Category Archives: Plus-sized

A Morning of Excitement!

Good morning!

Well, I am seriously late on getting my posting out the door this morning! I have been running myself ragged trying to accomplish a bunch of stuff of my to-do list every morning, and Thursday’s are kind of hard because I have to get to work a little earlier than normal.

Tonight is my first belly dancing class. I am so scared, and nervous, and super excited all at the same time!! This is my way of challenging my bravery muscles by stepping outside of my comfort zone and doing something that I have always been super envious of others who have been ballsey enough to do – so now IT IS MY TURN!!! 😉 I couldn’t decide what to pack to wear for this evening – you should have seen me freaking out in my huge closet this morning! I have decided on a simple pair of black capris, a tank top with a fun t-shirt over the top of that. I may not be too stylin’, but at least I will be EXTREMELY comfortable!!! 😉

I finished my morning pages this morning! I am really LOVING the process of doing those! I have to get up at 5:30 in the morning to get them done, because they take me almost an hour to do. They really help clear the clutter out of my head, and help me focus on what is really important to me right now. I only started doing these pages on Saturday, and in the few short days I have started doing them, I have really learned A LOT about myself that I WAS COMPLETELY OBLIVIOUS too!! How does that happen??? I have lived with myself for 35 years, and apparently I am just meeting myself for the very first time!! 😉 

The morning pages process comes from the book The Artist’s Way. I have the morning pages journal which doesn’t have too much from the original book, but it basically skims the surface on how to tap into your inner artist. When I first found the book, I couldn’t afford it, but my Sis, Alex told me that she has found it for me for only $8 and will be sending it up my way! I CAN NOT WAIT TO GET MY HANDS ON IT AND START READING!!! I LOVE it!!! Thank you, Sissy!!! You are THE BEST!!! 

Anyway, I had better get back to the business of living life! It will be late, but I will try to post at least SOMETHING this evening about my class tonight!! I can’t wait! I really just am SO STOKED!!! 

Have a FABULOUS day!! 😉
~Christina

The Chunky Dunker’s Club, Week 6

Good evening!

Welcome to week 6, of the Chunky Dunker’s Club!!! Can you believe it has been Six weeks already??

Every week I post a new Chunky Dunker’s article ever Wednesday evening, and you 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!!

Tonight’s topic: Staying with the Program When the Program Gets Tough

We are at six weeks in our get fit journey, and I don’t know about you, but there have been a few times that I want to throw in the towel. WHY? I don’t know, there are lots of reason at different times:

  • I’m tired
  • What’s the point?
  • This is taking so much time
  • The weight isn’t coming off fast enough
  • This is too hard
  • Blah! Blah! Blah!

Have you dealt with any of this yet?? Or is it just me? I thought tonight would be a good time to talk about this. To get this out in the open so that we can push through this sixth week so we can keep going on our journey to get fit. How can we make the lulls easier??

  • Get support, reach out and talk to someone who will genuinely cheer you on and help motivate you to keep going!
  • Do at least one thing that you didn’t think you could do before. Once you accomplish that task it will empower you to keep going!
  • Change it up! Is the reason you are wanting to quit because you are bored? Try a new activity, recipe, or something that you have been wanting to do but haven’t taken the time to do yet!
  • Look at the “old you” versus the “new you”. For example, the old me would have eaten that whole box of cookies in one sitting, changes to, the new me was able to eat just two cookies, and walked away.
  • Find something fun to do as exercise, so you trick yourself into burning more calories. For example, tomorrow night I am starting a belly dancing class, something fun, but something that will also get me moving!!
  • Remember why you wanted to get fit in the first place. Me wanting to be able to walk all over Paris without getting tired is great motivation for me to keep going!

What are your thoughts on sticking through to your journey of fitness? Have you had any inclinations of quitting, or giving up? What were some of your reason? Do you have any ideas to add to help the group keep on keeping on?

