Tracy's New Baby!

Hello everyone!


On May 21, Tracy Anderson gave birth to her little girl, Penelope.  Yesterday, I saw online a picture of the new bundle of joy.

I think she's adorable. Almost a full head of blonde hair too, haha.

Just want to again say congrats to Tracy and her family, and welcome to the world, Penelope!

As for how I'm doing- I checked in my weight out of curiosity, and I gained a little!  I think it's water weight because my Aunt Flo is due next week.  Also, yesterday I had some crackers so this might be just bloat. 

When I get home from work today, I will do my workout as planned. Feeling a bit sore from yesterday especially in my inner thighs. 

Have a great day everyone!

Hello everyone!

Tomorrow I am going to once again begin my Metamorphosis journey.

I am also going to start doing what I did before- drinking a shake in the morning. I still have my Tracy shakes and Clean shakes left, along with some frozen blackberries and a myriad of fresh blueberries and strawberries in the fridge.  I also have 5 think thin peanut butter bars and a box of dark chocolate on the way. (I heard they are to die for).  I figured I might as well use these, I WAS losing weight eating/drinking them and it would be a horrible waste of money to let it go.

I also need to really crack down on gluten. I am always reading up on gluten sensitivity and obesity.  Here is what I read this evening:

"In order for your metabolic rate to be normal and burn the calories you take in, adequate nutrition needs to come into the body and be absorbed by your cells. In our country, where food is very available, consumption isn’t usually the problem. Absorption however can often be. Here’s how:

Remember that gluten sensitivity causes malabsorption due to the damage it creates in the small intestine.

If the food goes into your mouth but never adequately arrives at your cells; your cells are essentially starving.

When the cells are inadequately fed they tell the body to lower its metabolic rate.

This results in a person who while not overeating continues to gain weight. Their body just doesn’t efficiently burn what it consumes but instead “holds on” to it.

The stress of the cells being “starved” causes this decreased metabolic rate and is one of the reasons those suffering from gluten sensitivity suffer from obesity.

The good news is that the situation is resolvable. Properly identifying gluten sensitivity and removing gluten from the diet allows the small intestine to heal. Once healed, nutrients again begin to be absorbed properly and the cells, now receiving adequate nutrition, increase the metabolic rate and weight loss ensues."

So for me, calories in, calories out is not enough.  I may eat enough calories but my body may not be absorbing what I need.  I really do not eat much for an obese person.  I eat normal portions most of the time but they usually are not gluten free. 

So, I will be hopefully starting off on the right foot tomorrow. Wake up, drink my shake, do my Meta, go to work, eat lunch, come home, dinner. 

Have a great night everyone and I am looking forward to tomorrow.

Getting 'Olympic Fit' With Tracy Anderson

Hello everyone!




Not much to say this morning, but I came across another article featuring Tracy Anderson.


http://www.hellomagazine.com/healthandbeauty/health-and-fitness/201204167633/olympic-fit-with-tracy-anderson/


It's a nice little article about how to start getting active, with some tips from Tracy as well as some moves you can do to start up, especially if you have a family and obligations.


I thankfully got some sleep last night, woke up feeling much better by the way!



Have a great day everyone!

Continuity 1.3 Review

Hello everyone!!



Last night I sat down and popped in my 1.3 abcentric DVDs to have a look at what's (way) ahead for me.


Please note that I am reviewing based on what I SEE, not on how hard it is etc because I have not done them yet.


Dance Cardio


Another 30 minutes of dance cardio, pretty straightforward. There are NO bonus arms in continuity 1.3.


Muscular Structure Work


In 1.3 Tracy starts incorporating a small pilates ball.  She uses it in a wide variety of ways- As something to balance on while on all fours by putting one of your supporting hands on it, holding it between your knees/ankles (working those inner thighs) and wedged in a bent knee. 




Editing quality


I have heard many stories about crappy editing on these but this one seems okay.   I do notice that for the left side  *Tracy does the right side first* they actually take the footage from the right and just flip it.  To me that could actually be good because you're sure you are going to see the same workout exactly for that left foot. (There is an instance in Meta where she goes to the left side and does 2 moves differently- more on that later)


Also there are NO missing sequences (I also heard stories about entire leg sections MISSING due to crap editing) at least in Abcentric.




