so hard. At first, I had only 3 chips in front of me, but I was weak and added 4 more. I'm actually not bad at ordering the food. I ordered the 250 calorie steak and broccoli option. What I'm bad about is sneaking bites of my son's Chicken Crispers.

It's obvious that I have to whip those boys into shape, too. They're not overweight in the least. Not yet. I mean that figuratively in that I need to get them on the right food eating track, too. This was never more obvious to me than when we went to a paint-your-own-plaster-of-paris-thingmajig the other day. Look what they chose:

I SHOULD BE ASHAMED. They bypassed all of the animals, shapes and figurines for fast food. Fast food that one of them labeled with that beckoning yellow M.

(In my defense, there were no options to paint broccoli, red bell peppers or squash.)

But, things are changing. Besides that little slip-up at Chili's and the obvious history my kids have of eating fast food, we are all eating healthier. Due to my connection with Fitness 101, I have access to a lot of really great materials, including the fitness/diet plan called "Drop A Dress Size in 21 Days". It has a day-by-day plan on what to eat. I need this plan. I really do. And I'm using it. We're using it.

It took me about a loooooong time to make my grocery list and even longer to buy everything on the list because I was shopping with my dudes and then sort of a long time to write it down on my little dry erase menu plate thing, but it was so worth it. I think I'll be good for a least 7-9 days on it.

I have to write down everything or I won't obey. I know it's pathetic. I will stare at a bell pepper for an hour straight and not remember what I was supposed to do with the dadgum thing if I didn't write it down like I did up there. It also helps me out to write down the snacks they suggest. If I didn't do that, I may very well grab a dozen donuts in ingest them in less than 30 seconds.

(Confession: I cut up some zucchini sticks and I've eaten one. Not loving those mothers. Maybe I will try them in this Oikos cucumber dip I bought... Maybe.)

So far, I think my favorite thing to eat is the Mediterranean Turkey Sandwich, which is just a whole wheat pita stuffed with some lean turkey, spinach, red onions, tomatoes and a little of that Oikos cucumber dip. YUM. I also really like the mushroom quiche that I made on Sunday which were baked in a cupcake tin. It makes it easy to heat it up in the morning. I have resisted the temptation so far to eat more than one. I REALLY WANT MORE THAN ONE.

As far as weight loss goes, I think I've lost 2 pounds but this is probably stretching it, folks. I always seem to waver anyway. I am trying to log everything I eat into the Lose It app, but I forget to do that much of the time. I did enter what I ate today, so maybe I'm turning a corner.

It's all going to come together. I can't have my "before" picture look just like my "after". That reminds me that I did take a before picture this week, but I'm not sure that I want to show it to you yet. What if it looks just like my "after"?? I can't be having that.

I might show you next week.

If I lose 2 more pounds.

All in all, it's been a good start, I think, and I definitely owe it to Sean at Fitness 101. I would not be here if it wasn't for his collaboration idea. If you are in this area, you should definitely, definitely give him a call and maybe try out one of the boot camp classes, too.

As you may remember last week, Sean co-authored the book The Fad Free Fitness Formula. We gave one away last week, in addition to a $30 Target gift card. The winner of those two awesome things (via random.org) is...KARI BARRETT. Yay!

This week, we are giving away another copy of the same book PLUS 3 copies for your Kindle. So, that's 4 books total for 4 different people. All you need to do to be a possible winner is:

1. Leave a comment.

2. Like Sean's Fitness 101 Facebook page by clicking here.

3. Like the Kelley's Break Room Facebook page by clicking here.

I will announce the winner next Tuesday!

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About Sean, the Personal Trainer Man:

Sean Millhouse is the program director and owner of Fitness 101. He is also a partner in Northwest Personal Training Center (Northwest Houston’s largest Personal Training Facility). Sean and his businesses have helped more than 3500 clients meet their goals through the development of healthy fitness and eating habits.

Sean has been an ACE certified Personal Trainer for 14 years and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Houston- Downtown. Through ACE, he is also an Advanced Health and Fitness Specialist.

Through his multiple Personal Fitness Programs…Sean has worked with several local celebrities and successful business owners in the Northwest Houston area. His focus is on helping people who have lost control of their lives. Sean teaches that if we start practicing moderation, we can achieve balance and live a healthy lifestyle.

To help change lives through fitness…Sean offers his knowledge for lunch and learn opportunities, health and fitness seminars, and various charity functions.

Sean also publishes a Blog at www.fitness-101.com and weekly e-newsletter “Fit For Life” that help readers stay current with health and fitness topics. Archived articles are available on the blog.

 

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Tell me...what was your week like? What did you do to work out? What did you eat that was really good and low-fat and all that good stuff? Any tips you want to share?