My Italian/Philipino grandparents raised me and our meals always included rice, bread and/or pasta regardless of what the rest of the meal consisted of. Yes, we often had lasagna, with rice and pork or pot roast, with potatoes, rice & bread ...you get the picture.
Fitness and exercise were rarely talked about so it was fortunate that we were very active and played outside from sun up to sun down (or until the street lights came on).
The love of being physical carried me through my teen years and though I still struggled with my weight and was "softer" than most teens my age (related to excess carbs which I "now" know), I was able to maintain myself in pretty good shape and wore a Juniors size 8/10.
At age 21, I gave birth to my son Timothy. This is when all heck seemed to break loose. I initially took off all my pregnancy weight, but over the next year and a half I gained it ALL back ...plus some! I blame it on a lot of things but mostly a bad relationship and some mild depression. But, by age 23, I lost 180 lbs when I got rid of him (lol) and I began rebuilding my life and my body, starting at a size 16 and pushing an 18.
I struggled through the next 10 years as I was a single parent, working full-time, going to night school and beginning to take care of my aging grandparents. My weight went up and down constantly. I gave up sugar and complex carbs, took Aerobic classes, walked 3 miles a day, lifted weights and tried to work activity into my life any way I could. I even became fit enough to teach step aerobics and started taking classes toward becoming a personal trainer. I made some progress, getting down to and maintaining a tight size12 but results were slow and I built up a lot of bulk, which at 5'3" left me looking, well..."bulky" not my look of choice. It seemed as if when I let up for a few days, I would gain weight instantly. Because I was not able to make any more progress and reach a goal that I now know is unrealistic, I gave up on my dream of being a fitness professional. I had a bad case of the "all or nothing" mentality. Fitness did remain a passion and I read everything I could get my hands on. Unfortunately, most of the stuff coming out was geared toward men or serious body builders. I felt there was a missing link.
Finally, I arrive to the year 2000 when luck came my way and I was introduced to T-Tapp! Hooray for me! What instantly grabbed me was the way Teresa "spoke" to me. She didn't underestimate my intelligence and she shared the how's and why's and more. She helped me begin to understand why I had not been successful in the past. Teresa taught me about body types and how to make the best of the one I have. She made it so easy to celebrate and accept myself and my differences. I poured over the website (as a lurker) almost daily. I was amazed at the wealth of information Theresa, the T-Tapp trainers and the other amazing folks on the site had to share. It felt so right. I ordered the beginners program and began tapping. I attended a workshop in New Hampshire with Lanette and added CardioStrides and HTF to my T-Tapp Routine. I knew I had been successful, when one day I received the ultimate compliment from a friend who said, "You have one hell of a body". Wow, I had not heard that in a long time! I'm not sure how long it took me to reach this point due to the fact I still had a bad self image and really did not see or accept my success, as my weight had only reduced by 4 or 5 lbs, and I had "only" lost one clothing size and was now wearing a 10. If I had to guess I would say it took me 1 year to get this result because of my body type, which is a combo/short torso. Plus, I am a slow loser.
Life dealt me a few ups and downs and I let it get the best of me. T-Tapp remained an important part of my life. I never stopped visiting the site and started participating on the forums. Occasionally I would get my butt in gear and join a challenge, but somehow I never seemed to finish. The weird thing is even through all my inconsistencies I have been able to build muscle density. I know this to be true, because I am currently back in a size 14 (some 12's) but my weight is closer to when I was reaching towards the size 18!
I reached a huge mile stone mentally by truly accepting that the number on the scale is just a number and inch loss means so much more!
At 42 years young I am finally ready to embrace T-Tapp, who has always waited patiently for me with open arms. I joined the 60 Day Challenge and in the first 30 days I have lost 3.25 inches; pretty darn good for a slow loser! These inches disappeared off my trouble spots: waist, arms and abs! I feel fantastic, physically & emotionally. The icing on the cake is the wonderful friendships I am forging with a group of amazing people on the forum, whether they are doing the official challenge, a challenge of their own, or just cheering us on through good days and bad.
My desire to reach out and help other woman through fitness and nutrition has been rekindled. I can not thank Teresa enough for being so open and honest with the real women (and men) of the world. I’m hoping someday you will all see "T-Tapp Trainer in Training" under my name!
Sincerely,
Natasha Jaron