In short, they did a decent job with 1.3.  Gotta watch the rest thoroughly and post later.




Have a great day!!!

Another day off... Uggghhhhhh

Hello~




How is everyone doing?  Sadly, I did not get to do my workout yesterday and today is not looking likely either.  My arm, neck, and shoulder are still very messed up.  I tried taking more ibuprofen but all it does is reduce the pain, not make it go away.


So, today I will not be able to do any TAM again. I am not happy. So, the extent of my work out will be walking to and from class today. 


If my arm is not better by tomorrow I am thinking about seeing my doctor about it because it it really hurts.




Have any of you had a bad sleep injury that put you out of commision?  What have you done to cope?




Have a great day! 

Feeling proud of myself

Hello everyone!


I'm about to take on my 6th day of meta, and I am feeling pretty proud that I stuck to it this long.


I am hoping that this keeps up because I am starting to see some results. 


I can't wait until this Friday- I start level 2 and I take my first measurements since starting.  I can already tell there will be a difference- everything is starting to look tighter and smaller. 


One bad thing- I slept on my left shoulder funny AGAIN. I took some ibuprofen (it hurts that bad and massaging it isn't helping) and when that starts working I will carefully do my workout today. I hate when this happens!!!!!!






I'll update on my workout later on today, have a great Sunday!

Day 5 complete!!

Hello everyone!


I finished 5 days of Meta! Today was level 1 day 5 and I am now at 30 reps per leg. It took a longer time today because I think I'm a little tired still.  Cardio was 30 minutes of dancing on the floor. 




Speaking of cardio- I recently emailed the Tracy team because I had a question about the rebounder and if it was appropriate or not.

Hello-

I currently have both the Trampoline workout and Metamorphosis/Continuity Abcentric. 

1. I have never been able to do full on dance cardio like Tracy does on the DVD. 

2. I can do 30 minutes of the dance cardio on the floor STEP TOUCH ONLY and even with that it's pretty challenging.

3. I am overweight and very out of shape (restarting the method after a long break)

To get the most out of my cardio work, should I focus on doing the rebounder first (I can only get through about 5-10 minutes of it at the moment) or focus more on the floor cardio? I am also keeping up with my muscular structure work and eating right. (After restarting Ab Meta days 1-10 I am on day 4 and have lost 5 pounds already)

I really appreciate your help and look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks-

And the next day they replied:

Do as much of the dance cardio doing the step touch as you can on the floor and add in the mini trampoline when you need to or for a change. You're still doing to see the results doing either or both of these modification.

You're doing a great job, keep it up!! 

So for any of you who are in between if you should be doing trampoline or dancing on the floor, they PREFER us to be on the floor so if you can do this, keep with that and use the trampoline on an as-needed basis. (If you get injured, etc)

I hope you all had a great Saturday! Check back soon!

Wow. Serious workout is serious.

Hello everyone!


I had no idea how rough my workout yesterday was, until this morning especially.


I didn't sweat much doing the trampoline but I definitely felt it.  I ended up going to bed very early last night and even almost falling asleep in class!  My normal bedtime is around midnight or later, but I was out like a light at 10:30. 


This morning I have not felt so sore in a long time. My ribs, my butt, my abs, everything is sore. Not in a debilitating way but an "I got a good workout" way.  Out of curiosity, I weighed myself, no gain, no loss, but I feel a bit tighter everywhere. 




So, eating breakfast now and then going to man up and get more workouts done!




Will post later. You should go work out too! 




Have a great day!

Bouncing away!

Hello everyone!!!


Well, I just got my workout in.  I did my level 1 day 2 metamorphosis with 20 reps of each leg move.


Now on to the rebounder.




I was surprised at how... unable I was to finish all 30 minutes.  This is my first time on a rebounder in a long while.


First, I tried doing the workout in my shoes. Bad idea. My feet started to really hurt on the sides, probably because they are meant to align overpronating  feet, leaving me with a semi-unstable surface even with the shoes.  Lasted 3 minutes that way.


Took shoes off, felt better.


Lasted another 3 minutes, then my calves really needed a break.


I finally lasted a total of 10 minutes and my legs were just saying they have had enough. 


