Healthy Living in Connecticut Blog

I know there are some people that get offended if you don't take the food they offer you. There are others who simply don't understand healthy eating and will criticize the foods that you're eating. Some people expect you to eat junk food or they won't stay your friend.

Peer pressure is usually tied in with talk about drugs, but can very easily be applied to food. There are relatives or co-workers who will beg you to eat certain food and when you tell them you don't eat that, they don't let it go. They hound you and hound you, as if they will convince you to partake in the food. I remember one job a while ago where I was pressured to eat junk food all the time. "Rich, have another candy..." "Finish this bag of candy..." Of course, I would always eat the food offered as I was obese and didn't care or think about the effects of eating too much junk food.

Doctor Oz did a segment about aspertame on his show recently. I'm happy he finally acknowledged some of the problems with aspartame, but I don't think he went far enough about the dangers of this chemical.

That's right, aspertame is made of chemicals, nothing natural about it. Do you know how aspertame was discovered? A scientist was working on a new medication back in the 1960's and accidentally had a taste of what would become known as aspertame when it landed in his mouth. Doesn't sound too good for you, does it?

I was talking with Rich Hubbard a couple of weeks back about my weight loss progress. To say the least things were going pretty slow. I was eating better but I lost the vigor from my previous motivations (the really embarrassing ones... My motivation to lose weight & My 2nd motivation to lose weight: A trip in Boston)

Rich recommended that I try the weight-loss challenge that kept him motivated and involved.  I figured it was worth the shot. Plus it would get me out of the house and bring me face to face with other people that have similar goals.

I've learned a lot the past couple years on the correct way to lose weight, mostly from trial and error. I was like many others out there, and struggled to try and lose weight but not succeed.

Finally I realized... you have to eat properly too, not just exercise. Before I lost the weight, I would exercise two to three times a week but did nothing to change my diet. When I think about how bad my diet was back then, I wonder how I could eat all that I did. I mean a good majority of the food I ate had a ton of sugar in them. I'm talking about candy bars, ice cream, frozen dinners, cookies, the list goes on and on!

Slow but steady I am on my weigh (way).  I'm starting my cardio routine tonight.  Let's hope I do not drop dead from the years of neglect and lack of exercise.  I will most likely start off on the elliptical for 20-30 minutes.

Weigh-in as of this past monday.