CrunkChipmunk's Diary: Do or do not there is no try

C

CrunkChipmunk

New member
Ahh where to begin...

Well I am 27 years old.

I live in the weather challenged state of Michigan.

And my name much like this forum's arguably most helpful poster is Steve.

Despite having such an awesome real name my username is absolutely ridiculous lol.

Well now onto answering the stock questions!

1. How much weight do you want to lose?

I weigh 350lbs at the moment so I want to lose 150lbs to get down to my goal weight of 200lbs.

2. What is the timeframe for reaching your target weight?

I feel I can accomplish this in 7 months with hard work.

3. How do you want to accomplish your goal (what methods do you want to use)?

I'll ride my stationary bike for an hour or slightly more each day and do some light strength training with free weights. On days that are warm I may also walk for 3 miles. I will keep the foods in my plan as well as the calorie limits flexible. Calorie limits daily will vary anywhere from 1,000 to 1500 to 1800. I'll eat the things that I want but simply less of them and switch from drinking mostly soft drinks to sugar free drinks like diet Coke sugar free Kool-Aid and Crystal Light.

4. Who or what can support you in reaching your goal?

This forum has been incredible support thus far. Reading all the success stories especially Ironman's have provided me with intense motivation getting me back into my former serious mindset that I need to have for weight loss.

I've always known I can get to my goal weight and I've come so close so many times but I've always given up, got discouraged or abandoned the persuit near the finish line for various self defeating reasons be it the temptation to overeat my favorite foods, not feeling I deserve to be inshape or even can be inshape and stay that way (so why bother right?) or the dredded laziness or even fatigue overtaking me after a long stretch on one of my programs. I've experienced all kinds of pitfalls in my various weight loss journeys during my life that have put an end to my progress.

However I believe now that when I get close to my goal weight of 200lbs I will make it because I will have my brothers on this forum driving me on to success.

Brothers like Ironman, Gizmo, JeremyRice and others...

We can all have our dreams if we are willing to work hard enough for them and I intend to work harder than I ever have in my life to have mine.

5. How realistic is your goal?

Its extremely realistic.

I've lost 20lbs a month on my previous weight loss plan. The plan I will be using for my weightloss now will simply be a more flexible version of it.

6. When will you start?

I will start tomorrow which would be August 10, 2007.

To get back into the habit of losing weight again I will be strict by using my old plan for two weeks but after that I will go with my flexible new plan.
 
Hi Steve,

Welcome and congrats on deciding to change your life. Its a big and important decision. One I'm finding to be the most important I will probably ever make in my life:)

It looks like you have a great and thoughtful plan set up for yourself. Have you calculated your BMR ... your calories look low to start with. Especially if your going to be exercising. From what I've learned around here you're not supposed to go under 1200 calories.

You're right about finding support here. I have met wonderful amazing people with tons of advice and support.

Good luck on your journey
~Jenna
 
Hi Steve,

Welcome to WLF from a fellow Michigander! Which part of Michigan?

Wow--150lbs in 7 months is a very ambitious goal! Don't beat yourself up if you don't reach it.

I would make water your main beverage choice and try to limit "diet" drinks to a couple a day.

Your exercise plan sounds good.

We are here for you! Good luck--actually, there's no luck involved--just lots of hard work and will power.:)
 
Sounds like you're determined to make this happen. That's great!

Start making small changes and hammer those into your new lifestyle. This will put you on track for a positive long-term trend. One of the best ways to start, as bikinibound mentioned, is to limit your beverages to water and green tea. This is a great idea if you haven't done so already. It's simple and fairly easy to accomplish and it will make a very significant contribution toward your weight loss success. If you already only drink water and green tea then find some other small change to make to your diet. Once you hammer that change into your lifestyle, go for something else.

It seems like you have this idea already with your workout as well. Start by doing something that's just slightly out of your comfort zone. Do some light resistance traing and moderate cardio. Gradually increase the intensity as you get comfortable with this.

I can't wait to see your future posts about how those pounds are dropping like crazy! Keep 'em coming!


