Tracy Anderson’s 30-Day Method: The Weight-Loss Kick-Start that Makes Perfection Possible
So I thought about this long and hard all day today because I hate to quit anything. I’m a survivor, seriously I use to dream about being on Survivor, not sure what I was thinking. Anyway I’ve decided that yesterday was my last day following the 30-Day Method. I know you were waiting to see what my results were so let me first tell you this.
I did indeed lost 3 lbs between Monday morning and Wednesday morning. I weighed 158.5 on Monday, 156.5 on Tuesday and 155.5 on Wednesday. The exercise and switch up of food really shocked my system so the pounds melted away. So you may ask then why are you stopping. As fellow mommies and busy women I hope you will respect and understand my reasons.
1. It is too time consuming for me. I would spend an hour a night cooking up my meals for the next day. Since I work I had no choice but to prepare them a head of time. With boys in soccer and baseball three nights a week and games all day Saturday this was a big chunk of time that was spent above and beyond the normal making of dinner for the family.
2. I really did not enjoy the food. This is just a personal preference. I am not a health food nut by any means and when I say health food nut, that to me is someone that is really into organic and healthy food at all times. I just found that almost all the meals were not cooked in ways I enjoyed nor with food I found appetizing.
3. Because of this lack of interest in the food for the first time in the 5 months I have been losing weight I felt deprived and on a diet. I did not like the feeling at all and it made me crave things I don’t normally worry about. This was the one major habit I was able to break and I have no intentions of slipping back into it.
4. Because of everything above I was becoming very irritable as well as tired later in the day. I believe the change in how the meal plan balances protein, fats, and carbs versus the way I was doing so before got my body out of whack. Again not something I’m striving for.
5. I’ve decided to go back to what I was doing. I never intended to give this a try because I needed to, or because what I was doing wasn’t working. I did it because I thought to myself how awesome it would be to show my readers what a normal women like myself thinks of a new diet/exercise plan. Though I admit the three pounds was great and I hope they stay off, but I would rather lose less each week and feel more fulfilled when I eat, and not feel like I’m depriving myself.
All that said I want to now give you a review of the method in Tracy Anderson’s book. Again this is my own opinion and I am in no way certified as a professional to give advice. My opinion may not be that of others, there are women that probably love the food, this is simply my own opinion. If you have tired it I would love to hear your own opinion as well.
I feel that the plan is too time consuming for the average mom. There is a lot of preparation needed for the meal plan, from having to go to both your grocery and health food store, to not doubling up meals. Meaning cook one meal and eat it for dinner and lunch the next day.
I also feel that anyone who is not already eating semi healthy would have a hard time picking up this book and beginning the plan. The food does not satisfy your hunger in order to keep your blood sugar level and your body from cravings. The few times I did eat off the plan was out of simple hunger more then anything else.
My unprofessional opinion from my own experience is that the diet plan does not incorporate enough protein. I am a firm believer in being heavier on the protein in meals with your carbs and fat as supplements. I do not push a low carb diet I’ve done that before and I didn’t stick to it afterwards. My idea of an ideal diet is one that you can stick with, one that doesn’t make you feel like you are dieting, one with good lean protein, healthy unsaturated fats, plenty of vitamin enriched veggies, and whole wheat and whole grain pasta, bread, and crackers.
The exercise plan will work just fine for anyone. There is nothing risky about it, it is quite fun but definitely gets your heart pumping. The cardio dance is a great workout however if you are purchasing the book for the exercise only my suggestions is to purchase one of her instructional DVD’s instead.
I’m sorry for the short lived commitment I made for a week but you know you commit to something only to find later it wasn’t really the best idea? I’ve decided that my own well being and mental state regarding my continued weight loss did not need this added diversion. So today I go back to my normal way of healthy eating.
One good thing that has come out of this is I’ve begun exercising again and I’m really going to try to keep it up. I miss the feeling I get when I exercise, the energy I have and how great my body feels. I have to whip it into shape in the next week I have a bathing suit review and giveaway coming up!
Thank you to all of those that have been following me on my progress.
Heather says
Don't feel bad for a second! honestly you just showed us real life…most "diets" don't work. they are too restrictive and not sustainable for long term!
What have you been doing for weight loss thus far. I have a LOT to lose.
BTW, I've given you a blog award!
http://www.familyfriendlyfrugality.com/2010/09/i-have-one-lovely-blog-someone-even.html
Dimple says
I want to commend you for your honesty with yourself. A diet plan is not something you must make a lifetime, or even a one month, commitment to. Congratulations on trying, and on dumping!
Erica K says
don't feel bad for quitting before the week was up. Like I told you on another post, I quit after one day. I felt shaky from lack of enough calories and it was way too time consuming. I'm proud you made it this far AND loosing 3 lbs!
Carol says
Good for you for recognizing that it wasn't for you and then breaking up with it! I find that any "diet" that doesn't incorporate easy to make, or off the shelf foods is just too much of a hassle. We have busy lives, and most of us don't have the time to prep separate meals for ourselves. I'm proud of you for doing what's right for you!
Chana says
This is why I love you! You are REAL. To the core. And because of your authentic self, readers like myself feel like we can relate to you and your life. Do not feel guilty at all! Everyone tries different things and this was just another step in your journey:)
I'm right here with you (just a few pounds behind-haha!) and I'll be a faithful reader and friend for life!
Milena says
This is why I've been scared to try this program. I am going to start on Monday and I'll keep you posted. Don't feel blue- this is a tough plan and it's not for everyone- great job.
sara says
Ya, diet/exercise is work enough. Make it too difficult and it's too hard to stick with, I hear ya! And besides, if it makes you irritable then who's benefiting from that! Thanks for sharing and good luck 🙂
Sara
http://www.8aplenty.blogspot.com
MKS says
Yep, you were right! I hadn't made it to this post yet! I'm glad you chose your health over sticking with something. This doesn't sound like a super-healthy program.
Have you tried the biggest loser cookbook or cooking light magazine? They have some pretty good recipies. 🙂
Suzann says
I am so glad that I came across your blog. I purchased the book earlier this week and began reading it yesterday. I was a little put off by the fact that she asks that you "only" do her workouts and then I watched the dvd included with the book. UGH. I could never get through an entire workout – it was boring. The quality was horrendous too. When I started reading about the food I was really not pleased either. Not many people are honest enough to say that they need real food with flavor, they lead real lives. Thank You for your honesty!
Cheryl says
Congrats for being honest and realizing it was not for you.
Diets are hard and most of the time don't work. I really love your blog.
Shaundra says
I like that you listed why this didn’t work for you. I always hear Tracy is the best of the best in Hollywood but you rarely hear about the potential ways her workouts & diet may not fit into your life (or anyone’s workout/diet plans). I like the 30-Day Shred that Jillian Michaels has. I only need to do 1 part a day and it works fast!