Healthy Living in Connecticut Blog

The following list of foods are what I feel are the most unhealthy and should be avoided. This isn't just for those looking to lose weight, but for everyone that would like to avoid diseases as well. I've researched many of these foods and they should be limited, if not eliminated from your diet altogether.

1. Aspertame. I know aspartame has been in the news recently, with some experts saying it's not dangerous in small amounts. I question this as I've read many different views on the subject. At the very least, it causes headaches and some severe cases have been reported about links to MS. This is a chemical discovered in a scientific lab. It doesn't sound very safe to me, and I would rather avoid disease than listen to the occasional reports that say it's okay to consume. I recommend trying stevia, a natural sweetener instead.

You know how it is near the holidays.  Life overwhelms you to the point that everything becomes a fire fight and somethings fall by the wayside. I've neglected my weight-loss updates so here we go!

In my last post... about a month ago I had announced that I won the weight-loss challenge held at the Torrington YMCA from mid September through mid November.  In that time I lost nearly 30 pounds in 8 weeks.  As of today I am down an additional 12lbs.  That is a total of 40lbs since mid september when the challenge started.  The holidays have made it tough with my new eating habits as I find myself indulging frequently.  But I am still losing.  I will fall back into my routine after the holidays are over and hope to see some more aggressive weight-loss as I still have 44lbs to go until I reach my goal.

As Rich pointed out in his last post, goal setting is a key to success and achieving one goal can allow other goals to be met at the same time without much effort. So why don’t people achieve their goals? Well one reason is people are not correctly setting their goals. The simplest way to create good goals is to make your goals S.M.A.R.T.

S = Simple. Specific.

The new year is approaching, and everyone that wants to lose weight will begin to think of their resolutions. Some people will get gym memberships, others will try the latest fad diets. Instead of diets, you have to remember that true, sustainable weight loss only comes from lifestyle changes.

To achieve your weight loss goal, I think you need other goals too. You know what helped me lose the weight? I didn't only concentrate on the weight as I was trying to find foods to lower my blood pressure. I was on a mission to not be on hypertensive medication and I changed my diet because of it. The result was weight loss! Of course I knew I needed to lose weight… my doctor told me to lose 90 pounds, after all. But I don't think I would have made all the necessary dietary changes if it weren't for the other goal of lowering my blood pressure.

Weight, that is. Researchers studying US football fans (and French soccer fanatics) found that many sports addicts turn to junk food to help take the sting out of a loss. Fans of a losing team seem to consume extra fat and sugar, using comfort food as a way to deal with their emotions.