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That afternoon, we enjoyed a wine tasting seminar and snacked on cheeses, olive oil rosemary potato chips, crackers, amberjack fish spread, sausage, even chocolate! Teresa constantly reminded us during the weekend that we should never deprive or starve ourselves. Her mantra is "that we can learn to cheat and get away with it! She reminds us to "just think balance with all foods in moderation. Don't "diet", just think about what you are eating."
Later than evening, the aromatherapy seminar was very interesting and enlightening. We learned a great deal about essential oils from Louise of Great American Natural Products, Inc. Louise has extensive knowledge on all kinds of essential oils, giving us a thorough review of the benefits of each. She recommended the book, "The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy", by Valerie Ann Worwood.
A few tidbits we learned about essential oils during the seminar include the following:
Lavender is very good to apply directly to the skin for burns and abrasions to the skin, as well as an effective sleep aid. Louise suggested putting a drop or two directly on your pillow before bedtime.
Grapefruit is very good as a diuretic and stimulates the lymphatic systems. She suggested putting a drop directly in 32 oz. of water to drink first thing in the morning.
Here are some blends that Louise recommended for various conditions (Pick 2-5 oils for each blend)
Burnout/Stress: Basil, Geranium, Rosemary, Sage, Savory, Pine.
Weight Loss: Grapefruit, Lime, Orange, Fennel, Mandarin Orange, Lemon, Birch
For Scars: Lavender, Rose, Neroli, Frankincense
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Day 3 Saturday, March 11, 2000
The Saturday morning workout was KILLER! At the end of the retreat, everyone agreed that this one was indeed the toughest of the entire weekend. Teresa's teaching style is very unique. She constantly gave us helpful tips and reminders on form, and even cracked jokes with us! I think I would find music distracting during her workouts, as there are many form points and body positions to think about.
She shares an important T-Tapp form principle that she calls "knee to little toe." She explains this is a bent knee aimed outward towards the little toe that "causes an isometric contraction on the lower body muscles (which include hamstrings, quadriceps, gluteals, and transverse abdominus"). Teresa uses this principle throughout her workouts and emphasizes its importance for successful inch loss. Teresa was always available after classes for questions and just to chat! Many of the ladies took times to enjoy more spa treatments on Saturday. I rented a bike for a couple of hours and went biking on the nearby Pinellas Trail. We then gathered for our second workout at 3:30 p.m. I gained valuable information from Teresa about extending to a locked position in all the movements (especially elbow and knee joints). Teresa explains that "weight trainers are taught not to lock out their joints." However, her technique requires us to extend and lock the joint on each rep. She stated that "this will give the muscles a lean and long appearance, with greater flexibility." I noticed the difference in my flexibility quickly when I started to fully extend my movements.
Teresa also pointed out that "the T-Tapp program works very well with any other type of exercise (such as TaeBo, Firm, other strength training tapes, etc.) to make them more effective and enhance results for women." She states that T-Tapp reverses the bulkiness that can come from other programs and gives long, lean and cut muscles.
That evening, we enjoyed a lecture given by Teresa about nutrition as well as her T-Tapp program. Teresa focuses on body types, as well as blood types, to customize her program for the best results. Teresa recommends the book, "Eat Right for your Blood Type", but she adds more.
Teresa explains that "T-Tapp's unique method of utilizing a persons' blood type, anatomical structure and genetic/ethnic heritage (i.e. "personal profile") makes it easier to win the weight loss war." She also explains that she "doesn't do menus; instead I try to get people to think about what they are eating and why. Our bodies were created to digest and assimilate a balance of nutrients. We need vitamins, minerals, protein, amino acids, enzymes, carbohydrates, and fat. And we need them from food, not just supplements. Vegetables are very important to the body for a multitude of reasons. Primarily, they are complex carbs, which give us energy. The blood types have great processing ability to pull out the nutrients from vegetables. If you are an A or AB and ate correctly, you could do without supplements. Botanical supplements are the best for A and AB blood types (this is why the premium blend alfalfa is so good for you). So if you are an A or AB, it is a must to consume 2 colors of veggies per day in order for your body to function properly and make weight loss/maintenance feasible (i.e. broccoli and red bell peppers, carrots or tomatoes). O and B types need the 2 colors of veggies as well, but they cannot fully assimilate all of their nutrients. Therefore, O and B blood types need to supplement. However, they need protein and do well with animal protein (O needs red meat and B needs chicken). A and AB blood types do not need any animal protein, but need vegetable sources of protein (i.e. tofu, garbanzo beans, legumes, alfalfa, etc.)"
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