Category Archives: Nutrition

Chunky Dunkers!

Good evening!

Welcome to the Chunky Dunker’s Club! Chunky Dunker’s is an online get-fit/healthy support group that meets every Wednesday around 7PM Pacific Standard Time. The purpose of this group is to support and cheer each other on as we work our way towards our get fit and healthy goals, whether that is to lose 5 pounds, run a mile, or to cut caffiene from our diets – whatever your health and fitness goals are for you – we are here to support you. Every week I post a little something to help motivate you, or cheer you on, and we all get together in the comments section to chat.

This is not a closed group, so if you would like to join us, please feel free to do so, the more the merrier.

Anyway, this week’s topic is: Is there a correlation between clutter and weight?

I have been hearing a lot about how clutter may be directly related to your weight.

Hmmm…that could explain a lot!! LOL!

There is a message that says that there is a direct correlation between how much clutter you have in your life and how out of shape you are. I am a firm believer that your external is a true representation of your internal, so maybe that makes some sense. I think that if this is true, it is because without having to deal with a cluttery house/life you have more time/attention to plan and prepare your meals, you have more time to exercise. More order in our living environment makes us calmer inside our minds.

Could all of the  stuff  be like a protective security blanket in the same way that excess weight provides protection? It is enough to make a girl want to go take another load of miscellaneous stuff over to my local Goodwill! 😉

What are your thoughts on clutter and weight? I would LOVE to hear your thoughts!!

Have a FABULOUS evening! 😉

Chunky Dunkers!

Good evening!

Welcome back to the Chunky Dunker’s Club! We have been MIA for the past two weeks because of traveling, but I am happy to report that I am back!! Chunky Dunker’s is an online get-fit/healthy support group that meets every Wednesday around 7PM Pacific Standard Time. The purpose of this group is to support and cheer each other on as we work our way towards our get fit and healthy goals, whether that is to lose 5 pounds, run a mile, or to cut caffiene from our diets – whatever your health and fitness goals are for you – we are here to support you. Every week I post a little something to help motivate you, or cheer you on, and we all get together in the comments section to chat.

This is not a closed group, so if you would like to join us, please feel free to do so, the more the merrier.

Anyway, this week’s topic is: Knowing When to Stop Lying to Yourself

I have a very dear girlfriend who is a psych professor, and one of the things that she always says to me is that you always become what you need. So tonight’s topic is something that I need. I have been lying to myself thinking that I have been doing all of these healthy things, when in reality I have really been ignoring my health needs almost disgustingly. I haven’t exercised in weeks, I eat whatever I want whenever I want, and my sleeping habits have been really varied. All of this is leaving me fat,  feeling tired, achy, run down, and really not like myself at the moment.

So, now I have really got to stop lying to myself! I need to get my booty off of the couch and get out there and stop kidding myself. The choices I make today, are the results I am going to get tomorrow!!

I think it was Benjamin Franklin who said,

“If you don’t take the time to take care of your health now, you will have no choice but to take care of your sickness late.”

That is something I have been giving some serious thought to, so I am recommitting to doing little-by-little every day to get myself healthier!! I am worth it, my sweetie is worth it, and the rest of my family is worth it!

Here is to the future, AND TO THE HERE AND NOW!!

Have a FABULOUS evening! 😉

Chunky Dunker Night!

Good evening!

Welcome to another week evening of the Chunky Dunker’s Group!

Chunky Dunkers is a weekly weight loss/get fit support group that meet here online every Wednesday evening to get the opportunity to comment, and cheer each other as you each go through your journey to get fit and healthy!!! We will discuss hints, tips, and ideas on losing weight, staying motivated, and achieving your fitness goals, whether that is to lose 5 pounds, to do 10 sit-ups, or just incorporate some healthy habits into your daily life!!

As always, everyone and anyone is welcome to join us, so please feel free to chime in on our conversation in the comment section above, or you are welcome to quietly follow along, whichever you prefer. I look forward to hearing about all of your successes!

This week, I thought I would just take a moment to remind yourself to be gentle with yourself. I know that as I have been personally struggling with this issue of weight loss and getting fit, I let my inner critic really get me down, and I have a tendency to believe the negative things that she has to say while she is berating me for not measuring up, or not making the goal, or not doing as much as someone else, and I realize that when I listen to her, it tends to make me feel worse, and not better. Which in turn causes me to do less of what I know I ought to be doing. So tonight, instead of going through a list of things to do, or not to do, I am just going to leave with you thins:

Dear Self,
Be gentle with yourself, you are a complicated being, and sometimes being out of shape is more about what else is going on in your life and not only what you are doing or not doing. Take time to listen to your needs, pamper yourself, and reward yourself in non-food ways when you have made even the smallest baby-step in the right direction. You are sooo worth it!!
Love,
Your Self!!

