Shannon’s Slimdown with Dragon Gym: What a Difference a Week Makes

I am so excited to tell you that I finally, after a couple of not so great weeks, had a FANTASTIC week of training at Dragon Gym last week for several different reasons!

First and foremost, I made it to the gym 4 times last week for 3 training sessions and also for 1 O.T.A. (Outside of Training Assignment). It felt great to be in the gym and working hard that regularly and it felt especially great that I didn’t let any scheduling issues or headaches get in the way of prioritizing my training.

Secondly, I was talking to Steve about how my food journaling, and therefore my accountability, had gone completely out the window during those 2 or 3 really bad migraine weeks. He asked me to set up a separate weekly meeting with him (that he later referred to as our War Meeting, which I loved!) where we would review my food intake and take note of what was working well and strategize about how we could change the things that aren’t working well.

I love that a challenge or struggle is presented to Steve and he always comes up with a way to address it head on. I am having major issues with my food journaling, and he is dedicating extra time and energy to me each week to help me succeed. I really appreciate the supreme customer service that I get at Dragon Gym and the feeling that your health and wellness really do MATTER to the team there.

On Friday, Steve and I had our first War Meeting and he gave me some great strategies to start thinking about. The best tip he gave me was to download the My Fitness Pal app on my iPhone (if you don’t have an iPhone, you can use their website). In addition to using my food journal to record the food I am eating and the time of day I am eating it, Steve also wanted to see the amount of calories I am consuming and My Fitness Pal is a very easy tool to use to help me track that.

I think that linking the food journaling with the calorie counting is just the thing I needed to understand the consequences of my eating patterns more clearly. So far this week, my eating has been good …. but we’ll talk about that more in next week’s post.

I left the gym last week feeling a 180 degree difference from the week before. I left feeling so excited that I got all of my workouts in, that all of my workouts were really good and productive, that I had gotten some new perspective on things from Steve, and also had some things to look forward to tackling.

The best part of this experience so far besides the vast improvements in my strength, coordination, balance, etc.? The ability to take a step back and believe in myself the way Steve and the team at Dragon Gym believe in everyone that is part of the family there. This has been a mental challenge as much as a physical challenge, and I am confident that the only reason that I am succeeding this time is because of the support and the methodology that Dragon Gym applies.

Wait ’till next week when I tell you what’s going on this week. It’s awesome!

Until the next Shannon’s Slimdown, have a healthful week!

*Disclosure: Dragon Gym has provided personal training services and gym membership to me in order to do this project. No compensation was received for this post, and as always, all opinions are strictly my own.

~Shannon