I can’t wait to hear your thoughts and how all of you are doing. If there is anyone new who has just stumbled onto this blog, feel free to join the discussion in the comments section. This is not a closed group – the more the merrier!

Have a FABULOUS evening!! 😉

Saturday of Fashion!

Good morning!

Today, it is time to get creative!!!

I am spending my Saturday morning putting together my own personal fashion, Look Book!! This is a 3 ring notebook of pics of all sorts of things about fashion. Clothing, outfits, hair, makeup, shoes, accessories – all sorts of pics that I hope will inspire and influence my own personal sense of style. So, I am set up with scissors, rubber cement, tons of white cardstock, and over a year’s worth of collected pictures, and cutouts from various fashion magazines!!! I have been collecting them for so long, and the stack was getting precariously high, that I figured I had better do something about getting them put into my look book, or else the whole stack was going to end up in the rubbish bin because I am sick of it all sitting there and not being used. The very thought made me feel ill, so here I am dealing with the seemingly never ending stack by putting it to good use!!!

I will place them into a three-ring notebook organized by tabs:

  1. Outfits – maybe Day, Work, Evening, Formal???
  2. Clothing
  3. Shoes
  4. Jewelry
  5. Other Accessories
  6. Lingerie
  7. Outerwear
  8. Hair/Makeup/Nails/Skin Care

I am not sure what else, this is a living work in progress!! So, once I am finished it might look COMPLETELY different then what I envision now! I will keep you posted! When I am finished I will make sure to post some pics so you can see too!! 🙂

Have a FABULOUS morning!!! 😉

The Chunky Dunker’s Club, Week 4

Good evening!

Welcome to week 4, of the Chunky Dunker’s Club!!! Can you believe it has been FOUR weeks already??

Every week I post a new Chunky Dunker’s article ever Wednesday evening, and you 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!!

Tonight’s topic: Keizen or Constant and Never Ending Improvement!!

At work today, I had an 8 hour class on the Japanese concept of Kaizen (pronouned Ky-zen), which literally means “Good Change”. The basic concept of Kaizen is the idea of making minute changes to your processes to create a different outcome than where you may already be heading. Otherwise, constant and never ending improvement through baby steps!! I LOVE THAT!! I thought that this would be PERFECT to apply to our goal of getting fit and healthy.

I had studied Kaizen as it relates to fitness in the past, and one of the things I had read was, if you are having troubles exercising, do one thing – one small thing, just to get the ball of momentum rolling. This doesn’t have to be a big action, I would actually encourage you to do one VERY TINY action. For me, it is simply the act of putting my tennis shoes on, as if I am going to go for a walk. That’s it! Not the walk, just putting on the shoes for the walk. If today was successful, for tomorrow, I might make it my Kaizen goal to put on my tennis shoes, and then add a 5 minute walk. Nothing too big, or scary!!! I can commit to TINY ACTION!! If today doesn’t work, try something else, but just keep trying ANYTHING!

For some of you I know that you might be thinking that exercise is not an option, so maybe your TINY ACTION might be to raise your arms above your head 1 time! Can you do it twice tomorrow? How about 3 times? If you find that it 3 times is too much, then go back to 1 time, until eventually you ARE able to do it 3 times, 5 times, 10 times, etc!!

You can apply Kaizen to your eating habits too! Maybe today you decide you will have diet soda instead of regular, or maybe you will get really brave and have none! Maybe you can eat one more serving of vegetables than you did yesterday, or maybe substitute one unhealthy ingredient out for one healthy one instead. Do you see what I mean!?!?! We can all DO THAT!! 😉

The idea behind this is that if you do enough TINY HEALTHY ACTIONS every day/week/month you will EASILY be on your way to your most AUTHENTICALLY healthy and fit self!! I fully believe that! I don’t always act on it, but that is what we are all here for – to SUPPORT ONE ANOTHER!!!

