Daddy Daughter Fitness #FitnessGoals

Over the last 6 weeks, Fitwall has gotten a crash course in Flowers Clan. We travel in packs. They didn’t know that when they signed Troy up, we would all move in!

It started with Troy’s sister, Jody. She was actually the one who originally introduced Troy to Fitwall. Now, the staff has gotten used to Troy’s nagging spouse photographing/filming him, often with one, or both, children in tow.

But that’s not all, there’s more!

When, Lila, our eldest daughter came home from New York before going overseas, Troy talked her into a class. She’s a model so working out is in her job description and Troy was ~~looking for a someone to validate his pain~~ being a helpful, motivating, totally not self-serving father.

(If you ask me, I think Troy was feeling like a boss. He hadn’t “almost puked in class” for weeks now and was eager to have a protégé to show the ropes to and maybe watch suffer a little. It’s just a guess but a pretty good one, IMHO.)

And, much to Troy’s chagrin, she rocked it!

(Now, I’m not only a nagging spouse, I’m also an embarrassing mother. 2-for-1 on this filming expedition.)

Aren’t they sweet? The next day, you should have heard them… oh the comradery in complaint! Good, old-fashioned family bonding, people. #familygoals

Now, with two classes under Lila’s belt, she’s out recruiting comrades of her own. So Troy’s converted one teenager. Now, to convert the other…

Fitwall, prepare for Flowers domination! Muahhahahaha!

It’s Getting Real… Halftime Show and Results Are In!

“Where is that nagging spouse anyway?” said no one, ever.

Well, I’m baaaack. It’s been awhile, yes. Your feed has not been colored with Nagging Spouse rhetoric, photos of the sweaty guy or recounted adventures in weight loss. I’m sorry and you’re welcome.

It’s because we’ve been busy birthday celebrating, or better said, we’ve been busy birthday celebrating. Troy only splurges when he’s celebrating, but being a glass-half-full kind of guy, he always has SOMETHING to celebrate. My birthday was as good a reason as any.

I’m not complaining. Troy always does my birthday right, full of spoilage and indulgence, and wine. There’s always lots of that. Except this year, being the calorie conscious nagged spouse that he is, Troy opted for Vodka, ya know, for health reasons. So that went well.

Recent conversation between one of Troy’s friends (who shall remain unnamed) and his mother…

Unnamed Friend: “Troy and I are drinking vodka rather than wine because it is healthier.”

Unnamed Friend’s mother: “And that made sense to you?”

We started my birthday month old skool at Zen 5 in Pacific Beach, where it all began with rolls and reggae. This is where the nagging spouse, by small degrees, converted Troy to a sushi eater. 16 years ago!

We’d trade, one Rocky’s hamburger for one sushi dinner. Troy ordered cucumber/cream cheese rolls and Sapporo and we sake-bombed the night away. Small victories.

From there, we saw how the other half live, or the other 1%. One of Troy’s friends lent us his yacht for the weekend. Not slummin.

Found this on Troy’s phone. Haha! Yeah, that’s about right.

Cocktail as you watch the sunset from a bitchin yacht? Don’t mind if I do. Champagne with breakfast? How’d you know? We nagging spouses aren’t impervious! I might have let go of the reins a little bit. 😕

Hello 5:00am. Nice to see you again. Not. – Red 98! Blue 15! Hike!

Soooo… on a positive note, my 6 month old is sleeping through the night. Hallelujah! I get to sleep past 6am, a luxury I never knew was a luxury and that I had apparently gotten too comfortable with. Because The Nagging Spouse doesn’t sleep. Nooooo. She is tireless and dedicated, a granite pillar of support.

As many of you know, Troy is in the Fitwall challenge. His sister, Jody, is in it too, competing as all younger sisters do, with dogged, (and denied😉) tenacity. As part of the challenge a group met at Lake Poway at 7am to hike to Potato Chip Rock or as Troy called it “The Battle of Wounded Knee”.

Hello 5:00am. Nice to see you again. Not.

Troy has been gearing up for this hike for 2 weeks, which I’m both delighted and a little piqued by. I’m delighted by Troy’s excitement to hike and a little peeved by his excitement to hike. I have to cajole, harangue, and pester Troy to hike with me.

His knee injury, sustained while snowboarding years ago, has been the perfect ~~scapegoat~~ excuse for years. It also got him out of wearing a baby Bjorn and running the annual 10k with the older kids.

So, did he bow out when Fitwall posted the hike as a part of the 6 Week Challenge? Nooooo. He took a prescription for inflammation, wore a knee brace and borrowed a hiking pole from my mother-in-law. Yeah, that’s called jumping through hoops.

Yesterday, I woke in the dark to the smell of bacon and eggs and Troy’s enthusiasm. Ugh. A morning person, I am not.

But it was SO. MUCH. FUN. Grunting, gasping, sweaty fun.

And in regard to “The Battle of Wounded Knee,”he’s in the clear. Guess that excuse is not gonna fly anymore. (Watch out husband. The Nagging Spouse is taking notes.)