Matt
 
Boam- I have calculated my BMR. Gotten some great tips from Steve's threads dealing on calories too. Since my exercise bike has a counter that I believe gives a fairly accurate readout of burned calories and I burn around 830 for every hour I do I'd say that means at my current weight I could consume 1800 calories a day and lose my 5lbs a week. Probably a good calorie amount for me to use as I get going again as then my body won't have a lot of starvation shock feeling to it like I've had in the past otherwise known as deprivation.

bikinibound- I am from a tiny city in Michigan called Alpena.
Its boring and empty lmao.
Anyway you're right it might take me 8 months to accomplish this give or take simply due to those moments of weakness here and there that might creep up but I'm determined to see this through. Thanks so much for your post. Guess I should've looked around the forum more and realized that I have sisters in this fight as well as brothers and I know you will reach your goal as I will mine.

Matt- Incredible support from you man and you're right I should look for ways to keep my program exciting such as challenging myself to go out of my comfort zone. I think what I'll do about that is add stretches to my thus far straight forward routine. I did them when I was younger along with losing a lot of weight on the old stationary bike and they made me more flexible and made my joints feel better so I don't see why I shouldn't bring them back again.

Anyway I plan to do a progress report in two weeks. I should have 10lbs lost by then and when I have finally reached my goals perhaps my buddy will get my before and after pictures up using his scanner.

My comp doesn't work for that sort of thing but anyway I'm sure he'll help when the time comes and it will.

For all of us no doubt.
 
Way to go Brother. Way to go.

Keep the positive attitude, and do not give up. Sounds like you have the plan.

I'll keep monitoring your diary. Keep it up and don't lose focus.

BTW, I love the Star Wars reference in the Title.
 
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Today marks the true start of my weight loss journey.

I said I would start on August 10 but I couldn't get moving as I was still trying to shake the pain and depression of a particularly nasty breakup. I'd been medicating my pain with food and not doing much of anything but then I read a recent journal entry by MasterofJune where he talks about how some of us may protect ourselves from our past pains and dissapointments in life by remaining overweight. June said instead of continuing to hide and dwell on his own pains he is going to face them head on and lose all that pain along with his weight since the two were in many ways linked.

This message of MasterofJune's really struct a chord and resonated with me and after a lot of self reflection and soul searching I realized his message applied to me too and so I have chosen to face my pain and will not run from it anymore so I started my weight loss program for real today and its been one hell of a ride for sure.

From a brisk 20 minute walk down to my neighborhood's bridge to an hour riding my stationary bike and following my diet to perfection day 1 is certainly something I can most definitely be proud of when I look back at it once I reach the end of my weight loss journey here.

I am tired and my legs are sore now from today's activity but I really couldn't be happier. This healthy eating and vigerous exercise I've done today is all part of the sacrifices each and every one of us has to make if we truly want to reach our weight loss goals.

I had been so down on myself from all of the bad things that have happened to me these past few years from the death of my father to cancer to this breakup and some other relatives deaths that I didn't realize or had simply forgotten that I had the power to turn my life around for the better in a positive direction regardless.

All of the great success stories on the forum of people fighting massive odds to get down to their goal weight have gradually made me believe I can have that level of success too. Ironman's topic I have found the most inspirational but MasterofJune you finally gave the message that was the straw that broke the camel's back and got me started and I can never thank you enough for that.

So before I get too emotional I just want to thank every single person on this forum for their motivation and positive attitude.

Day 2 should indeed be interesting.

I simply can't wait to get going.
 
Hi Steve,

Congrats on having such a great first day. I think you just took the hardest step--that first one. Sounds like you have done some great introspection and come to some positive realizations. You are not going to use past or present emotional pain as an excuse not to be the the healthiest person you can be. That's a big hurdle to get over, and you did it. :hug2: :hug2:

Hey, is it as cold in Alpena as in GR? Only low 60s today. Hard to believe it was nearly 100 a couple of weeks ago. Makes it much nicer for outdoor exercising--except for the rain, at least..lol.:)
 
I thought CRUNK was a Dirty South term--hmmm must be mistaken :)

Hi Steve, my name's Valerie and I am not overweight per se but I am pretty eff-ed up in my own right, LOL! Lookig forward to your own success story. I'm pretty mush obsessed with happy endings, I'm a true romantic!

