Bloggers We Love: 30 Day Challenge (AKA: A Journey to Lose the Thass)

New year, new resolutions! Raise your hand if your New Year’s Resolutions included getting fit, losing weight or obtaining a healthier lifestyle…and that’s probably just about everyone. Well, we have just the person to help inspire you along your journey with this blogger we love: Laura Stroud. Laura took on the intense Tracy Anderson Method and kicked its butt recently as she lost 15 pounds, over 10% body fat and 20 inches and totally changed her body.

Laura shared every gritty detail in her “30 Day Challenge (AKA: A Journey to Lose the Thass)” blog as her followers read her brutally honest, yet laugh-out-loud accounts of her battle to kick her Thass to the curb. What exactly is a Thass? Laura explains, “One day, I was just so upset. My ass is sliding down the back of my leg and joining my thigh. It’s not even an ass anymore. It’s a hybrid. It’s a Thass. People always laugh about [that term]. It’s kind of like a cankle. It’s a version of that.” 

The first-time writer didn’t necessarily start off wanting to take on a rigorous diet and exercise program, she was looking for a challenge in her life.  Laura shares, “I just felt like I needed to challenge myself to do something I felt like I couldn’t do, but then do it. Every time I turned around I saw [Tracy Anderson’s] name. It was like signs.” 

The 30-day program was developed by fitness guru Tracy Anderson, the woman behind the hot bodies of Gwyneth Paltrow, Courtney Cox and Shakira. Laura says, “I started reading about it and it just spoke to me. I was like ‘This is it’ because it was so intense that it was more than a physical challenge to me. It was gonna provide me with a mental challenge and certainly an emotional challenge and it sort of fit the bill.”

As she progressed through the program, Laura was surprised to find out that 55 thousand people had been reading about her journey including one Tracy Anderson. She reveals, “I got a comment back from posting my blog on the Tracy Anderson Method page from her assistant. She said ‘Hey, I’m with Tracy right now, and she’s freaking out about your blog. It sounds like you are doing it exactly right and your results are looking great. Let us know if we can offer you any support.’ I was literally screaming in the house. It was like Publisher’s Clearinghouse had come to my door and gave me one of those giant checks. I was so excited!”

Although her 30 days are up, Laura is continuing her highly entertaining, yet brutally honest blog as she battles to maintain her amazing results (check out her superhero body in Laura’s “after” photo on the right) from completing the Tracy Anderson Method. She explains, “I’ve been released into the wild. I’m going to have to navigate my way through. It’s not a lifestyle. I’ve got a lot to talk about still.”

You can check out Laura’s blog “30 Day Challenge (AKA: A Journey to Lose the Thass)” here and grab a little inspiration for yourself. We promise that you won’t regret it! You might even find yourself checking back daily for updates. Here’s to you, Laura, and keeping 2011 Thass-free!

Images courtesy of Laura Stroud

Nikita Palmer (@CitadelNow) for Citadel Digital © 2011

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