Tracy Anderson, I Give Up

If you’re wondering what ever happened to my diet & fitness quest, the answer is: I failed. I totally burned out. I couldn’t keep up with the 3+ hours of cooking and exercising every day, plus multiple grocery store trips. It was a very serious commitment, and I did the diet for about two weeks. I got halfway through the 30-Days.

I kind of stopped because The TA Method was taking over my life, but mostly I stopped because I felt like shit. I was tired, cranky, angry, and almost to the point of tears one night. This also happened when I cut carbs on the Southbeach Diet years ago. I hadn’t dieted in more than 5 years before this, so I guess I kind of forgot how sad I get without my whole grains. (Carbs affect mood.) Plus, I was a little worried about eating so little food. I can’t find official calorie counts anywhere, but my internet research says The Tracy Anderson Method gives you about 700 calories a day. THAT’S NOT ENOUGH CALORIES! So I stopped following the diet exactly, but I still tried to stick to it loosely, without making the elaborate meals, and eating a bit more. I “cheated” a little here or there too. A few spoonfuls of granola with plain yogurt, some air-popped popcorn during a movie, a piece of light cheese.

But on Memorial Day, we decided to “splurge.” I tried to be virtuous and brought buffalo burgers (with sandwich thins for buns), baked potato chips, broccoli slaw, and mixed berries to a friend’s cookout. It was everything we needed for a healthy meal, if not necessarily a Tracy Anderson approved one. And it was all great, except we were at the party all day and into the night. I got hungry again, and all the healthy options we brought were shared and gone. Finally, I caved and ate a hot dog. On a bun. With mustard and relish. And it was AMAZING!!! It was probably the best hot dog I have ever eaten. (I also ate two oreos, which I probably could have lived without.) I was fine that night but I had a stomachache for two days after. I’m not sure that’s why, but it could be.

The bigger problem is that I haven’t been keeping up with the exercise. I was so tired all the time, I just didn’t have the energy for it. Plus I was really sore! As someone who has been recovering from an injury for the last 5-6 months, the last thing I want is more back pain. Then my physical therapist banned me from exercising like a maniac, which I had done for about a week and half. He said I could do the exercises 3x per week. I was a little worried I was going to relapse, plus I was exhausted, so I just stopped working out. (Not the right answer, I know).

Not surprisingly, I did not lose any more weight. I am stuck at 2.5lbs less than when I started. Body fat is only down .2%, so I can’t even pretend I lost fat and gained muscle. After ALLLL that. Now here it is, two weeks before my trip to the beach, and I am basically in the same place I started, only now my stomach hurts when I eat junk food. And I have very specific plans for eating junk food on my vacation.

Even though I am not planning on going on another diet, this morning I decided to look into Dukan, because everyone is talking about it. There is a little questionnaire to find out what your “true weight” should be. I filled out the form and my result was: “If the information that you have given is correct, your true weight is XXX lbs, and you do not need any slimming coaching. Your weight is right for you.” Basically my “true weight” is .5lbs less than my actual weight, which is probably why I can’t drop any more lbs. (Even with "slimming coaching"?) So that made me feel a little better.

But what about the saddlebags, Dukan? WHAT ABOUT THE SADDLEBAGS?

The weight is not the problem, which I kind of knew, but thought if I could lose some fat from my thighs, it would be, like, really great. Thing is, my body is obviously not going to let me diet that away. I need to reconfigure the weight I have to be more muscle and less fat, and that is going to take copious amounts of exercise (and healthy eating). I’m still going to do the Tracy Anderson workouts, because they actually make sense (unlike the crazy diet plan). I will only do them 3x per week, per the instruction of my PT, and hopefully, I’ll do some elliptical or less-bouncy cardio in between, at least until the shore trip. This week, I only did the TA workouts 2x, but I guess it’s better than nothing.

I’m a little sad I didn’t get into the shape I wanted, despite my best efforts. As Jesus (probably always) said, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” If I could have kept up with the workouts, I think I’d be a lot happier right now. On the plus side, my husband lost around 18lbs, and has a lot more energy. He did the diet with me, but ate as much extra protein and produce as he wanted, and didn't even exercise. Although I only lost 2.5 lbs, I did have a miraculous experience while I was out shopping for a dress to wear to a couple of this summer’s weddings: One beautiful designer dress on the rack, on sale, and it juuuuust fit.