Healthy Living in Connecticut Blog

It was in the news recently that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie recently underwent lap band surgery in order to lose weight. While I applaud him for attempting to fix his problem, I do not agree with his method to correct the obesity. I believe the only healthy way to lose weight and keep it off is to eat right and exercise.

I had a comparable build to Governor Christie just a year and a half ago. I needed to lose weight and my doctor advised me to as well. I was fat for way too long and I didn't want to get diabetes. I finally took a stand and changed my food intake. I also increased my exercise by doing a hour on the treadmill most days of the week. The weight came off gradually at an average of 3 pounds a week. Surgery may have given me results at a quicker rate, but I would rather learn the proper ways to live healthy and to adjust gradually to my new weight.

I remember when I first started to lose weight. I was very careful about what foods to eat. I'm not saying that I'm not careful now, but I do allow myself a day to cheat on my "diet" every now and then. If you don't cheat on your diet once in a while, I think you will be more likely to go back into your old habits. I say the word diet but I still am not comfortable calling the way I eat a diet... I eat healthier foods dailly but it's more of a lifestyle change than a diet.

I was recently on vacation. It's hard to find healthy foods away from home. I did bring a lot of walnuts, almonds, protein bars and fruit, but still, I did not eat totally healthy. I did allow myself dessert one day last week as I had a piece of chocolate cream pie. It was a lighter version with low fat whipped cream. Surprisingly, it was enough to satisfy my sweet tooth. This coming from someone that used to eat a half a gallon of ice cream a day!

Most people should already know of the many health benefits of eating fish. If not then click here. Fish is a staple food within ones diet to promote a healthy heart and brain with high amounts of Omega 3 fatty acids.  

One factor that may discourage people from adding more fish to their weekly meals is the expense of buying fish. A recent trip to Stop & Shop and Price Chopper yielded these prices: 

Soda is one of most wasted calories you can have. Americans get far too many calories as it is, but drinking soda only adds unnecessary calories that you don't need.

Think about it, why have a 300 calorie soda when you can have a flavored water and save yourself some calories. Of couse diet soda is better than regular, but still soda is not good for you. Research shows that diet soda drinkers waistline grew 70 percent more than non soda drinkers. If you're trying to lose weight, why risk it by drinking soda?

I want to start this article by thanking Dr. Oz for mentioning quinoa on his show a few months ago. I had never heard of this grain before and learned about it's health benefits when it was featured on the Oz show. This healthy grain has been an important part of my diet ever since.

When I was working out a while back, someone was talking to me about protein. I've been doing strength training and protein is especially important for gaining muscle. He felt I was getting a low amount of protein. I am now trying to get around 120 grams of protein each day, but it's easier said than done.