I fully accepted TDD at first, but now only implement certain principles that have helped me develop better software. I am not the type to implement needless code just for the sake of it. However, many times, unit testing have saved me from countless hours of debugging and introducing new bugs. I will admit, I am one of those developers that write code first, then unit test second. That's just my style, and it really does not matter if the end result is the same. More reliable, robust and less buggy software.
It takes a pragmatic developer to evaluate methodologies and patterns, utilizing the concepts that suites the job. Ultimately, mindless use of patterns and methodologies will not solve the problem.
I can't judge because I do the same, but I think part of the reason you're supposed to write the tests first is so that you aren't influenced by what you already wrote. Ie you test what's correct rather than testing the implementation.
It takes a pragmatic developer to evaluate methodologies and patterns, utilizing the concepts that suites the job. Ultimately, mindless use of patterns and methodologies will not solve the problem.