Healthy Living in Connecticut Blog

I struggle with getting myself into shape.  For quite sometime I have been "A SHAPE", primarily round. I lack the discipline to eat well and exercise. Excuses come easy, negative thinking drags me down and finances always seem to paint a picture of the easier "more affordable" options to eating being made up of .88 cent boxes of Ronzoni shells in butter versus eating whole foods.  Well take a look at these guys...

Simply put.  If these guys can do it at their ages.  Then I (we) have NO EXCUSES to get going. Here is a library I am forming of some really old people who are in much better shape than I am, and I'm half their age!

I had an awesome appointment with my trainer today. He took the measurements with the calipers and my body fat is nearing 10 percent. It's getting close to the point where it's tough to measure the body fat. After 10 percent, it's tough to get an accurate reading. My thighs and chest now measure at 8 percent but the abs are still holding at 16.

That's actually good that the abs are not at 10 yet, it means they are still tightening. I do see a difference in the abs. They feel tighter and my love handles are barely noticeable. I'm actually very happy with the way the abs are progressing. From the feedback I hear, the bulge in the abdominal area is not noticeable through clothing, which is awesome!

I was at McDonald's today, not to order food but to get unsweetened iced tea, an excellent value and tastes good in my opinion. I have my own stevia packets in the car as opposed to sweetening it with Equal or Splenda. Anyway, whenever I'm there, it drives me crazy some of the choices people make when ordering there. I don't say anything to them, but it does give me good incentive to blog about how to make healthier choices. Here's an example.

A woman in front of me was ordering a cheddar something or other burger and asked if tomatoes are extra. The worker told her it would be 30 cents more so she didn't bother getting the tomato with it. She decided to save her money and go for... KETCHUP instead! Now how many of you would think that ketchup is the same as having a slice of tomato? I hope most of you will realize that ketchup is mostly high fructose corn syrup and like 30 other ingredients, very little tomato. It is not a healthy alternative.

Yes, it's true, Bridgeport was chosen the fifth healthiest city in the US, according to livability.com. I have nothing against Bridgeport, I work in CT's largest city, after all, but still, I'm surprised it made number 5.

According to the livability website, to be considered, "These cities provide residents with exercise opportunities, good food choices and strong support networks." When I think of healthiest city in CT, the first city that would come to mind would be New Haven. Why? Because New Haven is home to Yale University and has some of the top doctors in the state. I would also think of towns like Farmington and Simsbury.

I know a few people have said they thought I was on a low carb diet but I am not. I'm on a LOWER carb diet, as I cut down on the amount of carbs I was having. But, I think carbs are important and they get a bad rep.

The Atkins Diet, Paleo, etc, there are so many diets out there that want you to up the protein and fat and drastically reduce carbs. I don't get how it could be healthy to restrict so much that you can't incorporate fruits and certain veggies in the diet (like sweet potatoes). The nutrients are so important... think of all the antioxidants you're missing! I haven't had a cold in so long and I think it's because of all the antioxidants I get from the berries, pomegranates, etc.