P.S. What do you do on a cheat day after an 8 mile hike with no knee pain? You celebrate. You drop the babies at your in-laws and take you husband out for a burger and a Patriot game, which they win. Double Score.

The Power of Aligned Goals

Regardless of how you feel about the Patriots, there is no denying that they have dogged fans. In our family, we all get Patriots jerseys as Christmas “presents” almost every year. (One of these years, I’m going to buy Troy an anthology of poetry or ballroom dancing lessons as his “present”)

When I wear one of my many Patriots jerseys, I realize just how many sleeper Patriots fans there are in San Diego. People randomly fist bump me just for the shirt I’m wearing. I don’t have the heart to tell them that I’m not exactly the comrade they think I am.

So when Troy wore one of his Patriots hats, to his Fitwall class, it wasn’t surprising that someone high-fived him for it. But it wasn’t just someone, it was one of the people helping turn his keg into a six-pack. And when she heard what the stakes were, HE gained a comrade.

1-the-power-of-aligned-goals Jen, (The Instructor) like all die-hard Patriots fans, wants her team to go to Super Bowl. Troy (The Sweaty Guy), wants to go to Super Bowl, preferably to see his team play. And I (The Nagging Spouse), want Troy to go to Super Bowl because that means he’s in the best shape of his life. And I’d prefer to see the Patriots, since I have the jersey and all. 😉

Now… if Jen does her part… and Troy does his part… and the Patriots do their part, everyone will be happy. Especially me.

Day 19 of 90 Day Challenge – Progress Report

Troy is still in the game!

Tom Brady’s performance on Sunday helped. But more than the tease of Super Bowl, the ~~pressure~~ joy of seeing everyone follow and comment on his progress has been keeping him motivated.

And Troy is inspiring people too! We’re getting calls and texts from friends to report that they went for their first run (shout out, you-know-who), or made a spinach omelette or started a whole food plan or just tried apple cider vinegar for the heck of it. Guys! This is so cool! I am giddy about it! This is my giddy face.

Yeah, I know.

So the progress…

Troy personally feels that his biggest accomplishment thus far is coming home from a Fitwall class and victoriously proclaiming, “Finished the class and didn’t even feel like I was going to puke! Progress!” Fist bump, high five, ~~nagging~~ supportive spouse kiss. You rock, babe!

One of the hardest things about weight loss is well, it’s hard. And it takes more time than any exercising dieter thinks it should. “Don’t look at the scale!” the professionals scold. But how, when you’re working your butt off, do you not peek at the scale, in the hopes of seeing pounds flying off. Or not flying off.

Troy “peeked”. So far, he’s lost 5 pounds.

But he’s lost 2 inches off his waist. And various other inch-fractions off his body, except his chest and legs. They’ve grown. (How much, you ask? Well, I don’t know. Because, in my single-minded measuring, I didn’t think about the fact he would PUT ON muscle. What a noob.)

He’s also up to 4 pull-ups at a time. Only 4 pull-ups, you say? Try it.

It can’t be that hard, I said. Then I did a single, sorry pull-up, fish-kicking the whole way. (Head hung low)

Troy’s first pull-up.

So we’re truckin! He’s ~~enjoying~~ tolerating a diet high in veggies and protein without anything processed. It’s not for the sophisticated palette, but he’s a trooper.

He’s also in the Fitwall 6 week challenge so that’s, well, challenging. Walking, running, bike riding, garage gym sessions, he’s doing a bit of everything. Overall, he’s spending his days in motion.

Random share:

The other day, I had a fussy baby in one arm and a pestering toddler underfoot. The phone was ringing and I had just knocked over the box of granola. Frustration isn’t the right word.

Through this, Troy is nowhere to be found. Typical, I think. I bet he’s hiding somewhere playing solitaire on his phone. Finally, he walks out of the bathroom with a skip in his step.

“Where have you been?!” I snap. Rhetorical question, obv.

“Weight loss program!” he chirps.

And despite myself, I have to laugh. So crass! But he cracks me up.

“You’ll like this,” she said. (Troy’s First Butt-Kicking workout)

I got the mental play-by-play from Troy in the car right after.

1st minute – It’s only a 40 minute work out, I can do this.

4th minute – I’m the only dude here besides the two instructors, and they’re ripped!

7th minute – Holy crap, this is tough. And there’s still 33 minutes to go!

10th minute – (self talk) Can’t – show – weakness. You can do this Troy.

13th minute – (more self talk) There’s no way I’m finishing. Get ready to hang your head low in front of all this fit ladies.

15th minute – I think I am going to puke.

16th – 38th minute – Nauseated, sweaty blur interrupted by the occasional break to bring the heart rate from the verge of explosion back down to max rate.

39th minute – Oh thank you Jesus, I can do stretches and drink the coconut water like the best of them.

Instructors – “Good job Troy” (LIARS!!) “See you next week.”

Troy – “Thanks” (But I doubt it)

#hardestworkoutever

Post workout face. Mr. 🌞 “You’ll like this,” she said.

The Nagging Spouse

Behind every great man is a strong woman

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