Post Boot Camp survival guide and TAM cliff notes...

If you happen to be a new reader or follower...

First of all - WELCOME! and please make yourself at home, look around, help yourself to anything-
I am thrilled you are here!
Secondly - I am from Texas and we are the hospitable type...so - "What can I get ya?" something to drink? A brownie?
please take a brownie...please take them all.
If there is a God in heaven you will TAKE THE DAMN BROWNIES!!
ahhhh.... the little chocolate foot soldiers of Satin...sitting in my kitchen.
yes, they are still there.

ok... moving on

If you are currently on the TAM program , or thinking about being on the TAM program- that's great news!

If you are not...then I suspect you are asking yourself...what is a TAM?
What is a Thass? 
What is BC, DC 1, DC II,  PDS..??? These are commonly referred to on the TAM FB page...
and I will be using them to describe my workouts as I attempt to thwart the return of the Thass.

It occurred to me when I was beginning to write out my current plan and One year survival guide - so I thought I better spell it out for any newcomers or non-Tracy Anderson addicts so they could understand and I wouldn't be forced to spell it out in long hand for the rest of the year.

When I first stumbled into the TAM world I was VERY confused by all the abbreviations and lingo.
It was odd to read so many acronyms -I got on the Tracy Anderson FB page and it read something like this...
"I'm doing DC II followed by PDS, but haven't tried BC yet."

um...???

I didn't know what that meant so in an effort to be cool I responded..."Oh, yah, awesome - I'm gonna start with R2D2 and then rock out some C3P0, maybe add a little WD40 if I'm not too tired."

yah... I was confused- but I know a little more now. emphasis on "little".
I think I can now de-code it for you...

so please get out a pen and paper, and yes- this will be on the quiz.

Let's start with the obvious -
FB page = Facebook Page... If you did not know that one, well then - please let me be the first to congratulate you on the miraculous recovery from your extended coma. Welcome back to the living. A lot has changed...

TAM  = Tracy Anderson Method
Tracy is a trainer to the stars that helped re-shape the hineys, arms, legs and abs of Ubber -celebrities Madonna, Gywneth Paltrow and Laura Stroud. (Laura became a ubber celebrity while you were in your coma - ok... FINE! she's only famous in her own brain movie)
Tracy discovered a method of activating the smaller muscles in the body through specific muscle work and cardio exercise that she claims can change ANY woman's body to look like a "dancers body"- no matter the genetic misfortunes.

BC = Boot Camp
Tracy's most recent book that includes specific directions to follow for thirty days (muscle work, food plan and dance cardio) with the promise of a solid foundation to get your perfect body.
(btw, it works! btw, btw= by the way)

If you didn't know "btw"... well, then OMG -I'm LMAO at you. :)

DC= Dance Cardio
Dance Cardio - the cardio component to her "method" - which includes dancing in a specific way as to move the muscles to create a lean look without bulk and burn fat....and get the saggy skin to return to the muscle. (that last one is a lofty goal...but I'm a dreamer...and I really want her to be right about this one)

DC I, II = Dance Cardio one, two etc...
DC I and DC II are available for purchase on DVD...past that there are mentions of DC's up to and including  DC VIII - I have TRIED to find them and SO FAR I have discovered the where abouts of Amelia Earhart and something that  appears to be The Holy Grail (pending carbon date testing) but I cannot find more Cardio DVD's other than 1 and 2....????

PDS = Perfect Design Series - (aka: muscle work)
The most recent muscle work series of DVD's - a three part series that changes your muscle work plan every ten days

and lastly... the Thass ... it has been explained before - on the very first entry... but simple put...it is when your ass starts sliding down the back of your leg and becoming one with your thighs.

Ok, so now that you know what all the codes stand for... I can lay out my Thanksgiving survival plan and I can also be brief when describing my "stay under 130 for a year".

 Thanksgiving survival plan:
Fly to another country and skip it.

Ok, that isn't really my plan.

But I do plan on approaching next week like any other week...

After all, Thanksgiving Day is basically one big Thass inducing meal and navigating my way through one big meal successfully should be easier than living in the same house with a batch of brownies for four days...right?
OR- I could completely clean up ALL of my eating for six days prior to Thanksgiving; as well as , workout daily with Muscle work and Cardio - then eat like a little fat piglet on Thanksgiving.
Either way would be fine because it's all about the big picture, I've decided.

ONE "wrong" meal has never ruined any one's metabolism or caused them to gain significant amounts of weight.


My plan for success is going to be a week by week and a day by day "budgeting" of calories in, calories out. Planning ahead and anticipating when I will be able to get workouts in and when I won't - and giving some thought to when I can relax the eating rules a bit and when I will have to clean it up.

This is no revelation - obviously - but it is interesting how effective the concept has already been for my since completing BC.

The first week off BC I was sort of wandering around wondering what to do next? How do I maintain?
Since I did not have a goal - I was just immediately going back to old habits. Which, consequently, weren't really bad habits in the first place.
But they were habits that would insure that I would easily maintain my PRE-boot camp weight, and not my post boot camp weight.
I know this - because I had already proven it PRE boot camp... and I clearly wanted a better body or I would not have done BC in the first place.