This week, my commitment to you, is that I am going to carry a small notebook with me every where I go, and ANY TIME I DO ANYTHING that is good for me, or promotes a healthy and fit lifestyle, I will write it down and share it with you every evening! How does that sound?? I would encourage you all to share any TINY ACTIONS or KAIZEN TASKS that you may be taking any and every day! They will quickly add up, and you will have LOADS of proof that YOU CAN GET FIT AND HEALTHY!!!

I dare you to literally take that FIRST TINY STEP! I would love to hear in the comment section what that TINY step might be!! GO CHUNKY DUNKERS!!!

Before I go, I was hoping to share a health-ified recipe with you this evening. I “borrowed” this off of one of my FAVORITE sites, Eating Well. They have all sorts of GREAT recipe ideas, and I would HIGHLY recommend going out there and checking out their site!!

This recipe is from their article, 10 Spring Diners in 30 Minutes or Less – you know how much Mamma likes getting in and out of the kitchen as quickly as possible!!! 😉

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Aquavit Seasonings

The seasonings traditionally used to make aquavit—a Northern European distilled spirit—vary with every recipe, but they usually include pork-friendly seasonings like caraway, cumin and fennel-so why not combine the two? This easy, pretty dish is great hot off the grill or made ahead and chilled.

8 servings

Active Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes (including 30 minutes marinating time)

Ingredients

  • 2 teaspoons caraway seeds
  • 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
  • 2 teaspoons fennel seeds
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1/2 bay leaf
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
  • 2 1-pound pork tenderloins, trimmed

Preparation

  1. Combine caraway, coriander, fennel, cumin and bay leaf in a spice grinder or clean coffee grinder; process to a fine powder. Add salt and pepper.
  2. Place 2 tablespoons of the spice rub in a small bowl. Combine the remaining rub with dill in another small bowl.
  3. Place 1 tenderloin on a piece of plastic wrap. To butterfly it, hold your knife parallel to the cutting board and slice through the meat to within a half inch of the opposite side. Open like a book. Cover with more plastic wrap and gently pound with a mallet or heavy skillet to 1/2-inch thickness. Repeat with the second tenderloin.
  4. Spread half of the dill-spice mixture down the center of each flattened tenderloin. Roll the pork, jelly-roll style, to create 2 long cylinders; tie kitchen string around each in several spots to keep them rolled. Rub all over with the reserved (no-dill) spice rub. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 6 hours.
  5. Preheat grill to medium-high or preheat the broiler.
  6. Oil the grill rack (see Tip) (if broiling, line a broiler pan with foil and oil the foil). Grill or broil the tenderloins, turning several times, until just cooked through and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 145°F, 14 to 18 minutes.
  7. Transfer the tenderloins to a clean cutting board, tent with foil and let rest for 5 minutes before carving into 1/2-inch slices.

Tips & Notes

  • Make Ahead Tip: Prepare the spice rub (Step 1) up to 5 days ahead; store in an airtight container. Cover and refrigerate rolled tender loins for up to 6 hours. If serving cold, grill or broil the pork, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. | Equipment: Kitchen string
  • Tip: To oil the grill rack, oil a folded paper towel, hold it with tongs and rub it over the rack. (Do not use cooking spray on a hot grill.) When grilling delicate foods like tofu and fish, it is helpful to spray the food with cooking spray.

Nutrition

Per serving: 130 calories; 3 g fat ( 1 g sat , 1 g mono ); 74 mg cholesterol; 1 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 24 g protein; 1 g fiber; 207 mg sodium; 475 mg potassium.

Exchanges: 3 1/2 lean meat

WOW! I am sorry for the SUPER long posting tonight! YOU KNOW ME!!! Anyway, I look forward to hearing how all of you are doing this week with your health and fitness goals, your thoughts on Kaizen, and if you might try any TINY action tomorrow! and if anyone has just stumbled onto this blog, please feel to join in on the commenting, this is not a closed group!! – THE MORE THE MERRIER!!