Keep that in mind as you go through this week! We are all rooting for you!! 😉

Have a FABULOUS week! 😉

Chunky Dunker’s!

Good evening!

Welcome to another lovely evening of Chunky Dunker’s!

Chunky Dunkers is a weekly weight loss/get fit support group that meet here online every Wednesday evening to get the opportunity to comment, and cheer each other as you each go through your journey to get fit and healthy!!! We will discuss hints, tips, and ideas on losing weight, staying motivated, and achieving your fitness goals, whether that is to lose 5 pounds, to do 10 sit-ups, or just incorporate some healthy habits into your daily life!!

As always, everyone and anyone is welcome to join us, so please feel free to chime in on our conversation in the comment section above, or you are welcome to quietly follow along, whichever you prefer. I look forward to hearing about all of your successes!

This week, I thought I would share 10 swaps that will help make you get fit goals a little bit easier…

  1. Swap out your daily snack with a piece of your favorite fruit.  Save calories and guilt.
  2. Swap one of your daily side dishes for a veggie. Every little but helps.
  3. Swap your high carb breakfast with eggs. The protein with stick with you longer helping you feel full longer.
  4. Swap out pretzels and chips for some unsalted nuts. These are chock full of good-for-you-fats.
  5. Swap one meal each day with a huge salad, loaded with colorful veggies, lean protein, a handful of nuts and maybe some beans.
  6. Swap solid fats like butter or shortening, with olive or canola oil. Your heart will thank you for it!
  7. Swap red meat for more lean cuts of meat like chicken/turkey breast, and fish.
  8. Stop drinking your calories. Water is your friend.
  9. When you first wake up in the morning, spend at least 5 minutes doing some gentle stretches to wake up your body.
  10. Spend at least 1/2 an hour outside EVERY day. Fresh air, sunshine, and exercise will all help you feel more relaxed, and it will help you use up any extra calories you might be holding onto.

I hope that these 10 ideas help you, I know that I don’t always stick to these, but I think I will make a concerted effort to follow all 10 of these for the next 7 days. I will let you know how it goes!

Have a FABULOUS evening! 🙂

Chunky Dunker’s Night!

Good evening!

Chunky Dunkers is a weekly weight loss/get fit support group that meet here online every Wednesday evening to get the opportunity to comment, and cheer each other as you each go through your journey to get fit and healthy!!! We will discuss hints, tips, and ideas on losing weight, staying motivated, and achieving your fitness goals, whether that is to lose 5 pounds, to do 10 sit-ups, or just incorporate some healthy habits into your daily life!!

As always, everyone and anyone is welcome to join us, or you may feel free to just quietly follow along. I look forward to hearing about all of your successes!

This week I have had my proverbial ear to the railroad tracks all week looking for some creative hints, tips and ideas to help us in our weight loss/get fit journey this week, and I think I found 4 really JUICY ones, that I just couldn’t WAIT to share with you tonight!!!

  1. When you get to your first 5 pound loss, or even 10 pound for that matter, and you feel like you still have SOOOOO MUCH to lose, go purchase a 5 or a 10 pound bag of potatoes and carry them around in a backpack all day. You will realize, soon enough, what great progress you are making!! Those 5 pound increments really add up!!
  2. Too embarrased to work out in front of anyone else, or more like my current complaint “It’s too hot!” Try jogging in place! That counts toward burning those calories too! and if that is too much try marching in place, or just stand instead of sit to watch the tele!!
  3. I stumbled across someone’s idea of charting a destination on a map, and seeing if you could “walk” to that location in a certain time-frame. For example could I walk to, say..Portland, Oregon (45 miles) in a month, and start tracking your progress on a map. Once you get to your first destination, choose the next, and so forth. How long do you think it would take to walk across the US??
  4. and finally, my Sweetie did this tonight at dinner, take a chicken breast and slice it in half horizontally, so it looks like you are eating two small chicken breast instead of one cut in half ! TOTALLY FOOLED ME!! That man is a genius!!! 😉

Do you have any ideas you would like to share?? Please do so in the comment section above.

Now, before I join you in the comments section for our weekly get-together, I wanted to make sure that I share my 5 Gratitudes with you for the day!

