Tapping into Health: My T-Tapp Journey
For those who have been following my T-tapp
story, let me explain the odd look to this blog. Since I started the blog, we had a major glitch with our external hard drive and lost many articles. It was right after this that BuddyHollywood changed servers; in that switch, we also lost some articles; including the first part of my T-Tapp blog.
For those of you who have not read my T-Tapp blog, let me explain. I had heard of Teresa Tapp and her exercise workout through Shelly Ballestero, a friend of mine who wrote, “Beauty by God.” Shelly is committed to helping people live a healthy lifestyle and has no problems telling women which name-brand skin care or cosmetic is actually bad for them.
“Lose up to 2 dress sizes in 2 weeks with 15 minutes a day.” If anyone else had given me a DVD that claimed this, I might not have believed them. But when Shelly gave me a copy of “Yes, You Can” the informational DVD that Teresa Tapp made to explain the history and science behind her exercise workout, I turned it on with an open mind.
What I saw intrigued me and the testimonials excited me enough to contact Teresa’s publicist, Kitty. I wanted to test T-Tapp without telling anyone to see whether it did what it promised. The following is my T-Tapp story:
June 16, 2010
Today I received what Mike called, “The mother lode of all T-Tapp stuff!” I had a box filled with different exercise DVDs, the CRT (Cellulite Removal Skin Tightening) System, Teresa’s book, “Fit and Fabulous in 15 Minutes” plus her newsletter and other informational goodies.
I am going to spend the rest of the day looking through the stuff and will begin later with taking my measurements and getting Mike to take a ‘before’ picture.
Right now I wear size 14 to 16 depending upon the clothing line. My goal is to lose down to a size 4 to 6. I am not going to mention this workout to anyone but Mike; I want to see whether other people can notice the difference.
As Teresa wrote, when she signed my book, “Yes You Can!”
June 17, 2010
I started working out with the Instructional Workout #1. In this video, Teresa explains the form and technique for each exercise and then does the exercise with her ‘Team.’ Unlike so many exercise videos, where the participants are slim and taut, the people on Teresa’s Team are of various ages – one lady is over 80 – and different sizes. It’s encouraging to someone else besides me who is not able to reach down the side of their thigh as far as Teresa does. While I was not able to do all 8 reps for each exercise, I was able to do at least 4.
I followed the workout with the Body Brushing. It took about 8 minutes to read the instructions and s
crub my skin. It made my skin tingle.
I also took my measurements; something I haven’t done in years. I’m glad that T-Tapp puts the emphasis on measurement rather than weight, as muscles weigh more. I made an excel chart and listed down all the measurements. I plan to take my measurements each week and not the progress. I can’t wait until I can say, “Hey, I’ve lost _____ inches.”
June 21, 2010
Today I moved on to the Instructional Workout #2. All I can say is that it ate my sack lunch. When Teresa said they were pausing to allow people to get a sip of water, I nearly guzzled half a bottle!
I wasn’t’ able to keep up with all the reps, because I was trying to concentrate on form. According to Teresa’s book, this is alright, because if I am working to my personal max, I will still get benefits. I think I’m going to switch between the two workouts during the week.
I have found myself trying to maintain the T-Tapp pose whenever possible throughout the day. When I was peeling potatoes for supper, I ‘assumed the position.’ When I was brushing my teeth, instead of bending over, I bent my knees, tucked tummy/buns and held while I brushed.
The Skin Brushing feels good, leaving my skin tingling.
June 24, 2010
I wasn’t able to do the workout over the weekend. However, we worked in the yard for 5 hours on Saturday. Sunday, being Father’s Day, we were up early to meet the kids for breakfast and then to church. After church, we stopped by Longhorn’s Steakhouse and had lunch with Bethy. By the time we got home, it was mid-afternoon and the heat had zapped us.
I began Monday bright and early with the workout again. On Tuesday I switched to the Instructional Workout #2. It seems harder to me; or maybe it was just getting used to the exercises. Wednesday I went back to the Workout #1, but I used the Basic Workout without the Instructions. I was able to go all the way through, doing 8 full reps for each exercise. Was my technique perfect all the way through? No, but I am getting better.
