Some info about Metamorphosis

Hello everyone!




For those of you out there who are wondering what Metamorphosis really consists of, or what future workouts will be like, Tracy has put up a breakdown of what each phase of your transformation will entail, what equipment you will need, and what to expect.




Click here for the link-




http://tracyandersonmethod.com/metamorphosis/breakdown/


As you can see, the longer you stick with the method, the more complex things get.  In the second year of continuity, the mini trampoline becomes a part of it also.


Just a quick little blurb for today!

Tracy Anderson Live Chat 10/9/11

Hello everyone!




Tomorrow at 12pm on her Metamorphosis forum, according to the forum moderator, Tracy herself will be online answering questions/chatting with members online. 


I hope I will be able to hop online and get a piece of some of this action.  If you could ask Tracy questions, what would they be? 


Also, I found an article on her website that says that her diet is "stricter than The Biggest Loser"


Click for link!


Also Miss Anderson is mentioned in an article by Self Magazine reviewing infomercial exercise products. 


An excerpt from the article- Link


Only one of the products was given the full 5 starts. Guess which!




Also, I am working on a Dance Cardio playlist on Grooveshark. I will give you guys the link to check it out soon!

Old Habits Die Hard

Hello everyone!

My post yesterday was about how good it feels to not count calories and what not. However, that is only HALF the battle.

I am still fighting the other half. What is that, you may ask?

Cravings. Temptation. BOREDOM EATING. Call it what you want, in a nutshell eating foods that are no good for me out of sheer "pleasure". 

All day today, yesterday, Hell, since I started changing my eating habits, I have been thinking about eating one thing in particular- Curly Fries. Seasoned, delicious, cute curly fries. 

"But you feel so good eating healthy! Why would you want to even IMAGINE eating trash like that?" you may be asking. 

Well, changing your lifestyle is not an easy thing. After having been eating lots of junk food, fast food, food eaten solely for the reason that it tastes good, eaten solely out of boredom, out of "stress", taking that away is sort of giving me a mental shock. A lot of people self-medicate with food too. I did. I went through a lot of hard times in my life, and when I was at my lowest point, I thought at least FOOD would make me feel better. And it did. Until I started gaining weight, feeling sick/tired.  When my hard times were behind me, that nasty habit still stuck.  Sure, those events that passed had passed, but now I have a very LOW level of self esteem.  I wasn't big my whole life. At one point I was actually pretty slender.

I am not obsessing over calories. Nope. I'm obsessing (and trying not to) over eating something delightfully fried and tasty with no regard to how it will (not) fuel my body.  I relate it to other kinds of addicts when they go cold turkey. They go through withdrawls. Mental, physical, both, depends on what they are kicking.  Despite wanting to break free from the desire, it's hard work.

In my case, it is actually BOTH. However, the withdrawls symptoms in this case are not always BAD.

Mental- the withdrawls from the bad food are sucking. It's somewhat consuming my thoughts. ESPECIALLY since I am at school for most of my weekdays, surrounded by people constantly eating the crap and bored out of my mind. And I smell it. And wish for it. And at the same time I feel fucking horrible about it, like I am some kind of animal with no control over its appetite. It sucks. I know it will pass, but right now, it's SUCKING. Nobody said this was easy.  Idle hands are the fast food industry's playground.

Physical- Here's the not so bad withdrawls- (WARNING- TMI ALERT!) A less bloated belly. The ability to go to the bathroom (poop not pee) 2-3 times a day and not having horrible Irritable Bowel symptoms or not being able to go at all for days.  More energy in the morning. WEIGHT LOSS.

I know this will be a struggle for a while. These habits just don't disappear overnight like a bad one night stand. If anyone tells you "Oh after ONE DAY I never want that food again! EVER!!!" they are either a dirty liar, not human, or had some kind of HORRIBLY disgusting, traumatic experience with said food.

I appreciate all of your support, and I offer mine as well. Have a wonderful day and be good to yourself.

A few words about my eating-

Hello everyone!

