TAM Update – Week 14

Today I am on the Tracy Anderson Method Metamorphosis, level 9, day 3. Level 9 is the last level, which means that a week from tomorrow I will be done. Done! It has gone so fast, I can’t believe it!

Here are my stats for this week. I measured on Tuesday, and the only place I lost anything was a half inch off my hips. For some reason, though, I wasn’t disappointed! I can see such a huge difference that I don’t care what the tape measure says. Plus, I am down another 2 pounds. That means I am down 25 pounds since starting TAM, and, get ready for it, I am down 50 pounds from my heaviest weight about 9 months ago. FIFTY POUNDS!!! I need some fireworks here and some confetti cannons, I am so proud of me! This is right around the weight I was when Marquis and I got married and I never thought I would be here again!

Now let me tell you about Level 9. I’ve heard all the horror stories about Level 9 from the TAM forums, but then Level 8 came along and was a piece of cake. Well not really, I worked hard, but I was able to do all the reps on day one and I thoroughly enjoyed that level, and thought that maybe I was getting strong enough that it wouldn’t be so bad. 

Ha! Day 1 of Level 9 Tracy smiled a sweet, innocent smile, and then she jumped out of the TV and beat me up with a bat, especially in the thigh/butt area. I haven’t been sore since my first week of TAM, but the past few days I cry when I have to go up and down the stairs because my thighs are so sore. Ok, I don’t cry, but I’m tempted. 

This morning a song came on my Pandora exercise station as I was working out, I don’t remember which song, but it talked a lot about fire and burning. I think it was talking about love, but I was only thinking about the fire in my legs. And then Tracy made a comment about how she was trying to get to my outer thigh area, so it should really start to burn, and I just laughed out loud. Good timing! With all that said, even on day 3 I can tell that I’m getting stronger. Only 7 more days of Level 9, I can do it!

Now that I’ve talked too much about that, let’s talk about pictures. The main thing I’ve heard about these posts is that people want more pictures. Just for you today, here is the quintessential weight loss pic, the “look how gigantic my old pants are” pic.

It’s not as dramatic as I had hoped, but trust me, those pants are gigantic and would fall around my ankles if I tried to walk around in them. These are the pants I bought just one year ago and they were a little tight at the time. 

Just to give you a little insight into my brain (scary, thought?), here is what happens in my head every Thursday night when I remember that I will be doing my update post the next day. Yes, I really did take the time to make a diagram, just go with it. 

And here is where I need your help. I’m (obviously) not a model. Marquis and I each have our cell phone cameras and then one crappy one that was cheap even when we bought it 10 years ago, but nothing close to a good camera. Do you have any tips for me for these update pics? Poses to stand in? Ways to make my pics not quite so crappy despite crappy cameras? Better backgrounds than my bedroom doorway? If I had some extra money I’d grab my friend Amyand have her take some real ones, but alas, it’s just not in the budget (although she is amazing and very affordable!). 

I have a completely horrid pic picked out already for my before shot to share with you on my final Metamorphosis update, but what should I do to make the after pic amazing? Well, besides all the work I did losing the weight in the first place?