Healthy Living in Connecticut Blog

Hey friends, I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you about a new club in town. It's a Fit Club. Once a week we open our doors to the community and invite you to spend an hour working out with us. It is free of charge so all that is required is a positive mind, a healthy attitude and a smile.

The workout will vary from week to week. They will be announced ahead of time so you can be prepared. You will get to experience some of the hottest workouts from T25, P90x and Piyo just to name a few. The workouts will last anywhere between 30min-60.

Mat chose the perfect foods for the last two weeks of the challenge! I do have these foods often and they are so healthy for you.

Garlic is considered a natural antibiotic. It has so many health benefits, from lowering blood pressure to raising the HDL (good cholesterol) and lowering the LDL (bad cholesterol). It helps reduce cancer risk, aids in weight loss and can reduce inflammation and pain in the body.

In partnership with Governor Dannel P. Malloy, I’ve declared war on childhood obesity and each day an army of kids, parents, educators, elected officials and Fortune 500 companies are joining me to help battle this disease.   How bad is this disease? In Connecticut alone, childhood obesity impacts more than 12 percent of our children.

Making the matter even more urgent is the fact that, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity in children jumped 17 percent compared to a generation ago.  And, a multitude of studies have also shown that the childhood obesity epidemic is a real problem. The New England Journal of Medicine recently published a study that found kids who were obese or overweight by 5 years of age, would most likely keep that weight on through adulthood.

Mat, the Fitness Director at the Northwest CT YMCA, posted his first superfood for the Fitness Commitment Challenge and it's blueberries.

This week isn't much of a challenge for me as I eat blueberries practically everyday. When looking at a list of super foods, it's probably hard to find one that I don't eat.

The other day, I wrote about my team in the latest challenge I'm doing for the Northwest CT YMCA. Part of the requirements of the challenge is strength training. Many people do not get adequate protein, but body builders especially need extra protein in order to build lean muscle. Also, if someone doesn't have enough protein, they could lose some of the muscle they already have.

It's difficult to find the right balance of protein that you need. I've seen so many different guidelines but I'm listening to what my trainer advises, which is one gram of protein per pound of weight. Oftentimes, this means having a supplemental protein shake as it would be difficult to get enough protein from food alone.