First Things First Link Up! And the secrets to my success :)

I found another link up! Woot!

First thing I reach for in the fridge

Um... Depends on where I am.. If I am at my grandma's house, it's almost always for a Coke Zero or a Dr. Pepper 10. I'm a hooker for the fizzy burn of the soda. Is it healthy? Probably not. Everyone has a vice dammit. If I'm at home and I'm snacking, it's for string cheese. I also do a lot of cooking, so I'm always in and out of the fridge for different ingredients.

First car accident or traffic violation

My first (and only) car accident happened when I was in college. I was trying to turn left on a protected arrow. Apparently the car going the opposite direction missed the day in driver's ed about stopping at a red light. I had myself and 3 of my best friends in the car. None of us were seriously injured, but we were sore and bruised. I still fume about that wreck (5+ years ago) because I loved that car. It was the first car I really loved.

First BIG accomplishment I'm proud of

Loaded question! Since I've promised honesty, here it goes... My first BIG accomplishment that I'm proud of is dumping my emotionally abusive asshat of an ex. I found out a couples weeks ago that he got married. Glad I dodged that bullet. Every time I would try to make a positive change in my life or go out with my friends (wihtout him) I would get the major 3rd degree. I'm talking guilt, shaming, and threats of leaving just because I went roaming with a couple of my best friends instead of hanging with him. Asshole. I dumped his bum and immediately felt the weight lift off my shoulders. I didn't even cry. He tried to get back with me, and I wouldn't let myself be sucked in again. Nope nope.

So.. Someone asked me yesterday what my secrets to losing the weight are.. I really can't say that I nescessarily have a secret. Everything in moderation, log it all, and I don't have a "no no" list. If I want a piece of candy, I have a (read ONE) piece of candy and I log it. If I want pizza, I have pizza. One thing that has absolutely killed me in past diet adventures is the restriction. I can't give myself a "no no" list. It's just one of those mental blocks. If I can't have it, I want it. Then I binge and fall off the diet train into a deep pit of fast food, carbs and cake.

The secret? There is no secret. Make sensible choices, drink your water, and don't deny yourself a small treat every now and then. I'm not saying to reward your weightloss with food.. Negative. Nope. No way Jose. Reward your loss with something NON FOOD RELATED!! Like for me... My first milestone will be 20 lbs lost. What is my reward? I'm getting a pedicure. Want some motivation? How about some of these:





Weight does not EVER define your self worth.





Keep calm love. This will happen.





Never ever!!



You were born to be fabulous.



Love, Peace and Chicken Grease <3>

-Sammie



Monday Weigh In and Weekend Musings

My friend the scale and I had a meeting this morning. It was successful, I think. I told the scale that he could, under no circumstance, define my self worth. He was only allowed to monitor my progress in my journey to health, fitness and Funky-dom. He agreed and so I stepped on... Boy was I shocked when I looked down...





Ugh.. Those toes are terrible...



Holy Cow! Seriously? WOOT! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Ignore my funky looking toes... I promise to make them prettier by the next scale pic.

One of the things that I found quite enlightening this weekend is a conversation I had with one of my closest friends. Ellie (she doesn't have a blog to link... Boo!) and I are both in extremely similar situations. I met her when she was one of the only people to be nice to me when I started my old job. She said that she recognized a kindred spirit in me and we became quick friends.

She and I are currently in (what we call) a spiritual funk... Like our propensity to not put our laundry away when it's done. Instead we live out of hampers and or the dryer. We recognize that it's not laziness. It's much deeper than that. It's feeling like we don't deserve to have clothes put away. Or me with my hair. Sometimes I only wash my hair once a week. Not because I'm lazy... I feel like I deserve to feel as dingy on the outside as I do on the inside. These feelings are direct byproducts of our depression.

She and I made a pact with each other. 3 times a week, we go to the gym/workout. This is one thing that we both agree makes us feel better and something that we actually enjoy doing. It's our me time. I have to say that my medication is helping immensly, but it's not a fix all. I have to make the effort to do something good for myself. I have to remember... Life isn't as crappy as it seems and it could be a hell of a lot worse.

And for a reference point... Check out the face side by side! AWESOME!!!

Quest to Funky-dom

When I restarted my blog, I was determined to not let it be solely a weight loss blog. Chunky is more than just a body type to me. Chunky is more a state of mind. My depression, career, fitness, weight, and relationships all fit into my state of mind. Today's post is more about my career. Where have you been and where are you going? I'm going to be Funky dammit! :-)

Right now I'm in the process of trying to get a Master's degree. Currently I work as a substitute teacher and it's just not enough for me. I am eligible to apply for teaching positions in the state of Texas as an 8-12 ELA/Reading teacher. For the last few weeks I've been filling in for the librarian. I love it in here. LOVE it. LOVE IT. LOVE IT! Sorry. Point made.

Anyways, I have my Bachelor's in Psychology because.... Well.... I needed a Bachelor's degree... That's all I'd ever been told. Get a degree! Get a degree! Degree=job! Yeah... About that... Not so much.. Yes, I had a full time job before. Yes I'm subbing full time now. Know how much I made when I was at my peak income? $29k... That's barely enough to make rent and make a car payment, much less pay off my effing student loans.

I love teaching. I love books. I love teaching kids about books and with books and all the wonders that are books. (Remember how I called myself a nerd? Yeah).

My problem? I was a complete and total SCREW OFF during my undergraduate career. My ending GPA was a lousy 2.45 and my GPA for my last 60 hours was something around a 2.28. Yep... That's what I get for having NO direction. I wanted to graduate. Graduate=job, right? That's what I always thought....

Here goes my journey to Funky-dom... One headache at a time...

The Ugly..

I promised the good... I promised the bad... And I promised the ugly.. Yesterday was ugly. Quite ugly.