I also couldn't do all of the fancy moves she does in the workout... Yet.  I spent my 10 minutes just doing basic jumps/jumping jacks and trying to build up my strength. 


Have any of you done any rebounder work, and was it easy the first time?  I will be trying again, of course, tomorrow.  Tonight I will also do some walking to and from class (after a nap!)




Have a great day! Looking forward to tomorrow's workout!

Why I might consider buying Tracy's trampoline

Hello everyone!!


Before, I had mentioned that I was not thinking about buying Tracy's trampoline.  However, I have changed my mind.


Why?


It actually seems like a good quality piece of equipment for the price. 


1. My rebounder costed similar and can only  hold 275 pounds. Hers can hold up to 330.  In the past I haven't been able to find one that holds that much without costing over $200.


2. Tracy's seems like a SAFER choice, it does not fold and the legs are fused onto the frame to allow for better stability.  Mine folds and the legs screw on and off.


3. Tracy's is bigger at 40 inches, mine is 35.


I am going to be placing my rebounder *that I have only used twice or so* on craigslist and use the money from that to help pay for the Tracy one. 






The only problem would be storage but I think I can figure out a place for it to go. :)


Are any of you considering getting her rebounder?




Have a great day!

Boing Boing! Tracy Anderson Releases Rebounder Workout!

Hello everyone!




I have just heard that the long-awaited rebounder/mini trampoline DVD is now available at www.tracyandersomethod.com.

There is, however, one thing changing.


The rebounder workout used to be included with Continuity 2.0.  This will no longer be the case.


A message from Tracy to the clients who have already received 2.0 (not me)-


"I wanted to make you aware that because you are such a great devotee, and since you have already purchased Metamorphosis 2.0, you were in an elite group that was the first to receive my trampoline video, which I am releasing to everyone this week. No one else will be receiving the mini trampoline cardio DVD in Metamorphosis 2.0. You were part of a special limited release and it is yours to keep! I want to make sure you don't purchase this DVD as it is released to everyone this week."

I inquired as to what the rest of us will do when we get to 2.0, and I was told that we will still get a cardio DVD, just dancing on the floor and not on the rebounder.

This is actually a good thing for some people (including myself). Here's why.

1. I find bouncing on the rebounder kind of awkward and I have low ceilings in my apartment.  Me on a trampoline would mean my head through the ceiling.  

2. Tracy HAS said she does prefer us to dance on the floor anyway for maximum calorie burn. Rebounding is more for beginners and people with problems doing the DC on the floor.

3. It SAVES YOU MONEY AND TIME. Why?  Dancing on the floor,  you have your legs,  you have your shoes already. No need to run around or hunt online and spend time looking for a rebounder, and then pay not only for the rebounder but also for the shipping (which can be high- rebounders are heavy! I have one but because of afforementioned ceiling problem I can't make great use of it.

I think this actually provides more options as I prefer DC on the floor and I am sure I am not alone.  I was actually kind of bummed to see that I would be stuck with a rebounder workout for 2.0 when it was time for me to do so.  Of course, rebounding does have other health benefits too but right now, my main focus is weight loss and burning off my fat suit.

So, in a way this is good for the people who don't like dancing- Now you have a rebounder DVD along with the YouTube Tel Aviv series she did a few years back.

Have a great Thursday, are you going to get the rebounder workout?

3/1/12

Hello Everyone!

I can't believe it's March already! Time flies, doesn't it?  Sadly, today is not as nice of a day outside as yesterday was but I will still be walking today. I am at work right now, I also plan on doing my Meta when I come home, complete with DC.  For lunch today, I brought a salad with a cut up egg and some cut up tofu with balsamic vinegar to put on top. Tonight I am having another salad for dinner, but also going shopping for food.

Do you guys have any plans for March? Post in the comments below!

New Standing Abs Video!

Hello everyone-


Not much to say today except that I am going to my allergist tomorrow and my ankles are feeling better.

In the Metamorphosis Community, there is a new video with Tracy's master trainer Stacey demonstrating more standing ab workouts.  Enjoy!



Stacey Breaks Down Standing Abs! from Tracy Anderson Method on Vimeo.



I will be back tomorrow with another post. Have a great day!

