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Healthy Living in Connecticut Blog

Your Story! Your Voice! Your Health!
Jun
10

Can proper nutrition put an end to heart disease? Interview with Dr. Joel Fuhrman.


I had the opportunity of interviewing Dr. Joel Fuhrman recently. In case you don't know, Dr. Fuhrman is an internationally known doctor who specializes in nutrition. He's been featured on Dr. Oz numerous times, he's written 10 books, most of which have been on the New York Times best sellers lists. He's also had a few PBS specials, including one set to air on June 4th.

Dr. Fuhrman is the founder of the Nutritarian "diet" (more like a "lifestyle change") that thousands of people have followed, including myself. As Nutritarians, many people have successfully reversed the effects of heart disease, diabetes and other illnesses. Of course, most of them have lost a significant amount of weight too. His latest book is called The End of Heart Disease and I think it's his best book yet.

Dr. Joel Fuhrman - End of Heart Disease
Dr. Joel Fuhrman - End of Heart Disease
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Apr
29

Ultimate weight loss motivation, fighting Diabetes.

It has been a while since my last update.  Back on October 20th of 2015 I wrote about my desire to get back on the wagon to lose 91lbs. I mentioned how I haven't been feeling all too well and I was also at my heaviest weight of 274lbs. Knowing I had something wrong going on, I still decided to ignore it for a month or so without taking my own advice about seeing a doctor to check out what was ailing me.  Eventually, I saw a doctor and was able to get myself back on blood pressure medicine along with a statin to manage my cholesterol. Once back on the medication, after not having been on it for well over 2 years, I figured I was ok to continue my eating habits for a short time, sort of as a "last hurrah" before I kicked in my weight loss regime with the start of the new year.  With a follow up visit to the doctors to run some blood work to determine whether or not the medication was causing any havoc in my system, that is when the bomb dropped.  The abuse of my body had taken its toll.   It was discovered I had a high fasting blood glucose reading. (138) My A1C had me dipped into the insulin level of a diabetic. (9.6) Aside from all of this I also had an ear infection that was going on for some months and would not fully go away. 

I wasn't surprised and I almost suspected that something like this was happening based on how I did not feel well even after restarting the blood pressure and cholesterol meds. It was enough to give me a kick in the pants when it comes to making some key changes in my life.  Millions of people live with diabetes and many die due to complications of the disease.  This fact alone is enough to narrow my focus where I am to engage in battle against the disease as well as lose weight. In times past there was some wiggle room for excuses such as the "I can start up my diet tomorrow" which would roll from day to day, had turned into a "holy crap, you have no choice having two young children, you need to get your butt in gear and try to rid yourself of this disease so you can watch them grow up!".  Realistically, I realize I may not be able to get rid of diabetes if it is discovered that my pancreas is no longer creating sufficient insulin. Still, I need to give it a shot and see if I can conquer the disease that so many seem to fail and fall victim. Fortunately, it appears to be Type 2 where the cells in my body may be resisting the insulin my body may be creating.

Almonds
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Dec
31

It's Been 3 Years Since I Lost The Weight

Sometime in December, 2012, I got to my lowest weight (although I've lost some weight since then) of 212 pounds. The thing that astonishes me is that I've maintained this weight loss for three years now. After all the failed diet attempts, the weightless happened because I gave up on "diets".and changed my lifestyle.

I'm like everyone else who was heavy. I was on so many different diets but none of them ever worked. You can make all the resolutions you want, but when you are on a diet, you have to come off the diet sometime. And once that happens, you will more than likely regain.

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Nov
08

My Weight Loss Journey

When I was asked to share my weight loss journey for this blog, I thought it would be a fairly simple task. I started seriously tracking my weight in April when I was 270 lbs and 6 months later am at 220 lbs. This weight loss was achieved largely through diet changes using a nutrition system. My wife had lost a lot of weight by eating clean but was coming up short on energy and we decided to get on a protein shake based nutritional system which helped her with her energy, and me with my weight. 

On the surface, that is what has happened. If you are a facebook friend, that is what you could see from the various pictures and status updates shared over the last few months.

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Oct
26

So Processed Meat is Bad For You... Is Anyone Surprised By This?

When I started my health journey three years ago, I read many articles that stated that processed meats cause cancer. Dr. Fuhrman has been saying it for years. Dr. Oz just mentioned it in an episode last week. But when the World Health Organization (WHO) says that processed meats cause cancer, suddenly people are listening.

Processed meats include foods primarily in the beef and pork families, such as sausage, bacon, pepperoni and corned beef, but it can also include foods like chicken nuggets. Luncheon meats unless you are purchasing turkey or chicken breast, are probably processed meats.

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