So, to think that going back to my old habits would maintain anything but my old body...well that would just make me kind of dumb.

And I want to be clear ... I know I've said it before ... but I was not fat in the first place.
I had an average workout plan, average (even if mostly healthy) eating habits, average discipline and ....you guessed it...an average body.

But I held myself to ABOVE AVERAGE expectations for my body.

THAT, my friends, is a recipe for low self esteem, frustration and heartache - and probably a Thass if you're over forty.

SO... I had to finally make a decision. I could except my average body- and there would be nothing wrong with that, IF I coud be happy about it... OR I could employ ABOVE average habits and , with any luck, an above average health and fitness level. (read: kind of be a hotty)

I choose plan B.

The second week after BC - the week I began "choosing plan B" and looking at things differently - it all fell into place.

I had a plan. I had a goal.
all my anxiety went away ...and so did the few pounds that I put on after boot camp.

It is simply this...
If I look at each month, break it down into four weeks and then look at one week at a time....
there is no reason in the world I cannot plan when and how to get my workouts in and when I KNOW I will really want to enjoy a little more fun in the way of eating and drinking.

How is this helping me?   It gives me the motivation to NOT snack at night on a Tuesday just because I'm bored, if I know that on Friday I will want to go have a few cocktails, am planning a dinner party, will want popcorn at the movies - or am making BROWNIES for my girls...well then Tuesday better be clean.

Knowing I will be traveling on a weekend and may not be able to workout motivates me to not "talk myself out of my workout" on Wednesday just because it's cloudy and rainy and I'm feeling lazy and want to stay in the bed for a little longer.

When you know there will be a time during the week or weekend that it will NOT be possible for a workout or will be extremely difficult to follow a sensible eating plan (i.e. Thanksgiving) -  then use that to motivate yourself to get up off your boo-tay on the times that it IS possible to get it done...but you just don't feel like it.
All optional times should be taken advantage of...because not optional times will pop up unexpectedly too.

If I have looked ahead and at least have an IDEA what my week looks like...and the next week...and the next...then my month starts to take shape, so does my year...year starts to take shape...and so does my REAR. Just sayin'...

I have determined that the only way (for me) to stay at an all time new low weight (under 130) over a long period of time, and really own this new weight and metabolism - is to really own the above- average discipline that goes with it.

I cannot white knuckle it and have a life - I have to simply plan ahead and then execute.

Like my friend Joel says, and then I repeat as if it were my little nugget of wisdom...

PLAN THE WORK AND WORK THE PLAN.

So, next week is Thanksgiving. Hmmmm....
NEXT week is Thanksgiving... but I have already been planning for it... the run down goes something like this:

I will work out tomorrow - AFTER the football game, and TRUST me... I will not want to, because I am a morning person. But I am taking the girls (sadly) to the airport and then to the game and I could EASILY take tomorrow off... BUT I know that next week will be a short week to get all of my cardio and muscle work due to traveling for the holiday - so Sunday afternoon - I will get in a workout.

I am also very confident I will  get in a workout tomorrow because I managed to "get in a brownie" yesterday... and one today too!

Last week I followed mostly boot camp recipes , and did not allow ANY night time snacking and completed PDS I and 60 minutes of cardio each day. In hopes that it would set me up to take today off and enjoy clean eating at almost all meals...with a little pizza and and two brownies thrown into the mix.

and so far...no weight change!!! That made me feel really excited - because I was nervous to get on the scale this morning...but now I am feeling more confident everyday that with fore thought and balance- this is something that can be done!!!

I will see some weight gain  tomorrow, but shouldn't be a problem (and by "problem" I mean - I won't get to or go over 130)  and will be back down Monday.

I will however have to watch out for tomorrow - eating at the game, a big Sunday breakfast, etc.
I know myself well enough to know what constitutes a back slide.
If I eat poorly tomorrow - then I could have a "problem" come Monday...because of too much extra yum and not enough cardio.

I am slightly nervous about experimenting with how much extra yum I can have and not threaten my weight ceiling... but so far, so good.

The main thing I will have to watch out for is SODIUM. You see, I can hold some water, people.

Seriously, the  Army Corp of Engineers recently contacted me to discuss plans for a new major dam to be built... they would ultimately like to have it retain as much water as I do after a salty snack on a long flight.
 They are not sure they can match it.

I honestly feel like sooner than later I will be able to tell EXACTLY what I can do and cannot do to maintain. That is kind of exciting to me!!!

If you have ever driven a large boat before ...well, this is a lot like driving a large boat.

No, not because my arse is still the size of a barge...because it isn't anymore... but because if you need to turn or stop a large boat - you had better plan ahead - they need a little time to have the adjustments show up in the course they are on.

In other words...if you are over eating on Sunday night after a three day bender...or are driving a yacht towards a dock too fast - you had better slow down ahead of time or it will be too late...and you will not be happy when you hit Monday ... or the dock.

This is the captain of the U.S.S. Thass, signing off for tonight!

I adore you all!!

I mean...don't get me wrong... I adore you but there's not a one of you I wouldn't trade for a brownie that had no calories.
We have to keep our priorities in order. Don't judge me.

:)

staying under 130...
for over 365...

xoxxo La