Boot Camp Start Date

Hello everyone!

I have finally figured out when I will be starting my 30 day Tracy bootcamp- December 17.  Why that date?  My final day of classes is December 16. Then I have a whole month of winter break to work on myself, by the time the new term starts in January, I will be on the Perfect Design Series (I hope!).

More reasons-

1. Bootcamp is very lengthy. Expect to spend up to 2.5-3 hours a DAY doing it, depending on your fitness level. Without classes to worry about, I will have more spare time on my hands so that I can work out.

2. Aside from time needed for completion, I am going to be bored at home. What better way to spend the time than working on my body?

3. If I do decide to make some meals from the book, I will need time to cook and prepare them also. 

So, I have decided to make this a challenge for myself. "The Winter Break Slimdown". The goal is-

1. Do my MS work and push myself to the absolute LIMIT. No bare minimums here unless I am physically ill. The goal is at LEAST 40 reps of each exercise.

2. Do my cardio according to the moderate beginner plan (I will lay that out in another post).  Since I AM able to jump a little, I no longer qualify for "absolute beginner." If I do that, and I am not injured or ill, that's just copping out.

3. Stick to a paleo diet as much as possible. Will cover this in another post, but the basics are no dairy, no grains, no legumes.  

I will also be making video blogs. The reason I still have not is because I am pretty sick (coughing up phlegm and everything) and I am going to the doctor tonight.  Good news is my ankle is almost up to snuff, but I will be wrapping it during workouts to be on the safe side. 

Off to work with me, have a happy Friday!!!

Dieting has begun!

Hello everyone!

While I am still waiting to get my workout space set up, I did start changing my eating habits again yesterday.  I am trying to eat healthy and avoid fake sugars (my weakness). I figure since 90% of weight loss is diet, I might as well get started on that part while I wait.

I took my weight (not my measurements yet)- on 9/27, I weighed 289.4 lb.

Here's what I had yesterday-

Breakfast-

A sandwich consisting of 2 slices of toast, an egg, some lettuce and a little smidge of mayo.

A cup of green tea

 

Lunch- 

Slim fast shake (I know, no good but I was rushing out the door)

Snacks-

1 apple

1 bottle of Lipton Pureleaf Green Tea with Honey

2 bottles of SoBe Lean green tea (sweetened with Stevia)

Dinner-

6 ounces of deli roast beef

Lettuce

Hopefully by the end of the weekend I will have my workout area set up so that I can start getting on that ball too!

Also- I just got an email that  my first 90 day round of Abcentric continuity shipped! I'm behind, yes, but can't wait to give it a watch!

Ankle update and a huge item on my wish list

Hello everyone!

I haven't been working out like I'd have liked, a lot is going on in my personal life, really stressed and time crunched. (Raising a puppy is a big one on this list!)

My ankle is also on the mend- I can walk and stuff on it without pain, the pain mostly comes with rainy weather.

Lately I have been looking into rebounder workouts again. Like this:

I do have a rebounder but as I discovered earlier this year when I tried to use it, it's sort of loud and squeaky and I am paranoid that the thing will bust under my weight.  It has a weight limit of 300 pounds but I still don't trust it too much.

That said I want to start saving up for a ReboundAIR.

www.reboundair.com

These are expensive, about 300-400 dollars, however they have a lifetime warranty, as well as lifetime wear and tear coverage. Meaning- I break a spring, my mat starts to wear out, I get a replacement.  Also their quarter-fold rebounders hold up to 400 pounds.

I probably will start rebounding just doing a simple bounce for a while to strengthen up, then move on to the dancey moves. 

Also I really really REALLY need to start cleaning up my diet and going back to being a low carb vegetarian.  That was helping me a LOT. 

Have a great weekend guys, get your workouts in for me!

Metamorphosis Day 1

Hello everyone!

I decided to switch from boot camp to metamorphosis, and I began on June 13 (yesterday).  I also took my starting stats.  I ate all manner of foulness (junk food) over the weekend and it made me wake up and realize weight loss is REALLY about 80-90% diet.