This morning was the second day to take my measurements and see whether there was any difference. THERE WAS!!!!! In the 14 different places I exercise, I lost a total of 9 1.4 inches!!!!! To quote Mikey, can we say Whooot?!!!!
It doesn’t surprise me that I lost the most inches in my upper body and only ½ inch in my legs. That has always been typical for me. However, I know that, as I continue to workout, the rest of the inches will come off.
Hurrah for T-Tapp!
July 1, 2010
Today was measuring day. I lost an additional 5 ¾ inches for a total of 15 ¼ inches in just 2 weeks! Still doing the happy dance around here.
I was able to do T-Tapp four days last week, although I spent 5 hours working in the yard on Saturday. I noticed that I was able to keep up with the Basic Workout, so I tried the extended 45 minute workout one day. Although I wasn’t able to do all 8 reps for each exercise, I was able to do at least 4. Mostly I do the Basic Workout without the instructions.
I am getting better on my form and technique. What I realize is that I am automatically focusing on form. I find myself thinking, “Okay, feet forward, knees bent, tighten buns, shoulders…” for a few reps and then realize I stopped tightening something. I figure that I’ll get better as I go along and will only see more results.
I also find myself ‘assuming the position’ throughout the day, like when I’m peeling/chopping vegetables for meals or even bending over to brush my teeth.
I told my children about the program and my results. My daughter Bethany was so excited that she wants a DVD and is telling all her friends.
Earlier this month, I had to purchase some clothes for a business conference I attended. Now, those clothes are beginning to hang. Hubby Mike – who claims that he can see the difference – has told me that he’d be more than happy to spring for a new wardrobe. Such a problem! J
July 4, 2010
Yesterday, just out of curiosity, I dug through my closet and found a pair of my size 12 capris and tried them on. I could wear them! Whooo Hooo! I ran upstairs – noting that I wasn’t breathing hard – to Mike’s office to show them off. The smile on his face was an extra bonus!
Earlier in the season – when I changed out my winter and summer clothing – I had decided there was no reason to keep my skinny clothes any longer and had put them in a bag to give to charity. After trying on the capris, I got the bag of clothing – I had yet not dropped it off – and switched out skinny clothes with my size 14s and 16s.
July 6, 2010
Today I added the “Lovely Legs” portion of T-Tapp’s isolations exercises to my Basic Workout. Like the rest of T-Tapp exercises, these look easy, but whew! They can leave my legs tingling. One added benefit is they also sculpt your buns and stomach.
July 8, 2010
Measurement Day…Ta-ta-ta-Daaaaa!
5.5 inch loss this week. That makes it a total of 20.75 in 3 weeks! I am easily wearing a size 12.
Yesterday, I woke up with my back hurting from yard work. Instead of doing the Basic Workout, I opened the T-Tapp More that Kitty had sent for my mother. They are the same exercises from the other workouts, but modified to be less strenuous. I didn’t come away sweating and my heart pumping, but I did have a nice glisten and a spring in my step.
July 20, 2010
Mike and I went to visit my mother in Waco, Texas last week. I showed her the video “T-Tapp More” and explained a bit about the workout, especially that she could begin with the workout while sitting in a chair. She was impressed with my inch loss and excited there was hope for her.
The next morning, Momma and I worked through the Chair workout, which is the Basic Workout modified for people to use while sitting at work, school or for those who are not able to stand easily. I wondered how this workout would compare to the others; it wasn’t as rigorous, but I did come away with my heart rate elevated and that T-Tapp energy. I also tried the Basic T-Tapp More workout and felt I could tackle the day.
Which was a good thing. My mother LOVES to feed her children and boy did we eat! To compensate for the extra calories, I threw in several Hoe Downs throughout the days.
When my measurement day rolled around, I opened my laptop and realized I had forgot to move the document from our external hard drive at home to my laptop files. I decided not to worry about measuring and would pick it up next week.
Mike, who also ate lots of delicious Texas cooking all week, was feeling bloated several evenings. He looked at me on Friday night, patted his stomach and said, “I’m starting Monday.”
