Tag Archives: Fitness

Feeling Inspired!

Good morning!

I am feeling inspired! I am feeling empowered! I am feeling a great satisfaction in knowing that I am taking care of myself, in small ways, every day, little by little!

I ran across this video this morning, and could not WAIT to share it with you! ๐Ÿ˜‰

Living a beautifully creative life does not only mean spending time being artsy, or creating masterpeices outside of yourself! It is also about creating the YOU that YOU want to be. It is taking care of yourself, in only ways that you may understand that you need taking care of! Me myself being a plus sized gal, I understand that it may not be fashionable to be a healthy thick girl, but honey, I am here to tell you!! Even at the size that I am now (I have recently lost about 70 pounds, but have about 55 more to go), I am far and away doing better than the old me who used to sit on the couch 24/7 like someone was going to come and take it away if I didn’t stay sitting on it!

Get up, get moving, take a walk, go swimming, ride a bike, find a way to play like you did when you were younger! Know that living a beautifully creative life is more than what you create art-wise, it is also about HOW YOU LIVE!!! So get out there and put some LIFEย into your LIFE!! I am cheering for you (CAN YOU HEAR ME???) ๐Ÿ˜‰

Here is to living a Beautiful Creative Life!! ๐Ÿ˜‰

1 - Signature

If you want to have a different life, live differently!

A Tired Tuesday Evening!

Good evening!

I think my body is still trying to recuperate from being so sick this last week, because for some reason I am really achy and if I were to close my eyes right now, I would be out like a light!! So, I am going to keep this short! ๐Ÿ˜‰

I wanted to make sure I posted my Kaizen activities for today:

  1. Got up on time
  2. Brushed my teeth
  3. Walked 2 blocks from parking lot to my office
  4. Walked up 3 flights of stairs
  5. Had a healthy breakfast
  6. Tracked my breakfast
  7. Walked down 5 flights of stairs
  8. Walked 2 blocks to lunch and then back again
  9. Had grilled chicken instead of beef at lunch
  10. Requested extra veggies with my lunch
  11. Walked 2 more blocks to get from office to parking lot
  12. Drank about 2 liters of water today
  13. Had some extra vegetables with dinner tonight
  14. Ate an orange for dessert
  15. Started reading a health/nutrition book this evening
  16. Doing kegals while blogging! ๐Ÿ˜‰
  17. Brushed my teeth again
  18. Flossed
  19. Will do a stress relieving meditation before bed
  20. Took some time to stretch before bed

Today was a day about hope, love and gratitude. There have been a lot of stressful things going on in my life, at both work and at home. Today was a day that I chose to change my perspective and focus on all of the blessings that come my way everyday!! There are a lot of things and changes going on at work right now that we are hoping will really help make our jobs more enjoyable, and less stressful. My home is clean, and my husband loves me like crazy, and I love him right back! We have every need taken care of, plus some for helping others with. We are blessed!

We are blessed! We are blessed!
and today, I am just soooo thankful!!!

Before I go for the evening, I wanted to remind you that tomorrow is our Chunky Dunker’s Club meeting!!! I will try and post by 6:30 tomorrow evening! Don’t forget to hop on so I can hear how everyone is doing!! I am excited to weigh in the morning and let you all know how I am doing too!! 20 pounds is the goal!!!! YEAH!! ๐Ÿ˜‰

Have a FABULOUS evening!!! ๐Ÿ˜‰

Another Lazy Sunday!

Good morning!

It looks like it is going to be another lazy Sunday around my house today! My hubby is still sick, but apparently going to fight it, until I can finally convince him to get back into bed!! The dogs are happy, fed, and snuggled up against my side while I blog this morning – I really love that.

It is rather quite this morning at my place. The only sound going right now, is the sound of the heater blowing, which is kind of nice when your week is full of crazy hububb-iness!! The sky is the limit for what I can do today, but I think I am leaning towards going swimming, to give my body a good stretch and workout!

