reclaiming me

AnaLee (TnT) took a look at my recent schedule and suggested that I need to take a short break - three days, minimum, preferably four. So, what the heck. I’ll do it, then go EOD with no tapping on the off days.

Brushing really is helping with all this, no kidding! I’ve already been taking alfalfa, but perhaps I need to increase my intake for a few days along with my water increase — I found that yesterday, I simply couldn’t get enough water.

What I really have to keep in the forefront of my mind is the good changes I feel in my body. My arms are much more fit and toned. My rear is higher. My legs are stronger. My neck is less crackly, and my traps are stretching out. All of this is good, and since I’m not treating T-Tapp as a short-term means to an end, it’s okay if it takes time to lose, even though it frustrates the hell out of me.

I’ve been reading an older thread on the forums about establishing hormonal balance, and a lot of what I see there really makes sense to me. I’ve had some serious cortisol issues over the past few years, specifically related to anxiety and depression — when I’m feeling off, I actually get a head rush that I self-label as “that cortisol thing, again.” Since I’m tapering off effexor, I’ve got to be especially careful to not trigger myself. On the bright side, I’m having zero of the “brain zaps” that I experienced when I tried to go every other day on 75mg (directly from 75mg per day). I am, however, noticing that a physical feeling of anxiety can happen more easily. As long as I manage my life well, this doesn’t become an issue, but when I don’t — say I run late with a work deadline — ka-pow!

All of that is to say that taking it slowly for a couple weeks is probably not a bad idea.

So my next thing to figure out is this: how will I handle the 60-Day Challenge? I had/have this grand idea of beginning with at least a 7-10 day bootcamp. The “bootcamp” I did in February just didn’t quite feel like one, if that makes sense. I’d like to try to “do it right” this time. Wrapping my brain around the idea that this could be counter-productive is really tough for me.

On the bright side, fewer days of Tapping will make creating a hiking schedule much easier as the weather warms. As it appears I’ll be living in Santa Fe for the foreseeable future, I really need to learn the trail system here. Missing Section 16, Waldo Canyon, and Templeton Trail in Colorado Springs doesn’t do me much good, other than when I go to visit!

Tags: T-Tapp, Daily Log, Self-Motivation by Allison
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Happy Monday, everyone!

Today’s workout:

• PBS
• One mile walk (it’s sunny and I took pity on the pooch)
• TWO
• Core series
• Diva Derriere
• Awesome Legs

The great fat migration is continuing. I swear, it’s so bizarre to me to be sitting here in this chair, able to feel a roll of belly flab in front of me. That’s *not* where I carry my weight, darn it! It does, however, seem to be one of the slower-to-lose places on my body, where fat gathers to chat amongst itself before heading out the door. It’s just a weird feeling to me. My hips and rear even feel less flabby than my belly, huh? Today’s a squish day in the fat shift cycle, and I keep telling myself that’s a good thing. Squish = leaving soon, right? RIGHT?

The shoulder issue on my left side that’s plagued me seems to finally be subsiding. As I did Torso Twist today, I faced a mirror on the side of the room (high up, so I can only see bustline and higher), and noticed that my left shoulder is almost *always* higher than my right one. I know exactly what’s caused this — carrying a 20-something pound toddler around — and I’ll be more careful in the future to distribute her weight evenly across me. I’d finally figured out that the pain was from an overly-tight trapezius muscle on that side, so with stretching and attention to form, the pain is going away, hooray!

Tags: T-Tapp by Allison
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So, how funny is it that I’m totally star-struck after calling the office with a question, just to have Teresa herself answer the phone, answer my question, ask some about my body type, and give me a few pointers on form customized to my body type?

I’m all tingly.

I jokingly told her that I figure my body is almost done with all its “internal” work, and that means that my 60-Day Challenge photos could be all that much better, LOL. She said, hey, you never know — maybe you’ll get to come to Florida for free!

Now *that* would rock.

ETA:
Okay, I went ahead and ordered the “Step Away Super Set.”

Includes both Step Away The Inches and Step It To The Max. Plus, receive a Free Pair of Thorlo Socks and a Free “Power Up Your Stride” walking audio tape.

Hoo-ah. I keep feeling like my body is saying I need more cardio, and Teresa assured me that even the 23-minute SATI is much, much more cardio than most people expect. Since I’m a glutton for punishment, I decided I also wanted the 50-minute killer SITTM. This shape-shifting fat IS going to melt off of me, damn it.

Tags: T-Tapp by Allison
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I had the opportunity to visit via online chat with Trainer-in-Training AnaLee (waving!) last week, and she mentioned that while she’d heard about “fat shift,” my photos were one of the first ones where she’d seen it so clearly. As I paid attention to my own body yesterday, I decided I needed to know a bit more about this so-called fat shift. During Lawnmowers, I felt a roll/bulge at my upper hip that was new, whaaaa?

Anyway, I searched the term on the forums, and found lots of encouragement.

• When fat shifts (usually up and toward the middle), it’s on its way out.
• The places where I’m seeing extra (upper hips, waist) are normal on-the-way-out waypoints
• One poster even mentioned one of my specific gripes — that I can see fat below my belly button even more clearly than I used to. It’s like what used to be evenly spread from belly button to pubis is now from the halfway point and upward. The lower half, down to the pubis is firm and flat. It’s just…weird.

After this reading, I tinkered around with my size 12 short Levis 515/bootcut jeans. As I looked at them more closely, I realized that yes, they’re more snug through the butt and thighs, but they’re also sitting much higher. You see, I used to have more fat that was riding low, and less up toward the upper hips and waist. Now, the low fat is gone and/or up at the mid/upper butt and hips. The jeans are sitting all the way up at my belly button. If I pull them down, yes, I see a muffin-top I never would have had before (from the fat that’s shifted upward), but in the rear, where they used to be filled out? Baggy. And the thighs? Ditto.

Okay, I’m starting to believe this. If I keep going, I really *will* eventually see inch loss. I think.

Today, after a great workout yesterday, I feel leaned-out through the waist again. It’s bizarre to me how much my body is moving things around on a day-to-day basis.

Given some time later, I’ll see if I can post some photos showing what I mean.

Tags: T-Tapp, Self-Motivation by Allison
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…that I can be a bit of a nerd sometimes? I suppose the WordPress blog should be a dead giveaway.

Well, to indulge my nerdy inner-child I’ve put up a month-at-a-glance calendar. Now, on a single page, I can see what workouts I’ve done on what days. Also, if I dare to think I’m overtraining, I have a page where I could direct trainers on the forums to say, is it so?

I (heart) Google.

Added: Okay, so does it mean I’m *really* nerdy (like supremely so) if I change my entire color scheme just so the blue Google calendar doesn’t clash with my theme? Probably, but I might do it just the same.

Done!

Tags: T-Tapp, Self-Motivation by Allison
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