  1. I am thankful to have a husband who is happy in his new job – that is so REFRESHING to come home to!! 😉
  2. I am thankful for Kelly Rae Robert’s online class, “Flying Lessons” – it is re-awakening my sense of hope!
  3. I am still so thankful for my girlfriends at work!! Seriously, they can make ANYTHING fun!!
  4. I am thankful for my daddy! I have been thinking about him a lot lately, and I have to confess just the thought of him makes me smile with giddyness!! I love you, Daddy!! 😉
  5. I am thankful that God is helping me find work/life balance! Life is waaaay  more fun when you aren’t swimming in the mire of trying to please the whole-wide-world!! 😉

Have a FABULOUS evening!! ;-)

Chunky Dunker Night!

Good evening!

I am the type of person that has always been on the lookout for signs. I am a firm believer that there are signs all over the place telling you what direction to go next, you just have to know how to spot them. Well, today, I have been noticing signs all over the place about not giving up on your goals. I really needed to hear that today! Today I recommit myself to focusing on my top 4 goals, one of which is getting fit and healthy, which is why I bring this up tonight – on Chunky Dunker night!

Chunky Dunker, for those of you who may not know is a weekly weight loss/get fit support group that meet here online every Wednesday evening to get the opportunity to comment, and cheer each other as you each go through your journey to get fit and healthy!!! We will discuss hints, tips, and ideas on losing weight, staying motivated, and achieving your fitness goals, whether that is to lose 5 pounds, to do 10 sit-ups, or just incorporate some healthy habits into your daily life!!

As always, everyone and anyone is welcome to join us, or you may feel free to just quietly follow along. I look forward to hearing about all of your successes!

As for my week, I have done alright – not as good as I did last week, but I have been nursing a slight knee injury that seems to have knocked me for a little bit of a loop. Not to worry, I am going to get back into the swing of things by hitting the pool a couple of more times this week, especially since the thermostat is rising, and ANY way to keep cool, is good enough reason for me!! I haven’t actually lost any more weight, but I am dropping inches; and besides occasionally burning my candle at both ends, so to speak, I am feeling pretty peppy!! 😉

Well, that is enough about me this evening! I can’t wait to hear how all of you are doing! I will meet you in the comments section!!

Have a FABULOUS evening!! 😉

Chunky Dunker’s Night!

Good evening!

Tonight is Chunky Dunker night, and I have been looking forward to this night all week!! I post a new Chunky Dunker’s post every Wednesday evening, and you will have the opportunity to comment, and cheer each other as you each go through your journey to get fit and healthy!!! We will discuss hints, tips, and ideas on losing weight, staying motivated, and achieving your fitness goals, whether that is to lose 5 pounds, to do 10 sit-ups, or just incorporate some healthy habits into your daily life!!

I am happy to report that I have been working out, eating MOSTLY healthy, drinking my water, and am working on getting my sleeping back in check again! I did hit a small patch of roughness today, when I had a pretty stressful day at work, so I had asked my sweetie to make me some comfort food this evening, but IT WAS SO WORTH IT!!! Yum! 😉

I am just plugging along on my posts, and I even have an idea on putting up some random tutorials on how to do all different kinds of things like beauty, fashion, gardening, decorating, and other miscellaneous hints to help you, and me, turn your house into a home! I would love to hear your thoughts on that, in the comments section above!!

Anyway, let’s get this show on the road, and I will see you in the comments section for Chunky Dunker’s night!!

Have a FABULOUS evening!! 😉

 

 

Thor, Groceries Lists, & Hanging with My Sweetie!

Good evening!

I am having such a GREAT Friday!! Work was good, but I am mostly referring to my evening hanging out with my sweetie! It is Friday, which means it is date night! Tonight Jason took me to Northern Lights for dinner and a movie, and tonight’s movie was Thor. I had really been hemming and hawing about going – it seemed like such a guy-movie, but I am glad he talked me into it, because it was so good! Anyone else see it??? Tell me your thoughts!! 😉

Anyways, Thor was hot – OBVIOUSLY, but his hair color was a little distracting! After I blog tonight I will have to look that actor up and see who he is! That is, if I finish what I am working on now!! I am creating our menu for this upcoming week so that I can go grocery shopping tomorrow while my love is working! Jason and I have been doing a GREAT job eating waaaaay more fruits and vegetables, and our energy levels are showing the effects of eating healthy, so I want to keep that going!!

Grocery list:

  • apples
  • pears
  • strawberries
  • blackberries
  • spring mix lettuce
  • russet potatoes
  • sweet potatoes
  • baby red potatoes
  • garlic
  • celery
  • broccoli
  • bell peppers
  • onion
  • boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • ground chicken breast
  • unsweetened apple sauce
  • prunes
  • black beans
  • red beans
  • chili seasoning
  • frozen berries
  • light Cool whip
  • whole wheat bread
  • eggs
  • skim milk
  • light chocolate silk
  • light sour cream
  • mozzarella
  • whole wheat hamburger buns
  • Rice milk

Well, I am sure I can something with all of that!! 😉 I have a bunch of recipe books out all around me, I am wanting to expand our normal repertoire! So, I am having fun looking through all of these books – I am sure Jason thinks I must have lost my mind, but that is alright! 😉 He will enjoy the new foods!! 😉

Anyways, this post is taking much longer than I had planned, so I am going to wrap this up so that I can go spend more time with my sweetie this evening!

