Healthy Living in Connecticut Blog

I'm sure you remember the failed policy that New York Mayor Bloomberg attempted to pass earlier this year, the ban on sodas 16 oz. or larger. It's not surprising that such a policy didn't work out as people need to make better choices on their own. However, I do agree that something needs to be done about the sugary drinks as so many people are obese.

One solution might be to stop offering self service for sodas at fast food restaurants. I don't know how many times I've witnessed people refilling their large sodas at McDonald's. Not only have these people ingested what was probably a huge meal full of calories, they went and piled more sugar and calories on by having 2 or 3 servings of soda. I think the only self service machine should be for water, coffee or unsweetened iced tea.

This past Tuesday I weighed in for my 6th week of the YMCA's wellness challenge.  I lost 4 additional pounds since the previous weigh-in.  That leaves me at a weight of 241.5 lbs.  Since the start of the challenge I have lost a total of 23 lbs in six weeks.  Lets see if I can lose enough to break the 30lb mark by the end of the challenge.  That gives me 2 more weeks to lose 7 lbs.

I've gone from a 46 inch pant size down to 42's.  My target goal weight is still 66 lbs away at 175 lbs. I'm shooting for the end of March (my birthday) and I am confident I will reach my goal by then.

A while back, I wrote an article about Papa Joe Avaiance. He lost over 250 pounds on a budget and reached his goal without surgery. He is truly an inspiration and I'm so happy he agreed to do an interview for the healthylivingct website. Papa Joe has kept his weight off by eating right and exercising every day. Papa Joe, thank you so much for the interview! I think Papa Joe will motivate those of you who are thinking of losing weight and for those who get discouraged, he offers some great advice. Check out the interview below. For more information about Papa Joe, go to his website by clicking here.

I feel a lot stronger and athletic after my weight loss. It's not perfect, but I do see improvements in my muscles. I'm able to do things I never would be able to do before with the extra weight.

I've been practicing doing chin-ups. I use a weight-assisted machine and eventually I won't need the assistance to do them. Push ups were always difficult for me. I can't do them properly just yet, but I practice daily. Push ups are such a good work out that I want to be able to do them correctly. I do the modified version and gradually, I'm getting closer to doing the traditional push up. It's a good sign of strength and physical fitness to be able to do them.

I might have a biased view since I've never been a smoker, ever, all of my life. But this article is about a certain breed of smokers.

When I was at a local grocery store the other day, I noticed a morbidly obese man, probably around 400 pounds. He was limping along, as he had a lot of trouble moving around with all his extra weight. There he was standing in front of the store, and what does he do? He proceeds to light a cigarette. This is not the first time I've seen an image like this and why I thought I would write an article about it.