Have a great night! (Well maybe morning by the time you read this)
 
Crunk...I am glad that my post helped you out to face some things that we really don't like to face. Remember that we are on this journey to the light side together man. You aren't alone in this. A small warning.

Upon facing these things head on, do not ignore them. We have to find ways to cope other than food, drugs, alcohol or other harmful things to put in our bodies and our minds. To focus we need clarity. To accept we need forgiveness. I am on this journey with you, and one day we will look back on these moments that we didn't give in to the dark side and rejoice. We will reap the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and a clear mind. Our existences will be lean. Our minds will be sharp. Our lives will be filled with light. I can't wait to reach that point in my journey as I am sure you can't. Every step we take is important, though...The problem with most is that they forget. They forget what it was like growing up...They forget how pain feels. No matter how far we progress in this journey, maybe even beyond our goals, I don't want to forget the past 27 years of my life. I don't want to forget the pain. Without the pain, the new road we enter will not have the beauty.
 
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Hey Steve,
Just wanted to let you know about the Halloween Challenge in the Weight Loss Challenges section. Starts Sept 1st. Go and sign up. It'll be very motivating, supportive and lots of fun!
 
Hey bikinibound.

Yesterday that being the day I started my plan finally it was in the comfortable 70's. Today is kind of cool at about 66 or 67 I would say but I'm not complaining. Days like today are my favorite kind of days. Light and cool. ;)

As for the Halloween challenge. Thanks for informing me. Sounds like some awesome motivation that will only strengthen the early part of my journey thats finally been started.

Curviegirlie- LOL, yeah we're both effed up for sure but misery loves company right? haha. Seriously though thanks so much for your reply and lets make it a mission to turn our lives from misery into merriment. God that sounded corny but I couldn't think of a better m word to use lol. Anyway yeah I'm a hopeless romantic too so now I know I'm in trouble. I can't let you down by failing on my program hehehe.

Oh and CrunkChipmunk...I came up with this goofy name because I've always loved furry little animals and my buddy was really into that dirty south rap scene and always going on about crunk this and crunk that. Gave me a good idea for a goofy online name lmao.

MasterofJune- you truly are a joy to hear from man. You've given me so much already and we've only known eachother for about a week. Your latest post in my diary is just like that great speech from Morpheus in the Matrix Reloaded where he says "I am here not because of the path that lies before me but because of the path that lies behind me".

All the pains and dissapointments of our past are behind us and have brought us to this point of change and right here and now as we change we are creating a new past for ourselves and once we reach our weight loss goals the path behind us will show one of hard work, dedication, friendship and sacrifice all that got us to where we want to be and that my friend as well as facing and overcoming our pain on this journey will be a path that lies behind us that we can be proud of.
 
Welcome to WLF. THe "Fear of Thin" thread on News - Please Read, really helped me withmy mindset at the beginning. It asked me to write 25 reasons why I wanted to stay fat and in doing so I realized I did not want to stay fat and in that moment it registered that only I could do this for myself. ANyway, that was my journey, you're on yours, but read as much as you can in the News and On Topic. Most of all, wait for fulfillment. It sounds like you know what you're doing.
 
Thanks for reminding me about the 25 reasons HappyChubette. I did a similar questionaire to it before or the exact same one that helped motivate me. Its a good reminder of why to lose weight.

Anyway I guess I've changed my mind in that I'll update this here journal every day until I hit 2 weeks into my program. That should be enough time to make this diet and exercise plan of mine a habit I think. Then I can scale back my posts perhaps until each time I lose about 5lbs. I'll see when the time comes though of course.

Anyhow day 2 was alright. Nothing spectacular I'm afraid as it would seem I overtrained myself on day 1 by taking on more exercise than I was ready for. Going back to my full old routine right away was not a good idea so today I was only able to do 15 minutes on the stationary bike and two walks totalling 24 minutes before my legs screamed out to stop from soreness. It sucks to have a setback like this but at least I followed my diet reasonably well today so not all is lost and with any luck my legs will recover enough in a day or two to resume my full exercise regime.