Starting weight: 279.4 lb

Bust: 49 inches

Waist: 46 inches

Hips: 53 inches

Arms: L- 17 R- 16

Thighs: L- 30.5 R 31.5

Today I did all of my Muscular Structure work, 20 reps a leg and it KILLED me. As in body-felt-like-rubber killed. But it's not the horrible debilitating "I hurt myself!" pain. I did the DC for 30 minutes, step touching and really using my arms. I know my level (which is VERY IMPORTANT to avoid injury! Don't be a hero!!!) and I do work out hard enough to get tomato red and sweaty. If you can jump around easily (because you are far fitter than I) then go for it. :) 

Diet was day 1 of the Nutrient Boost week. This means that every day this week consists of eating:

Kale juice

Carrot Parsnip Puree

Sweet Potato Corn Pudding (Yum!)

Tomato Gazpacho (tastes much better with roasted tomatoes)

Tofu protein soup (or chicken)

Blueberry applesauce

Chocolate chestnut pudding.

Next week I get to eat solids again, but I am actually loving one part of the puree parts- I only had to cook ONCE. Now I have all the food I need for the week, no pots and pans, and it's just there when I need it. 

In the end, day 1 done! 89 to go!

Day 71 Metamorphosis

Hi everyone! 

Today is day 71- but I did not do my MS work.  However, I did do a runthrough of Tracy's beginner dance cardio, both the learning and the uptempo parts.  I got through 3 hours of sleep last night so I figure something is better than nothing.

More good news:  I lost more weight- I weighed in this morning and I now weigh 269.9, a total of a 7.2 pound loss since last Thursday. Happy times!

Tomorrow I am off during the daytime so I will be fitting in my level 7 MS and perhaps a double runthrough of beginner dance cardio.  I have a test tomorrow night but screw it, I am going to work out before I take it. I have to. 

Today was a short blog but I hope everyone else starts the week off right!

Getting back in it...

Hello!

I know it's been a while since I posted or worked out.  I was going to work out starting Monday, but the past couple days I've been sick.  So, I am going to start working out tomorrow (wednesday) but start my new official day 1 on Monday, with measurements/weight.  Tomorrow I am going to do a little kick start, get my system sort of cleaned out and back on track. Lately I have been eating waaay too much and I'm admitting it. I am still holding myself accountable after all.  If I am going to screw up, I am going to let you know, no matter how embarrassing it may be.

I am going to following a diet very similar *but not exactly, it's a bit TOO restrictive, I will follow it as much as possible* 

Lose 20 pounds in 6 weeks diet

Exercise will be my usual Perfect Design 1 (still have yet to master it but I am getting there... I think!) and rebounder cardio as seen here:

Tracy Anderson Rebounder Workout

Well, lets hope I feel well enough tomorrow to start doing it.  Also, I am going to make every attempt to work out as early as I can, as in in the morning about an hour after breakfast.  The more the day goes on, the lazier I get and the less likely I am to do my workout.

Alright, see everyone tomorrow!

9/27/10

Hello!

It's been a reeaaally long time but I am back.  After having taken two weeks off due to a mix of not feeling good and, honestly, plain lazy, I'm glad to be back blogging again.  

I really regret taking this time off and slacking. Why?

Weight: 260.1 pounds.... This was the heaviest I have ever been. Argh.

Also I kinda flunked out on my diet today.  Started out really good until I came home from a long day, exhausted and craving like mad.

Breakfast:

Oatmeal with stevia

Snack:

1 cup of strawberries

Lunch:

Romaine salad with 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese

Snack:

3 bite size pieces of chocolate halloween candy (only 50 calories for all 3. I checked before I ate)

Dinner:

Grilled chicken stirfry with red/green bell pepers, mushrooms, onion, and 1/2 cup of rice

Dessert:

1 slice of Pecan Pie *the ruiner of my diet*

Well I guess it wasn't THAT  bad, but still feel a little guilty being that this was supposed to be me back on the wagon. 

As for exercise.... Well, my day at work was pretty hectic, and I had class soon after, by the time I got home I just wanted to crash out.  I tried at least doing the rebounder for a few minutes, but being so tired I had to quit because I was afraid I'd fall off.  To make up for today's lack of exercise, I am going to do my TAM workout as planned, then go take a good powerwalk. I'm not supposed to go running, but I can go walking. :)

Here's to a better tomorrow and better week!