Healthy Living in Connecticut Blog

After talking about the Lipo-Light procedure with a few friends, I decided to hold off and see if better strength training exercises will help. One option is the P90X exercise program by trainer Tony Horton. I know some people had good results with that program.

I'd rather not rush into something so expensive like Lipo-Light when I could get better results from training. I'm also thinking of getting a personal trainer.

As I indicated in a previous post, I went to see a doctor about the loose skin after my weight loss. Just to remind you, after the weight loss, I was still left with a lot of skin in my belly area.

The doctor confirmed what I already thought... that I didn't need to lose any more weight. My body fat percentage is around 19 (it fluctuates up and down but it's around there) and my BMI is a little over 25. He thought this was perfect for my height. The subcutaneous fat that is still in my stomach won't go away with exercise or strength training. He recommended a process called Lipo-Light, a process where wavelengths trigger the body's own ability to break down fat. The body then releases fatty acids that are used by the body during exercise.

I wrote about wanting to tighten my loose skin after all the weight loss a while back. I just thought I would follow up the story as I'm still dealing with the issue.

The problem is that my belly was stretched for so long with all the extra weight, it's taking it's time to go back down. There's no fat in there, at least I don't believe there is, but as many formerly obese people will understand, I'm left with hanging skin.

It has been so hot in Connecticut, I'm sure I don't need to remind you that you need to drink more to cool off. The heat causes us to sweat more and we lose a lot of water in this heat.

But how much of what you're drinking is actually water? Soda and beer do not count. It's best not to get your calories from your drinks. There is so much empty calories in soda, it can really pack on the pounds. Diet soda isn't much better… some research shows that diet soda drinkers might actually hurt their metabolism and increase risk of obesity and diabetes.

As many of you probably remember, I've been doing strength training since losing the weight. I've learned so much in the past six months and I think I'm slowly starting to see results.

I had a personal trainer that taught me a lot of different exercises with free weights. She also had me doing pull ups, modified push ups, crunches, chest exercises, etc. Although I'm not an expert yet, I do think I'm starting to get some definition. I hope that any remaining skin on my belly is tightening. I know it takes time so I have to be patient. I would like to go to the beach without having to worry about loose skin around my belly. At least I don't have the huge beach ball of a belly I had just a year and a half ago.