Have a FABULOUS evening! 😉

A Thursday of Randomness!

Good evening!

I am so tired! It has been a long day! Well, where do I start?

I got up this morning, late, because I had stayed up too long last night, trying to cram a little more time with my sister! Shocking, right?? Anyway, I finally got myself out to work this morning and even managed to surprise myself by getting there on time. WHOO! HOO!!

I had a pretty darn good day at work today! I just love working with my girlfriend, Chris. She always has a way of explaining things to me that makes either understand them, or makes me feel better! It is important to work with friends!! 😉

When I got home this afternoon, it was to a too quiet empty house. Jennifer and Austin went home today, after stopping by my work place so we could all have lunch together, which is part of why I was having such a good day at work! Ok, so maybe a BIG part of it! 😉 But is was very quiet when I got home this afternoon, and my sweetie came home and made a fabulous – and healthy dinner this evening for us! That was so fabulous!!! I got to cuddle with him on the couch a bit this evening, before he headed out to his truck to do some final errands of the evening! 😉

I am excited that tomorrow is Friday! I can’t wait!! Our house is clean, and after some organizing in the dining room tomorrow night, I will be able to claim that my house is spotless, well, at least for 10 minutes!! 😉 But, when the house is clean, I have a MUCH EASIER time of relaxing, and I know that makes both Jason and I happy!! 😉

Oh, I wanted to tell you that I signed up for a 5 week, 2xs a week Zumba class down at my place of work! It only cost me $25, because I am an employee – I can not wait to start!! I know that Zumba is supposed to be really tough, but I am falling in love with dancing – the ultimate un-exercise feeling exercise for me!! 😉 Plus I start my intermediate belly dancing class next week. I am scared and nervous at the same time, but I know I will have a blast!!

Anyway, I am going to close up shop here, and get my booty into bed for the night!!

Have a FABULOUS evening! 😉

A Gorgeous Day!

Good evening!

It has been an absolutely gorgeous day here in Oregon. It was a bit on the toasty side today, but I just got back from  nice long swim in our chilly pool, which was absolutely refreshing, and we have air conditioning in our little place, so I think I should be able to nod off to sleep quite nicely this evening. It also probably helps that I am beyond tired, from having so much fun with my sister, Jennifer, while she is still in town.

Her and her husband, Austin, are only in town in until tomorrow, at which time they will return home! I have tried, for years to talk them into moving here, but Salem is just too big for them, which is ironic because it is just too small for us!! 😉 Anyway, we have squeezed in some quality time after work this evening, going to their favorite place in Salem to eat, and that is at Mongolian Grill. They make it a point to eat there at least once during every visit, and this time was no different. 😉

I must interject here, I have been part of a support group called Chunky Dunkers. This is basically a get healthy & fit support group that I started with the help of my sisters, Alex, Jennifer, oh, and I can’t forget my sweetie, Jason. Well, Alex has lost almost 60 pounds, and Jennifer has lost almost 40. I am soooo ABSOLUTELY PROUD OF BOTH OF THEM (and a little jealous, if truth be told), and it has caused me to have a feeling of a renewed sense of,

“Ok girl, you have got to get your butt into gear and make this happen for yourself!!”

So, I have eaten extra fruits and veggies today, avoided all calorie-laden drinks, and tracked all of my food that I have eaten, walked the stairs at work, and even got an extra half an hour of vigorous swimming in this evening! Whew!!! Only one day down, and possibly hundreds more to go, which is ok, seeing that it took me literally 16 years to get to the size that I am. I have never really been overly self-conscious of the weight, but I am noticing that the older I am getting the more aches and pains in my joints I am getting, and I am just TOO YOUNG to feel this DAMN OLD!! 😉 So, instead of just pissing and moaning about it, I am going to step up to the plate and take some action – little, by little – baby steps!!

If any of you reading have any hints/tips/ideas/yummy recipe ideas, or even just some motivational support for me and my get fit actions, I would be more than happy to hear from you. Please leave me a message in the comment section above!

Thank you SOOOO MUCH, in advance!!

With that said, I am going to head off to bed for the evening!

Have a FABULOUS evening!! 😉

P.S. These pictures were taken in my mom, Linda’s, garden. Aren’t they just lovely? Thanks, Mom!! 😉