Have a FABULOUS evening!! 😉

Recipe Pic, Week 4

My Flexible Saturday!

Good evening!

I have had a really nice day today! If you read my post this morning, you know that I was heading out for a day downtown.

My first stop was my favorite clothing store, Torrid. I had ordered a cardigan that had come in, and I had some items that I needed to return so I was happy to oblige the need to go! Here is a pic of the cardigan that I took in the store last week.

So, of course, I just HAD to try on some clothes!!! You know, to get ready for Spring!!! 😉 This is a pic of the clothes I had picked out to try on – I had planned on taking my time and being there for quite a while!

What you may not be able to see is that these clothes are hung two levels deep! I really was determined to find the perfect somethings!!

Here is what I wore there:

This cute little top came home with me.

Cardigan, yep, that one came home too!

Another white blouse, guilty! Although, as you can see from the picture, this one is going to need some kind of undershirt. I am actually debating taking this one back, what do you think??

After I tried this shirt on, I got a call from my dad. My dad, and his wife, Trudi were in town, by my house and wanted to visit, so I cut my downtown trip short, and zipped over back to my side of town. Once I got home, we headed over to a pizza place for yummy pizza and a very nice visit. On my way, I told myself, “Self, don’t forget to take pics this time!” and of course, I did!! So, unfortunately, no pics!! Maybe next time!!! 😉

After Dad and Trudi went home, I didn’t want to go back to downtown – we are trying to conserve gas, and I was looking forward to getting a manicure, so I was going to get bummed about it, but instead of throwing a pity party for myself, I decided to step up the loveliest nail salon – the one I had created in my living room!!! You can see that they even served me a refreshing drink with cherries – YUM!! 😉

My hands were in need of some SERIOUS attention!

Here is the before shot:

Here is the after:

Of course I chose red! It is still my FAVORITE color! The color of PASSION!!! 😉

That is the end of my pictures for today, but I did get to run a couple of other errands and then spend some time hanging out with my sweetie after he got done with work today. After I am done here, I plan on snuggling with him on the couch and watch another episode of BONES!! I really do LOVE that show! Bones and Booth should just knock off all of this foolishness and just get together already!! WHEW! I am glad that is out in the open!!! 😉 We are still somewhere into season two, so it will takes a month or three more to get caught up, but slowly and surely – we will get there!!

OH, and for those who might be curious, I came home from Torrid after purchasing 3 cardigans, 2 blouses, 1 tank top and 1 blazer!! EEK!!! Maybe I had better stay away from the mall for a while, what do you think??? HEE! HEE! HEE!!

Have a FABULOUS evening!! 😉

Note to Chunky Dunker’s: Dress for your body as it is today! Even if you are in the process of losing weight. Purchasing clothes that are too small for yourself because you may fit into them someday could backfire, and you will wind up with a closet full of a lot of somethings that make you feel bad because you can’t fit into them. (Take my word on that!) YOU CAN DO IT!!! 😉

Lookie What I Found!!

Good evening!

I have stumbled upon this amazing plus-sized clothing store this evening! I may have spent the last hour of my life drooling over the many pieces that I would LOVE to have in my personal wardrobe!! I have no choice but to share my find with you!!!

City Chic

As you can see, I am in a red, white, and black phase of my life right now!! And I am sooooo loving dresses, with a touch of a vintage pinup style!! I will take one of everything, please?

Have a FABULOUS evening!! 😉

Note to Chunky Dunkers: I have a confession to make. I found a small stash of candy left over from Christmas, and I would LOVE to tell you that I resisted temptation and didn’t eat it, but alas apparently my temptation skills are lacking.

The Chunky Dunkers Club!!

Good evening!

I wonder where that phrase comes from “Hump Day”???

Anyway, I momentarily got sidetracked!! Today is the day that I get back on track with making healthy life choices!! I know, what a novel concept, but for some reason I have become the QUEEN of excuses!

