Chunkytown

Progress is Slow

SuperChunkee — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 01:17:02 +0000

I feel a little better this week, maybe because I am past Christmas (which is always a terrible diet day for me). I am trying to kick the soda and the candy habits. The candy part is easier. I ate a square of a candy bar and it didn’t taste right. I think that comes from eating less sugar over the past few days. Soda is hard. I am addicted, I know it. I find that I want it first thing in the morning. If I have one, I will drink them the rest of the day. Today, I waited and had water instead. That helped. I still had a soda at lunch but none since then. I think for now I will limit myself to one at lunch and one at dinner. Cold turkey is way too hard. Funny, it was easier for me to quit smoking.

I think the biggest change is that I am trying not to think about food. I read online that thin women (generally) don’t obsess over food the way people like me do. The past couple of days, I have been trying to keep myself busy to stop myself from obsessing. It has helped. I have lost two pounds in the last couple of days. I am sure some of that is my body adjusting to less sugar and salt but I’ll take what I can get.

We bought a reflex bag and boxing gloves. I used it a couple of times but I am having trouble getting up and using it regularly. Not sure how to fix that yet. Maybe visual reminders or a check sheet? I could put a sticker on my calendar each day I workout and another when I don’t overeat.

Monday brings another chance to go to Overeater’s Anonymous. I am going to try and make it. Wish me luck. I always seem to forget (which is probably unconscious unwillingness).

-SuperChunkee

Progress is Slow

SuperChunkee — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 01:17:02 +0000

Monday brings another chance to go to Overeater’s Anonymous. I am going to try and make it. Wish me luck. I always seem to forget (which is probably unconscious unwillingness).

The Semester is Over….and the Consequences

SuperChunkee — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 18:41:48 +0000

Well, the semester is finally over. BigStuff and I had a long, difficult sixteen weeks. I had five English classes and it killed me. I worked down to the wire on most assignments and didn’t feel like I had much time for anything else. As a result, I stopped exercising. Mind you, I was walking around on campus, but it wasn’t enough.

When I really started to get overloaded, I started to eat again. My lunches at school stayed pretty healthy but I started to snack. I would eat lunch and still be hungry so, after class, I would go get a bagel and a latte. I really got hooked on lattes again. The cravings are terrible. I started drinking sweet tea and soda again to give me a caffeine/sugar boost.

The overeating led me to start craving candy again. Each night after dinner, or after a stressful class, I would immediately crave sugar. I obsess over sweets every night now. I am not sure how to stop. I know that one of the best ways to lose weight is to change your thinking. I don’t want to be consumed with thoughts of food anymore but how do I change that? Is it a simple question of replacement?

I don’t have an answer right now. All I can say is I gained fifteen pounds since August 16th. I am up to 283 pounds and I feel terrible. I am tired all the time and feel like I need a bag of candy to get through my papers. I am going to try to get back on track, it just feels so impossible right now.

-SuperChunkee

It’s been a while…

BigStuff — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 12:55:59 +0000

Hi everyone! BigStuff here. I know, it’s been a while. School started and things have been crazy busy. As such, I haven’t been able to get my regular workouts in as easily, though my campus big enough I get a bit of a workout just going to and from classes. The weigh-ins have been going up and down. Check out my ticker. Anybody got any good tips on adding in quick workouts? Lemme hear ‘em.

A size what?!?

BigStuff — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 18:26:11 +0000

BigStuff here. My hubby took me to the Levi outlet to see if we might be able to find something in my size. (FYI, they are my ultimate fav brand) I’m running around an 18/20, so I knew it would be tough. We get there and couldn’t find anything above a size 16. 16! Even then, there was only one of those and I think it was some sort of mystical size 16 that looks more like a 10. Bah. On the plus side, SuperChunkee and I just got back from our 5k walk this morning, which we finished in 1hr 3.5 min. Not too bad considering SuperChunkee isn’t feeling very well.

Weeding

SuperChunkee — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 06:16:49 +0000

BigStuff was out of town today so I had to workout on my own. I decided to go outside and pull weeds since the backyard is overgrown. I was out there for an hour and half. Most of the time was spent bent over pulling weeds. Why is this so awesome? When I tried it last year, at a cooler time of day even, I was able to do about twenty minutes and I was ready to go inside. Also, I wasn’t able to bend over to pick the weeds. I had to use a garden tool cart and I would sit on it and roll around the yard. My fitness is really improving and I’m very excited. Now I might actually be able to keep the yard in shape. I plan on going out again tomorrow (in the evening when it is cooler). I still do my Power 90 for strength building though.

Another thing I noticed is that I tend to make poor eating choices on days I don’t workout. I think the connection is just awareness of my body. Another good reason not to skip workouts.

-SuperChunkee

Hard Road to Walk

SuperChunkee — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 06:22:35 +0000

My alli finally came in today. Took forever to get here but I save $12 by going to Wal-mart’s website instead of the store. I’m hoping it’ll give me that extra little edge.