I, like so many women who are trying to lose weight, stay in shape, etc have, in the past, been an obsessive counter. Counting calories. Counting weight watchers points. Counting carbs. Counting fat. Whatever. It sucks. And often, Ok, ALL THE TIME, I screw it up, get mad, and quit. 

I also sort of felt trapped, like I couldn't have fun because of numbers.

Have you ever been in this situation?

Your friend asks you to go out to lunch with them at x restaurant. You reply "Oh sorry, I can't eat there. Too many calories."  I've been there. And in retrospect I feel like I look rude and foolish saying this. And maybe a bit psycho. Maybe.

I am being taught a new way of eating (well not NEW but new to me)- PORTION CONTROL. No counting. No obsessing. No real sacrifices aside from the obvious- No sweetened drinks, limit your starches. I am allowed to eat out, even go to McDonalds, as long as I make good choices and not eat too much. Also I am being re-educated that this is NOT A DIET. It is how I should be eating for life.

After ONE DAY- I feel like a weight has been lifted out of my mind.  I CAN EAT. I DON'T HAVE TO LIVE AROUND COUNTING. I hate math, LOL.  I also stopped tracking my food in my iPod app because it shows the calorie counts and it being there will coax out that OCD crazy woman. So, I have reverted to the good old pen and paper approach. I have a little pocketsized notebook that goes in my purse with me everywhere. 

I know that for a lot of people this sounds like common sense but to me I feel like my eyes have been opened after being bombarded by all these crazy fad diets and stuff (including Tracy's!) that did nothing but confuse me, set me up to fail, screw up my metabolism, make my life hell, and  put money in someone else's pocket.  The diet industry is a multibillion dollar business for a reason- the very obese- like me (and even the skinny)- We're often a very desperate, very LAZY folk who want the quickest fix and are willing to shell out the cash to do it. And get let down almost EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.  I am really hoping doing it the simple way will help me get my life back. I really do.

Speaking of which- I will be taking my first measurements and weight tomorrow morning! Very exciting stuff.  I will also be starting to do some exercises tonight-

Examples of what I am to do for now (baby steps!) 

Cardio-

Beginning to train to do the full workout-

There are a lot of free webisodes in case any of you want to dabble or take a peek before perhaps buying the full DVD. Terri's official channel is exerciseworld on YouTube. She has a lot of stuff there as well!

Have a great day and I look forward to posting my current measurements.

Day 1 ART Method

Hello everyone!




As of now, Terri does not have me on an exercise prescription, right now we are working on my eating/drinking habits.  I was given a set of guidelines (that I promised not to share in detail, sorry guys!) but I CAN list what I have been eating today.




Breakfast:


2 eggs cooked in olive oil spray (no fake stuff- I make sure it says 100% olive oil)
2 small Gala apples


Lunch:


2 slices of roast beef on potato bread (2 slices) topped with-
- Lettuce
- Pepperoncini (hot peppers)
- Green pepper slices
- Red onion slices
- White onion slices
- Mustard


Dinner:


2 Boca Burgers (original Vegan)
A large handful of mini sweet bell peppers




To drink:


2 liters of water
1 16 ounce cup of coffee with 2 fat free half/halfs. NO Sweetener (Yuck but I think I will get used to it)




I really hope day 2's eating will be as good as today's. I hope you all have a great evening!

ART Method by Terri Walsh

Hello everyone!




After hearing lots of great things from TAM exercisers and non TAM exercisers alike, I have decided to give my next 6 weeks to miss Terri Walsh, creator of the ART Method. 


The ART Method is a series of movements based on 4 Active Resistance points (I believe ART stands for Active Resistance Training) and learning to use these can help you in any workout that you do.  


Others who have gone back to TAM have said they feel more connected to their body and are able to perform the exercises more efficiently.


I have been fortunate enough to chat with Terri herself (Lovely woman!) and she has been giving me great advice especially when it comes to eating (More on that later) and hopefully a more personalized prescription as to what workouts to do, and when.


I have her DVD (trailer below) which also comes as an app on iTunes.





I will be going back to Tracy after this 6 weeks is up and I will keep eating according to Terri's guidelines. But more on that later. 


Have a great night, check back soon!