  • I don’t have time
  • I am too stressed out
  • I deserve this cookie
  • I have had a bad day
  • It’s rainy
  • It’s too cold
  • I don’t wanna
  • I will start over tomorrow
  • I just conditioned my hair – really, I use this one to get out of swimming!!!

All of this procrastination will leave a girl worse off than when she initially started in the first place!!! Which is EXACTLY where I am at!!!

“If your mind believes “I can’t,” you will sabotage your own efforts. You won’t do what is required to realize your goal. But when you believe “I can,” you follow paths of behavior and thought that help ensure that the dream will be fulfilled. The psychology of dream fulfillment includes the mindsets of hope, motivation, commitment, confidence, courage, concentration, excitement and observation.”

~Jerry Lynch and Chungliang Al Huang, Thinking Body, Dancing Mind

SO…

Today officially starts the first day of the

Chunky Dunker’s Club

This is the name that my husband and two youngest sisters came up with for our new get healthy support group!!! Chunky dunkers is what we call plus-sized women who skinny dip – get it??? Well, when they suggested this name I just couldn’t stop laughing, when I realized that this is the PERFECT name for us!!! A group of people who want to have fun getting healthy, and remembering to laugh is where our success is going to lie!!! 🙂

I will post a new Chunky Dunker’s article ever Wednesday evening, and you can have the opportunity to comment, and cheer each other as you each go through your journey to get fit and healthy!!! The articles will have 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!! This meeting every Wednesday will be win-win for me and for you, so let’s get started!!!

So, I call to order the first weekly meeting of the Chunky Dunker’s Club!!

Are we all present and accounted for??? I am sure we are!

Tonight, I thought I would share my health coach’s 10 Tips for Speeding Up Your Metabolism with you this evening! I found that there are a lot of things that we know, but may not be doing, and a couple of things that might be new that might be fun for you to incorporate into your day!!

10 Tips For Speeding Up Your Metabolism

Weight management is a balancing act between taking in calories and burning them up. New research suggests that the way your body burns energy may be at least as important as how much you eat. Try these tips for keeping your body’s idle speed high.

1. QUIT STARVING YOURSELF

When you deprive yourself of food, your body reacts protectively against an ancient threat: famine. Your resting metabolic rate — the calories you burn just to keep your body going — drops to a lower level to conserve energy. Your body works harder to preserve the food it gets by storing it as fat. That’s why people who regularly diet have higher percentages of body fat than non-dieters. Instead of counting calories, focus on cutting back on the fat and sugar in your diet.

2. GET EXERCISE

Exercise helps you lose weight in several ways. It raises your resting metabolic rate, thus offsetting the lowering effects of dieting and helping you burn more calories even when at rest. Strength training is especially important here, because it increases the amount of muscle you have. And muscle cells burn more calories than fat cells.

3. EXERCISE LONGER

After 30 minutes of low-intensity exercise — walking, bowling, gardening — your body begins to burn stored fat for energy.

4. EXERCISE LARGE MUSCLE GROUPS

Choose high-energy exercise — such as walking, bicycling, cross country skiing, swimming, step aerobics — that gives your arms and legs a good workout.

5. VARY YOUR WORKOUT

Your body gets efficient at doing the same exercise day after day and you burn fewer calories. Try alternating gym workouts with outside activities. Or change your routine every six weeks. You’ll burn more calories — and you won’t get as bored.

6. EAT A GOOD BREAKFAST

People who skip breakfast burn 5 percent fewer calories than those who eat a healthy morning meal.

7. AVOID ALCOHOL AND SMOKING

Both may inhibit the loss of abdominal fat. That’s why drinkers and smokers tend to be bigger around the waist than abstainers.

8. RESIST PMS CRAVINGS

The evidence is that women’s bodies burn more calories between ovulation and menstruation. That’s why sugary snacks look so good then. Don’t starve yourself, but if you can resist the cravings for high-energy foods, your body will burn fat stores for energy.

