Category Winner
Men's Category

Sean C.

Ok this is a long story but I hope you will sit back and enjoy. I’m 27 years old and developed diabetes when I was 4 years old. I have always been warned that a lot of diabetic complications usually start arising when the sugar levels become unbalanced so it has always been a mission for me to stay fit and healthy keeping them balanced and stable.

Most times exercise would usually result in my sugars dropping extremely fast (and not always immediately at the time of exercising) and so I am always cautious when it comes to exercise, but I didn’t like the idea of having a sugary snack or energy drink before exercise (which was usually the recommendation) so it was very hit and miss when it came to exercise for me in my youth. I was always tall and naturally quite thin as a result of being active, playing sports. I tackled diabetes by eating as healthily as I could and trying to do moderate exercise and maintain sugar balance (not an easy task for anyone let alone a diabetic).

Around 25, still eating as healthily as I could, I began to notice weight was beginning to emerge in places on my body all over. I had always been relatively skinny and healthy up to that point, but something obviously was out of balance. I checked with my doctor to rule out any medical problems. He told me to check my bloods (which I was doing and they were balanced) and that it was probably just an age thing.

An “age thing” – at 25, it sounded like I was being written off. I immediately hit the gym and began working out with weights, in the hope to get back to my former glory. The big upset came for me when one day I went to put on my jeans (usual waist size 32”) didn’t fit me. That really hit home and upset me a great deal, so I did what we see what works for everyone else right – I hit the gym and began doing crunches and sit ups etc to lose that flab around my torso. I did this for about a year and saw very little changes happening. Yes the number of reps I did increased, but the results didn’t show. I even invested in one of those ab belts (that have electronic devices attached to it) that help your abs contract when you’re doing crunches but got no results. I was getting more and more depressed as I was putting in more and more work and getting little if any result. My waist was still expanding as well. I hit the 34” waist mark and that to me was the final straw. Something had to be done and I immediately went in search of what felt like was the “Holy Grail” unsure whether it existed or how I was going to get back to my original waist size but determined and stubborn enough to check under every rock and leave no stone unturned.

Someone mentioned T-Tapp to me as it had inch loss done in a way that worked with the body and your own body type. I was very sceptical at the start…. but liked the idea of working with my body rather than against it and was intrigued. I read up the website, and noticed that Teresa developed it and had knowledge of women’s bodies. Uh oh –typical I find an expert and the system that sounds perfect for me works for the opposite sex. I checked out the forum and rang the office to see if there was a workout for men in existence or whether I could perhaps do that workout and get the same results as I was so desperate. A huge weight dropped off my shoulders when the operator told me that it worked for everyone. I ordered the complete workout (with Instructionals 1 and 2 and the CRT Skin Brushing System).

When it arrived, I was so excited I felt my body was going to explode. I sat down and read through all the leaflets and literature and then looked at the skin brushing system first. I demoed it and followed along at the same time, and brushed away while Teresa did and straight away, my skin felt tingly (hey it increased the circulation) but also the pale whiteness of my natural skin become a lot rosier. In places where I would usually think I need to get fake tan, suddenly become healthier looking and it felt wonderful (although I do even to this day laugh when I have to do my arm pit area as it is very ticklish).

I put Instructional 1 in the DVD player and pressed play. I watched it through first. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to have to do anything that was beyond my limits (I for one was not flexible at that time and so DVD’s of Pilates where the teachers show exercises which look like they are combing their hair with their toes was just not possible for me – however much I wanted to be able to do it). When the first Instructional was over, I was a little perplexed. It looked very easy and I didn’t see anything too challenging on there and began to have doubts. Maybe this wasn’t going to get me to my destination after all. I had better give it a try though and see what it can do. I did it alongside the DVD. I got half way through the DVD and had to sit down, pausing the DVD. What the hell was this? Those easy little movements had exhausted me physically already. That was the eye opener that I had needed. I was dripping in sweat wondering what kind of torture expert Teresa was at that point but knowing that my body had found something that was making it work better than it had worked before. That was the beginning and I am pleased to say I worked with the DVD’s both instructional 1 and 2 gradually up to the point of being able to do the full workout. I wasn’t fully sure about which body type I was, but now know I am a combo and of course that was what played a role in the way my body had developed and changed before T-Tapping and I love the fact that T-Tapp works with the individuals body to achieve goals of inch loss but also a healthy body!

That was in 2007 and I kept the workout up. I then did an online course with Michelle Barbuto which was a fantastic eye opener. Being a Londoner, we don’t yet have a T-Tapp trainer over here….. but I wanted to take my workout to the next level and get even closer to my original goal. After the course, I was at 33.5” waist. I was getting there…. albeit slowly but surely. Then disaster struck and I caught the flu bug and it put me out for a couple of weeks. It really wiped out my system and I was unable to work out while I was recovering and my sugars became unstable because of the illness and the amount of food I was eating. Then I recovered. I had put weight on in some places as a result of not being able to exercise but boy oh boy was I determined to get to my goal. I applied after encouragement from Michelle. I eased back into T-Tapping and am pleased to report that on the first day of the challenge my waist was at 32.5”. Yep I was almost there already, but I had confidence now in my ability to T-Tapp and the work itself.

I recognized that I needed to work hard to really do the competition, myself and other T-Tappers out there justice and so I really committed to eating as much and many different kinds of God-Made food as I could. Not only did this have a beneficial effect on my sugars and therefore insulin levels, but over time, my insulin is half of what it used to be simply because my body is working much more effectively and sufficiently and has the right kind of foods to use for its progress. Not only that but I was taking the alfalfa and brushing twice daily. I also did Hoe Downs after every major meal, and there were days when I had the odd treat like a pizza for lunch – but when that did happen I made double sure I was going to get some raw salad alongside it and would eat that first and then the pizza. Actually I have to say I feel like I am eating more food than ever but my body isn’t over challenged with this and isn’t putting on the weight as a result. Doing the workouts was tough at times, as my job got really busy a couple of times and I didn’t get in till after 11pm, but I had committed to working out so that’s exactly what I did and although I was groaning before doing the workout, as soon as I had done it I felt refreshed and vibrant.

It’s been gruelling, as I incorporated several of the T-Tapp programs into my challenge (particularly Hit the Floor, Tempo Lower Body and Tempo Arms) but today I feel like a different man entirely. My arms, shoulders and body all over is much more defined, and my movement and posture has improved immensely. Now I walk and sit tall, and my movements feel a lot more fluid and flowing than ever. Every time I work out with T-Tapp I feel healthy changes taking place, I feel new areas of my body that I am able to contract and I feel better and better. My whole body alignment and neuro-kinetics have surely improved as a result of the workout and that in itself is priceless.

I had to laugh as well in May, I got my height checked and I had grown half an inch. Yep that’s right I am taller now than before entering the contest. I was 6.3” originally but now coming out as 6.3½”. So I have actually grown taller as a result of T-Tapping.

A huge big thank you to Teresa for creating such a wonderful program and to my fellow and T-Tappers out there. The support of the forum is a real benefit to me… as I am not near a class, the forum is such a great tool for learning even more on T-Tapp and often the questions I have in my mind are there already when I log on with the answers from the trainers. I gave my challenge my all and am thrilled with my results. T-Tapp will be a consistent part of my life.

Oh and before I forget, my waist measurement is 30” waist!