Category Winner
Average to Lose with Health Improvements* Category

Joy W.

* These are the health issues I am having right now that I hope to see improvement on.

1.Chronic insomnia (I have been on Ambien for months now, and really want to get off the stuff. At this point I can count on one hand the number of nights I've gone to sleep in the past 3 months without taking a sleeping pill.)

2. Menstrual irregularities – I average anywhere from 25-50 day cycles, with wicked bloating and PMS. I'd dearly love to even that out. I don't care if they're all 50 days, if they would just stay there. The 2 parts of the PMS that are most annoying are the moodswings and the heartburn, of all things.

3. Hypothyroidism – with a super sensitive thyroid to boot. I'm right now taking 90mg of armour thyroid per day, and I'd love it if my body would cooperate so I can reduce the dosage. When I was pregnant, my thyroid levels normalled out for the first time in 5 years, but since about 6 months post partum (my son is 3), they've been pretty out of whack. The littlest things throw them out, too (like I have to make sure to take my alfalfa at least an hour away from the thyroid meds or it seems to shift my absorption, likely from the minerals in alfalfa – thyroid meds and calcium don't get along well).

4. Skeletal alignment issues – I see my chiropractor weekly to keep my pelvis untwisted and my neck unkinked. The twisted pelvis leads to sciatica and knee pain and the neck kinks lead to horrid headaches.

5. Carpel Tunnel in both hands. I'd love to see this ease up.

6. I have a partial tear in my right rotator cuff which makes upper body movements challenging. I'd love to get to the point where I can do Plies and/or the arm series without being in measurable pain hours/days later from it.

ESSAY

I've known since about a week after I first started Tapping in early 2007 that this program works very well for my combo type body. My problem is and has always been consistency. In the past, I've given it my all for a few weeks, and then let it fall by the wayside when life got in the way. This time, I was determined to stay on target even though I was coming out of a really rough 6 months in my life. I made a promise to myself that I'd get out of bed at 5am every weekday and workout. I signed up for Tight Club to have the additional help and accountability of a trainer. Ironically, the very same day the challenge began, my son's preschool teacher suggested we should have him evaluated for developmental delays / autism spectrum issues, and my world came crashing down. I almost withdrew from the challenge. I am so proud of myself for not letting the extreme stress I've been under while we are searching for answers to help DS stop me from my workouts.

During the challenge I have dropped a phenomenal 29.75 inches. My clothes are fitting again. I don't see fat rolls down my back anymore in my size medium blouses. I can't believe the change in my glutes (they're shrinking!) and my bust (its lifting!) in the before and after pictures. My abs, which are still my problem area are noticeably less jiggly and the bra pudge is almost gone. I wish that I had taken a close up before photo of the stretch marks on my inner thighs. When I started the challenge – and with it the daily brushing and skin supplementing routine – they were angry and purple, and raised. Now, they're pale pink and smooth.

During the challenge, I have seen health improvements in almost every category I had hoped. I've gone from taking a full Ambien 7 nights a week, to taking ½ an Ambien 1-2 nights a week for stress related insomnia. I've gone from very long and irregular menstrual cycles (up to 50 days) with vicious PMS to now 3 cycles in a row at 28-30 days with what I would call mild to moderate PMS (no more random hysterics). I've gone from visiting the chiropractor for spinal alignment issues weekly to visiting him monthly. I have a partial tear in my rotator cuff, and I've gone from being able to do about 30% of the arm/shoulder moves in Total Workout and still having pain the next day to being able to do 100% of those arm/shoulder moves with no pain the next day. I have gone from aching wrists and swollen hands daily at the end of my work day (carpal tunnel) to no pain or swelling at the end of the day.

For over a decade, I've identified as a Wife and more recently as a Mother. Doing the challenge, through a time where the universe seemed so intent on distracting me, has been a tremendous lesson in the importance of taking care of myself. Even though my inclination has been to self medicate with a bowl of ice cream and good book – I've done my workouts, I've taken my supplements, and I've seen amazing results – and I've learned to find my own identity again.

I would love to be selected to win the Retreat – it would be an amazing experience. In truth, though, I've already won – my health has improved, my ridiculously high stress level has been balanced with exercise, and my body is shrinking. Thank you Teresa, for creating this workout and
sponsoring this challenge.