We arrived home in the wee hours of Saturday night and met the kids for brunch on Sunday, before crashing for a long nap. After a light supper, we watched the Informational Seminar. Yesterday, Mike and I did the Instructional Workout. By the end of the workout, he was, ‘Sweating like a stuck pig on pig sticking day,’ [his words] and said he could feel the fatigue in his muscles. However, it was the first day in a long time that he did not take an afternoon nap.
I feel like I’m living out the old shampoo commercial from the late ‘70s, where the premise was that you would like the product so much that you’d tell two friends and they would tell two friends and so on. I have shared T-Tapp with several family and friends and they are seeing results. My sculptress friend Tracy Sugg, who wanted to increase energy and tighten her tummy has seen over an 1 ½ in just two weeks. She sent me an email after 3 days on the workout and said she had increased her flexibility to the point that she could bend over and touch the floor; something she had not been able to do in years. It never occurred to me and when I tried it, I discovered that, not only could I touch the floor, I could almost lay my palms flat.
My son Joshua, who is leaving in August for a PhD program, is interested in trying T-Tapp. Not that he needs to lose weight, but he is interested in increasing his mental energy for his studies. Our third daughter Bethany is slim, but she said she was noticing that her upper thighs were beginning to rub when she walked. She has been T-Tapping for 3 weeks and has seen her thighs firm.
After nearly a month, I’m not joking when I say that T-Tapp is an answer to prayer. For years, I have tried to find a workout that helped me trim and firm and didn’t take half the morning or half my bank account. For me, T-Tapp is nothing short of a miracle.
August 6, 2010
This is a good news/bad news blog.
The good news; Mike and I are continuing to do T-Tapp and we know we’re losing inches.
The bad news; I can’t tell you how many inches we’ve lost.
Due to a strange computer glitch, we cannot access many of our files, including my T-Tapp measurements. We’re hoping we’ll be able to recover our files but we won’t know for several more days.
However, that doesn’t keep me from tell you that T-Tapp is impacting many of our friends. Several weeks ago, I got a phone call from L.A.; I’m using her initials to protect her privacy. She had read my blogs, wanted to try T-Tapp for herself.
I got an email from her the day after she started. “Day One: instructional video…read most of the book last night. I was looking at the pics and thinking, “how hard can this be?” Holy cow. Was I wrong.”
Two days ago, she sent me another email. “Okay, so I measured one day early for week one because tomorrow I have a meeting so early in the a.m. I knew I wouldn’t be able to do it then. 10 3/4 inches in 1 week. That’s just nuts. I have eaten everything in sight. This is a miracle. My husband even said he could already see a difference. Now, I can’t SEE it, but I do feel it and my clothes feel a little looser. Crazy, I tell ya’.”
I had reached the point in T-Tapp where you back off to doing the workout every 2 to 3 days; it sounds strange to reduce exercising, but who am I to argue with what works? Monday, I learned I have an important business trip in two weeks and I wanted to knock out some more inches. So, I decided to go back to T-Tapping every day.
I also decided to try the Step Away the Inches – Walking Workout.According to the T-Tapp website, this DVD is a “25 minutes core cardio, indoor walking workout that teaches T-Tapp techniques to maximize any walking program with a focus on inch loss rather than just weight loss. This is a total body workout and will deliver results from head to toe, plus it’s equivalent to walking about 2 miles!” I watched the Instructional portion of the DVD this morning; I discovered most of the routine is on other T-Tapp videos. I will begin the Walking Workout tomorrow; I’m anxious to see what the results will be.
September 6, 2010
Since I haven’t been able to compare my measurements, I’ve had to use other methods to determine whether I’ve lost weight. I have been able to wear size 12 jeans and switched from Large t-shirts to Mediums. I even pulled down a pair of size 10 jeans and was almost able to zip them up. About a month ago, I put on the skirt I had bought for this past Easter. It fit so loose that the skirt ‘drifted’ around my waist. The other day I took it up 2 inches in the waist.
A friend of mine started T-Tapp about 2 weeks after I did. She called me about three days into her T-Tapp journey and told me that she could bend over and touch the floor. “I’ve never been able to do that.”
Hmmm…it never occurred to me that T-Tapp would increase my flexibility. I tried it myself and discovered that I could nearly lay my palms flat on the floor.
So, if you are looking for something that will help you lose inches in a short time, try T-Tapp.