9. EAT LESS FAT

Your body is very efficient at turning the fat you eat into body fat. It takes a lot more energy to turn carbohydrates into fat. That’s why cutting back to less than 30 percent of your calories from fat can help you reduce your body fat more than just cutting total calories.

10. EAT THREE MEALS

Studies show that eating only one or two large meals tends to lower your resting metabolic rate. Make sure you eat three small meals and a healthy snack or two.

Come on ladies and gentleman, we can do this!!! Try implementing just one or two of these things this week, and add additional items only after you are comfortable with the changes you have made thus far. In the comments, let me know which changes you are going to implement, and I will do the same thing!!!

We will meet again next Wednesday evening!! and if you watch my blog daily, I will make sure to post some words of encouragement under my signature line just to keep us going, and to remind you that I am in this with you!! YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!!

Until next week GO CHUNKY DUNKERS!!!

Have a FABULOUS evening!!

Note to Chunky Dunkers:
If you find that your path to healthy living hits a speed bump, reach out to someone who you trust for support and ask for some encouraging words – you don’t have to go it alone!!! 😉

Girl Crush!!

Good morning!

I am totally loving all things Adele, at the moment!!! I ABSOLUTELY fell in love with her as soon as I heard her song Chasing Pavements.  With her soulful music, her incredible retro-vibe style, and seemingly old soul , she seems like a really cool person to hang out with, like you know you would have a lot of fun with her!!! AND not only that, but she is a plus-sized girl!! You know what I mean! I mean, she is out there rockin’ it as a REAL WOMAN!!! What an inspiration!!!

This song is #1 in the US, right now! You go girrrl!!! 😉

 

Do you see what I mean?? She is FREAKIN’ FABULOUS!!! If I could just borrow a SCOSCHE of the down-to-your-soul-kind-of-style – MAMMA would be in HEAVEN!!! 😉

Her second album, 21, has been released, and I am going to go pick up my copy today!! I am going to play it all the freakin’ time and I am sure it is going to completely drive my husband INSANE, but I have a tendency to do that to him anyway!! LOL! 😉

I want to know how she does that incredible hairstyle of hers – very 60’s throwback, and see if I can figure out how to rock this myself!! and HONEY, I LOVE FALSE EYE LASHES!!! FABULOUS!!! She seems to have taken all of the GLAMOUR that I LOVE in old movies and made it accessible! Think Sophia Loren!?!?

I would LOVE to hear what do you think – let me know in the comments above!!!

Have a FABULOUS day!! 😉

Outfit of the Day!

Good morning!

After not posting an outfit of the day for the past few days, on of my favorite aunties reminded me that I HAD TO GET IT OUT THERE!!! Well, because of timing and how long it takes to get pictures ready to post, I usually post my outfit from the day before. However, because I didn’t take a picture yesterday, so I will have to pull one from last week:

Dress: Lane Bryant
Cardigan: Torrid
Belt: Torrid
Shoes: Payless

This was the outfit that I wore on Valentine’s day! Even though that was just last Monday, I have been so busy that last Monday feels like eons ago!! LOL! It took a lot of courage to get out of the house in this dress. First, it’s a dress, which I don’t wear many of these out of the house without either leggings or pants underneath them. Second, I was worried that it was too tight or to busty!! Looking back now, I think that I may have been being silly – it took me a little while, but I soon felt very comfortable in this outfit!! Anyway, I would LOVE to hear your thoughts!!!

I am going to finish getting ready for work today, but I have to tell you, now that I have signed up for belly dancing classes starting in March, my attitude about work has kind of changed. This “job” facilitates me being able to take this class, which I think will help  me grow my courage muscles, not to mention BE A LOT OF FUN!!! YEAH!!! It is AMAZING to me how perspective colors your outlook on life!!! 😉

Have a FABULOUS day!!! 😉