At least I discovered my heart is still in good shape despite my size as I had no chest pains with any exercise nor did I get too tired at any time. It was simply the muscle soreness that stopped me for the time being so I'm happy about that.

Be thankful for small victories I guess.
 
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CrunkChipmunk said:
Thanks for reminding me about the 25 reasons HappyChubette. I did a similar questionaire to it before or the exact same one that helped motivate me. Its a good reminder of why to lose weight.

Anyway I guess I've changed my mind in that I'll update this here journal every day until I hit 2 weeks into my program. That should be enough time to make this diet and exercise plan of mine a habit I think. Then I can scale back my posts perhaps until each time I lose about 5lbs. I'll see when the time comes though of course.

Anyhow day 2 was alright. Nothing spectacular I'm afraid as it would seem I overtrained myself on day 1 by taking on more exercise than I was ready for. Going back to my full old routine right away was not a good idea so today I was only able to do 15 minutes on the stationary bike and two walks totalling 24 minutes before my legs screamed out to stop from soreness. It sucks to have a setback like this but at least I followed my diet reasonably well today so not all is lost and with any luck my legs will recover enough in a day or two to resume my full exercise regime.

At least I discovered my heart is still in good shape despite my size as I had no chest pains with any exercise nor did I get too tired at any time. It was simply the muscle soreness that stopped me for the time being so I'm happy about that.

Be thankful for small victories I guess.
Click to expand...

Steve, you did very well today, so don't be down on yourself. Lot's of people would have used soreness as an excuse to sit on the couch and eat a bag of chips. You did not. Even some exercise is great, and the fact that you did well with your eating puts you in good stead. Give yourself a pat on the back, or else I will! :hug2: You don't have to exercise everyday--especially at first. You should work your way up to harder longer workouts. Do what you can--push yourself--put don't over do it.:)
 
Ahh thank you for the positive reinforcement bikinibound.

No, indeed day 2 was no failure.

In anycase on to the report of day 3...

Today has gone well.

Once again my diet was followed pretty well up to about 1800 calories I'd say and for the stationary bike my legs were recovered but not quite as much as I'd thought so I wasn't quite able to get back to 30 minutes on it today but I made it to 20 minutes which I'm proud of which is 5 minutes up from yesterdays 15 minutes.

Ideally what I like to do is once my cardio and legs are in good condition I split my hour on the exercise bike up into two 30 minute halves where I rest after once set and then do the last 30 minutes to make up the hour sometime later in the day.

If my legs aren't completely healed by tomorrow I think the progress will continue anyway to where I will be up to 25 minutes tomorrow which is good.

So the verdict overall is day 3 has been good.
 
Hey Steve

Your off to a great start. Getting up and going and doing even when your sore is great. I know at those moments I totally don't want to do anything... but mentally you have to force yourself and you did.

Your exercise is going great. Increasing in small increments is a great idea. It'll give your body time everday to adjust to the new little bit of exercise your putting it through.

Keep up the great work
~Jenna
 
Thanks Boam.

Its true.

Adjustment is what my body needs now so I'm taking it easy until I feel without doubt I can go full out.

The legs weren't so sore today but the tiredness in them was still pretty thick so only 20 minutes of exercise today on the old stationary bike but thats ok I'm getting closer to feeling good enough to resume my full program.

On remembering about my past weight loss it usually has taken a week or two to build my legs back up to what I'm truly capable of.

So the verdict is day 4 has gone well for diet and exercise and the scale in the morning seems to of dropped a pound or two but I won't update my signature until tomorrow morning confirms it.
 
Right on Crunk!!!

You are sooo lucky to live in a cooler climate. It was 102-103 here today, and I was a literal sweat machine (sounds like an Isaac Hayes song, don't it?). The AC has been kicking full on for a week now, and it's about 78 degrees in my house. It's currently 88 degrees outside, and it's ten o'clock at night! I have to wash my "walking clothes" daily or the funk is unbelievable. Keep up the good work man...We are going to do this.
 
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