Talking about taking care of my body, well – I have been tracking my food with a daily calorie goal in mind, and for me, that is going to be my bread and butter for getting fit and healthy. It seems to be the only thing that makes the scale tip in my favor – which really makes this girl HAPPY!!! ๐Ÿ˜‰ Water has always been something I like to drink, but I find that when I drink AT LEAST 2 liters a day – OR MORE, that is when my scale likes to cooperate with me too!!! So I am trying REALLY HARD to stay on top of that!! As for exercise, right now SWIMMING is my saving grace. It is the only place in this world where I feel not only weightless, but graceful!! I can do things in the water that I could NEVER do out in the real world – not at the weight and size that I am. With the addition of my friends and family for support, I know that fitness is something that I can and will achieve!!!

OK, I am not sure where that tangent came from, but let’s talk about books for a moment! I would love nothing more than to spend a few hours reading today, but I am having trouble finding a good book worth diving head-first into, to be enveloped inside of it’s delicious story!! This is soooo ironic because my library consists of over 1000 books from which to choose from, and most of which I have never even have read yet. Part of my problem is my self-appointed guilt that I feel whenever I start to read a book and don’t like it – for some reason I feel like I have to read the entire book, no matter how much I feel like I am just trudging on! In some kooky way I feel like I am somehow being disrespectful to the book! OK, TOTALLY CRAZY, I KNOW!!! LOL!! ๐Ÿ˜‰ I will have to just suck it up today, and start reading. I just know I have quite a few gems in this collection that, once I find, I will be kicking myself for not having found them sooner!!!

Another thing I was just thinking of, was my sis, Nette, is remodeling her house. Most of the family is helping her, except me. You see, everyone knows that if you want design ideas, decorating tips & hints, a shopping buddy, I am your girl, BUT if you need some manual labor of any kind, you might as well call someone else (sorry, sis!!!). ๐Ÿ˜‰ This may stem from the fact that I NEVER like to get my hands dirty! This has been a long standing joke in my family! Ever since I can remember I have HATED to get my hands dirty!!! My dad says, that I could have been covered from head to toe in all sort of mud, dirt and grime, but if my hands got dirty, I would come running over, crying, until someone wiped them off and then I would run off to play some more with the rest of my filthy self! All of the witnessing adults would look at each other as if they had just come into contact with an alien species, and laugh their heads off!!! Well, as much as I hate to admit it, I STILL HATE to get my hands dirty – TO THIS DAY!!! I am not sure what that is all about, but I have a nephew who is EXACTLY THE SAME WAY!! So, I am TOTALLY SURE that it must be something genetic!! Well, at least that is my story, and I AM STICKING TO IT, well, as long as my hands don’t get dirty in the process!! LOL! ๐Ÿ™‚

Thanks for sticking with me this morning, as I see my post today is pretty random!! Now you have a sampling of what it is like to be inside of my head – scary right??? LOL! ๐Ÿ˜‰

Have a FABULOUS day!!! ๐Ÿ˜‰

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!!!

โ€œIf your mind believes โ€œI canโ€™t,โ€ you will sabotage your own efforts. You wonโ€™t do what is required to realize your goal. But when you believe โ€œI can,โ€ 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.โ€

~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!!! ๐Ÿ™‚

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 bodyโ€™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 โ€” the calories you burn just to keep your body going โ€” drops to a lower level to conserve energy. Your body works harder to preserve the food it gets by storing it as fat. Thatโ€™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 โ€” walking, bowling, gardening โ€” your body begins to burn stored fat for energy.

4. EXERCISE LARGE MUSCLE GROUPS

Choose high-energy exercise โ€” such as walking, bicycling, cross country skiing, swimming, step aerobics โ€” 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. Youโ€™ll burn more calories โ€” and you wonโ€™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. Thatโ€™s why drinkers and smokers tend to be bigger around the waist than abstainers.

8. RESIST PMS CRAVINGS

The evidence is that womenโ€™s bodies burn more calories between ovulation and menstruation. Thatโ€™s why sugary snacks look so good then. Donโ€™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. Thatโ€™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!!! ๐Ÿ˜‰