3rd Place
Less to Lose Category

Karen G.

Since I started T-Tapping only about a month before the contest began, most of my T-Tapping career has been involved in the challenge. I began with the expectation that I would not see much change, and I am surprised at what has happened—especially because, before last year, I was never one to workout.

Sometime near the end of last year, I decided I needed to build some muscle tone. Having a sedentary corporate office job for over three years causes a bit of flabbiness, as just about everyone knows. My exercise “regime” to that point basically consisted of a daily walk, which I did for years. That just was not doing enough for me, though. So I started doing some simple things like pushups and crunches in an effort to gain some muscle. I have not been interested in losing weight (or size); I was already about a 4/6. My goal was purely in the area of strength.

Around the beginning of March, I came across a post in one of my Yahoo! Groups in which a member mentioned having lost 100 inches doing T-Tapp. I looked up the website and was intrigued by what I found. I read success stories and articles and started doing the exercises on the “Try Before You Buy” section. I was quite pleased with how I felt doing just those. I registered for the forums and soaked up all the information I could.

I wanted to purchase a workout, but I was unable to. I had left my corporate job in the fall and taken the plunge to start my own sewing business, so finances were very tight. The business had not become profitable yet, although it was staying afloat. One of the trainers became somewhat aware of my situation because of something I said on the boards, and she sent me a used VHS of the Basic Workout Plus. Before the quality of the tape became bad through constant use, I memorized the workout and have done it five days a week, for the most part. I had determined to keep on with the free exercises on the website, but I was thrilled to actually have a “real” workout. I have never seen an instructional and I know my form would probably be better if I had, but I am glad to have what I do.

When the 60-Day Challenge came along, I decided, almost on a whim, to enter it. The Basic Workout Plus was the only workout I had, but I enrolled in the Less to Lose category because I wanted to be able to add some of the other moves from the website if I felt like it. That is what I have done for the past 60 days, along with continuing my daily walks. The consistency has been wonderful, and I miss working out if I skip more than a day or two.

At the beginning of the contest, I did not expect to see many changes, if any. I was already wearing size 2/4 by that point, and I did not see how I could lose any more inches. As it turns out, I DID lose inches (more than I ever would have thought), but I gained so much more. For one thing, I gained muscle tone, which has been my major fitness goal. The measurements on my upper arms were the only ones that went up, and I am quite pleased that they did. My arms are much shapelier now.

I also have more energy and better digestion. My shoulders, which have been tight for years (a combination of practicing the piano for hours a day in college and stress), are looser than they have been since I was a teenager. Additionally, I think I have grown taller, although I am not certain, since I have not had anyone measure my height in a while.

Although my story and my results are not spectacular, I would like to win the contest as an additional “proof” to myself that I really can and do have a strong, well-made body. Going to the Retreat would be wonderful, of course, and winning would be the only way I could actually work with a trainer (finances are still constricted), but I will keep T-Tapping the best I can without it. I love how I feel, and I think I might look pretty good, too. It is always nice to have someone else confirm it, though. Whether or not I win, I am glad to have participated in the 60-Day Challenge, and I am extremely grateful to be able to T-Tapp!!