Healthy Living in Connecticut Blog

Things are moving along! Day 3 of the 8 day jumpstart period completed!

What better way to prove my progress than to take photos of the scale!  It is easy to log and post my weights... but how would you know truth from fiction? I missed photos of the first two days but from here on out I will have photos of the scale every day.  Let's hope it keeps going down! With the type of scale I have I cannot cheat it... it has balance indicators that will not log your weight if it detects that the person is shifting their weight on the scale and little arrows show up on the display to let you know you are cheating!  I love it. 

Launching ahead full steam yet gravity is trying to hold me down!

I've had quite a day today!  I've had a large corporation tell me that I am unrealistic or unlikely to lose 40 pounds in 10 weeks.  Can you imagine that?  I tired to pay them to promote my story... and I was told "Your Post wasn't boosted because it violates Fxxxxxxk's ad guidelines by making claims that are unrealistic or unlikely. The post remains published, but it is not running as an ad."  I am amazed that a complete stranger (ad reviewer) would try to discourage someone from sharing their story!  I'm not even selling anything!! I've contacted the company and I am awaiting a response.  

I've lost 30 pounds in 8 weeks during last fall's Northwest YMCA Weight-Loss Challenge. I was monitored during weekly weigh-ins for 8 weeks straight and I did not even exercise during that challenge.  I did walk "so many" steps per week but always fell well below the 10,000 steps/day they were looking for.  During this new personal challenge I will be exercising and quite sure I will be able to lose 40 pounds in 10 weeks. I am a bit pissed that I cannot even pay money out of my own pocket to try to boost my story to get more followers!

I'm back on the wagon!  What better way to illustrate my return to the weight-loss wagon than having an image of a wagon full of puppies!  I need all the cuteness possible to counterbalance the ugly task I have ahead of me!

I'm starting my own personal weight-loss challenge!

My goal is to lose 40 pounds over the next 10 weeks, averaging 4 pounds per week, to reach my weight-loss goal by June 11th. 

This past Monday, Dr. Oz aired a show that focused on some of the dangers of artificial sweeteners. The artificial sweeteners, in case you don't know, are saccharin (marketed as Sweet N' Low), aspartame (marketed as Equal) and Sucralose (marketed as Splenda).

I've written about the dangers of aspartame and other artificial sweeteners for some time now. There are so many reports of health problems caused by these artificial sugar packets, including multiple sclerosis among other diseases. I was eager to tune in and find out what Dr. Oz would focus on.

Anyone up to the challenge or at the very least investigating the different methods of losing weight know well that there are hundreds of different diets and variations.  High protein, high carb, low carb, balanced, Mediterranean, pills, points systems, calorie counting, see food diet (wait that one makes you gain weight)... the list goes on and on.

Today, I'd like to think people are more health savvy and realize that diets do not really work for the long term goals of living a healthy life. It takes a lifestyle change. What does that really mean?  "Lifestyle change" sounds so scary and burdensome!  It really isn't.  Only your brains addiction to sugar makes you feel that way.