Breakfast: I caved... We were running late and I didn't have time to grab anything for breakfast. So up comes that big red chicken... Yes my friends.. We stopped at Chick Fil A. And I had my minis and hashbrowns. It was amaze-balls. And about 600 calories for the entire meal O_O

Lunch: I was actaully pretty good at lunch! Peanut butter between one of my Nature's Own sandwich rounds, rice chips and a Special K cereal bar. Coming in around 400 cals. Not too shabby. I love the sandwich rounds. They taste awesome! And have lots of whole grains. Nom nom.

Dinner: Oh boy... About that dinner... Mexican food.. (I had Mexican on Wednesday night too and was pretty good). I was doing ok.. Counting my chips, making sure I mentally logged everything. Then mom ordered fajita nachos with sour cream, guacamole and jalepenos. Crap. I ate aboout 1/3 of the plate. Then I lost count of my chips... Crap... Dinner came and I had tortilla soup (not too bad) and Tacos Al Carbon with corn tortillas and cilantro and onions. Freaking amazing. I have no idea how many calories dinner came out to, but with MFP I guesstimate over 1000. O_O

Seriously?

All total I was only about 80 calories over my limit for the day, which could have been fixed with a bit of exercise. However... Being at the hospital with my great-grandma until 12:30 and getting to sleep after 2 and waking up at 6am yesterday took its toll.. I was passed out and drooling by 9:30. I did manage to talk to my fiance for a little while, which I don't think was anything close to understandable. Poor guy. Luckily today I'm back to my bright eyed, well rested self.

How has the week treated you? Any ugly days thus far?

P.S.  Shout out to all my new followers and everyone that comments! I try to answer most comments personally, but sometimes I'm a bit of a dunce.

Non Scale Victories!

Welcome to another fun filled Non Scale Victories!! I LOVE THIS LINK UP!! Here at From Chunky to Funky we (as in ME! and my dog of course) fully beleive that the little number on the scale SHOULD NOT define your successes! Sure, its a great tracker, but the number does not define you or your victories! This link up happens every Thursday with the Kick-Ass Katie (or KJT) and the Lovely Lex! You can find Lex here and Katie here!

So... My victory of the week? Logging for 15 days straight! YE-AH! I've used MFP several times in the past and I've always given up by day 3 or 4... Too much work, no time, excuse, excuse. I've stuck with it! (Add me! I love MFP friends!! Dramallamaduck)

I also managed to get over my bronchitis and get some time in on the elliptical! I am definitely a member of the Red Face Club. I'm still a bit sore from the lunges and squats I did, but it was alllll worth it.

Red hair and a face to match.

I was going to try again last night, but Mom and I wound up taking my great-grandma to the ER. Her CHF was acting up and she has pneumonia. I only got about 4 hours of ZZZZZs last night. Dead women walking...and driving....and teaching... Awesome.

What are your victories this week? Nothing is too big or too small :)

Let Your Nerd Flag Fly!

I am absolutely the world's biggest nerd. Harry Pottter, Doctor Who, Sci-Fi, dystopian novels, wizards, zombies, etc... When I saw the picture below, water came out of my nose from laughter... (Also a HUGE, but closeted fan of hip-hop. I work out to some raunchy stuff.)  This was one of my favorite scenes from POA. I love Alan Rickman and thnk his Severus Snape was fantastical. For those of you confused, this is actually a boggart (it transforms into your worst fear). The way to defeat a boggart is with laughter. So Neville (who is scared of Snape) pictured him in his grandmother's normal attire in order to defeat the boggart. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some thrift shopping to do... Poppin' tags!

Damn, yous a sexy Snape

All joking aside... I woke up feeling amazing this morning. I had a little soreness in my muscles from my elliptical run and the killer cramps I got last night (on the front of my leg!! like my shin!!). I also felt lighter.. It was an odd feeling. Not like a "I'm floating/light headed" feeling... Like a "huh.. I think I've lost" feeling. It was awesome sauce. I may have a second post later with a updated picture.I'm very curious. I will weigh in tonight at my great grandma's house when I go to clean. I'm extremely nervous about what the scale is going to say... I just have to remember:

Have a good Wednesday blogosphere! Stay out of trouble :)

P.S. Any ideas on how to prevent leg cramps? I'm drinking a TON of water... Any other suggestions?

-Sammie

What did the five fingers say to the temptation?

That's right Chick Fil A... Your delicious, warm chicken minis called my name this morning like a siren's song. We even had an extra order in the bag. Oops. You wanted me to eat you. I know you did. Your minis and your hashbrowns too... Well guess what Chick Fil A... SLAP!

Jimmy Dean sends his best regards...

In all seriousness... This is a big deal for me. Chick Fil A is like my own personal brand of crack. I freakin love Chick Fil A. In college, one of my favorite things to eat for lunch was a Chick Fil A sammich, waffle fries and a smoothie (looking back, is it any wonder that I gained 100+ pounds?). 

This morning I made my yummy Jimmy Dean turkey sausage sammich (yes that spelling is on purpose!) and I was craving a little sweet. In the interest of time, I had some vanilla yogurt. Of course I also had my bottle of water (along with my antibiotic). My carrots, granola bars, and Special K meal bar were packed and ready. On the way to work, Mom pulls into Chick Fil A and says, "I'm starving.. What do you want?" Crap on toast. What do I want?? Well, I really want an order of those minis and a spicy chicken biscut and some hashbrowns. BUT I DIDN'T ORDER THAT!!! Instead I asked for my normal lg Coke Zero and nothing else!

Yes Mr. Murray... I'm awesome!

How have you dodged temptation recently? (Remember, celebrate the small.. Every small step leads to a big step!)

-Sammie