Healthy Living in Connecticut Blog

I spoke about the benefits of MSM powder a few days ago. I found out about the product from a video Philip McCluskey posted on YouTube. I wanted to try the product myself to see if what he claims is true, that it would help tighten my loose skin. So far, I'm very happy with the results, although I still have a way to go.

Philip McCluskey is a native of Danbury, CT. He once weighed in at 400 pounds and was on the verge of gastric bypass surgery. After many failed attempts at losing weight, he finally decided to try a vegan lifestyle. This is what eventually helped him to lose 215 pounds. He became nationally known and has been on many TV shows, including "The Doctors", a TV infomercial with Jack LaLaine, among many other appearances. He is also the author of many books, including "Raw Food Juice Bar", among others. Check out his website by clicking here.

I'm choosing a non-surgical way to tighten my abs and it's going to take work. Today, I did a Power Pump class at the Y. I started this class a few weeks ago, at the recommendation of my trainer. The class is great because I learn so many new exercises each week and get a great workout in.

After the class, I had my personal training session. My trainer went over my weight and checked my BMI. The scale has been reading between 208 to 209 pounds. My BMI is at 26 so there is some room for the weight to go down, as anything over 25 is considered overweight anyway. My body fat will be measured during my next session, which isn't until March. 

My aim isn't trying to lose more weight. i guess I have to keep reminding people of that. I know I've written about this before but I still hear the comment "Don't lose any more weight".

Today, someone hadn't seen me for a while and said it. Instead of realizing that I was about the same weight I was when she last saw me, instead she needed to remind me that I don't need to lose any more weight. I don't know why it annoys me when I hear it, but it does. I think it's because I've maintained right around the same weight for over two years now. As my body fat percentage changes, the only weight I lost was a couple pounds (two pounds, to be precise) from my lowest weight. And I've been maintaining this weight for weeks now, of 210 pounds.

My trainer measured my body fat with calipers today. Basically, my thighs and chest have less than 10 percent body fat. My abs are still the troublesome spot, but the measurement came down for the abs too. Right now, overall, my body fat percentage is at 13.34 percent! My last reading was a few months ago and it was 13.95.

So the tightening begins! The way my trainer sees it, the body fat can't go down much more in the legs and chest as it's all muscle. This will cause the body to take away the fat from the only area it can get it from... the abs. There is still enough fat in there so that when fat is taken from the abs, the skin should tighten and I should have some definition.

I do a lot of strength training, which means I have a super high metabolism now. But I also do something else to keep it from slowing down... I eat every couple of hours.

I bring this up because when I worked out today, somebody asked me how I keep my weight off. He went on to say how he doesn't know why he's not losing weight. He eats breakfast and doesn't eat another thing for like another 7-8 hours, when he has a big meal at dinner time. A few problems with this scenario: first, don't eat a big, heavy meal all at once. Second, don't wait so long to eat.