Today was terrible as far as our walking went. We got out and did it, which I am proud of, but are actually walking slower than we were before. One problem is I was trying out my walking poles. It takes a bit of coordination, but once I got going I found I could work faster. The other is I think we are bored. We’ve been walking the same trails for about two weeks. I think we either need to check out the other trails in the park or we need to go somewhere else. Variety is the spice of life.

BigStuff reminded me to keep my abdominals engaged while walking (or doing anything else for that matter). When I remember to, I stand up straighter and have better balance. It also makes me look thinner which is never a bad thing.

I weighed this morning and was up four pounds. I think most of that is from a family get together we had. The food was middle-Eastern and very healthy, I just think I ate too much of it and may be retaining water because of the salt content. My stomach has been hurting but I think it is because I have been eating a lot and not giving my body time to digest. Mind you, most of what I have been eating is healthy but even that has it’s limits.

We painted a room at BigStuff’s house today. It was spur of the moment. I was amazed at how much energy I had and how we were able to complete the project in one evening. My fitness level is definitely improving. Tomorrow is our alternate sports day. It may end up being a walking day though, we’ll see. My triceps hurt from painting. We are also thinking about taking a deep water fitness class at our local community center. Sounds like fun…except for the whole bathing suit in public thing. I outgrew my two piece a long time ago and now have a one piece that is not flattering. Ah well…fitness is fitness. I’ve really come a long way as far as not worrying about how my body looks to others when I am exercising. That’s a great start.

-SuperChunkee

Goals vs. Expectations

SuperChunkee — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 02:05:20 +0000

As you read on Monday, BigStuff and I started interval training (run/walk). That day I did terribly. My stomach was aching from going out to eat the night before. Today, I thought I’d do much better. It was much hotter and even though I felt better, I just couldn’t keep up with the intervals. They kicked my ass and I had to stop after the first three (of course I walked up to 2.8 miles so I didn’t just quit).

This brings up goals versus expectations. It’s great for me to have a goal of running a 5k, but I have to have realistic expectations. I am overweight and out of shape. Pushing too hard can cause injury. I have to remember that it is ok to build up to my fitness goals. Today was also hard because I could visualize myself running. I felt ready to run but my body just couldn’t do it. It’s hard when your mental image of yourself and your capabilities doesn’t match up with your actual self. I have to realize that it takes time. I’m still down three pounds which is great. I’ll be starting Alli once the pills come in. Before anyone cautions me against using Alli because of gastric side effects, I have to point out that I have used it before and have never had a problem.

After the walk, I went and got a pair of walking poles. I figure it will help me walk faster and burn more calories. I’m excited about it and can’t wait to try them out. Another advancement I see is that Coke Zero and orange juice are starting to taste sickeningly sweet. When I’m drinking the soda, I just think about how I’d prefer a glass of water. This is great.

I’ve been working hard to make sure I have good food to snack on. A couple hours after dinner tonight I was hungry. I generally have a sweet craving after dinner (which is luckily subsiding). I was legitimately hungry so I had 1/2 a cup of yogurt and a small bowl of grapes. The more I eat fruit and other healthy foods, the more my body craves them. I’m still having problems with dinner portions. I think I’ll let my husband start fixing my plate until I am able to serve myself and appropriate amount.

Tomorrow I need to do my Power 90 sculpt and ab ripper. I really like the video for strength training. If you get a chance, you should check it out.

-SuperChunkee

In-ter-val, in-ter-val

BigStuff — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 23:59:00 +0000

So, SuperChunkee and I went on our first interval outing today. Consisted of 2 minutes brisk walking, 90 seconds of jogging, 2 more minutes of walking and so forth. We lasted 21 minutes. Personally, I think it’s a decent start. Hopefully we do better on Wednesday. The weigh-in was today. SuperChunkee was down 3.2 lbs and I was down 2.8. Not a bad first week as far as I’m concerned.

Tennis Anyone?

SuperChunkee — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 04:11:46 +0000

BigStuff and I had fun playing tennis today. Saturdays are our alternate workout day. Well, I can’t say it was tennis. It was a tennis/pickleball hybrid with anything goes rules. I think that’s an accurate title. Anyway, I was amazed at my fitness level. I was able to play for 35 minutes. When I was playing last year it was a struggle to get past 15 minutes. That makes me feel good.

I also decided to invest a little in my gear. Yes, I shop at Wal-Mart. Let’s just get that out of the way. They had sport tanks in my size (in my size!) on sale for five bucks. I got some great tops and will go back with BigStuff to check out the shorts on Monday.

I have to say that I’m a little bummed about my weight loss. I went down two pounds, up two pounds, down three pounds. I’m trying not to weigh every day otherwise I’ll go crazy. I just feel so good this week and so full of hope. It’s been great working out with BigStuff. She’s such a huge support and she doesn’t even know it. I just wish the scale would move more. I realize I am probably building muscle mass and I see some shape changes already. It’s just hard. I hate waiting.

Since BigStuff and I have worked out all week, we are rewarding ourselves with a smoothie on Monday. We are also going to buy walking poles to try out Nordic walking. That’s about it right now. I’m just trying to keep the late night sugar cravings at bay.