Healthy Living in Connecticut Blog

I remember when I first started losing weight a little over three and a half years ago. I would feel somewhat embarrassed with all the attention and would sometimes understate how much weight I lost. But, eventually I had to admit my weight loss to others. I was always afraid of people's shock when they would hear the number... 140 pounds, Oh My God! Of course, now it's been over 150 pounds lost, but anyway... 

Personally, I have no desire to get to a certain number. I'm very happy with my weight... in fact, if it goes down a little on the scale, I get nervous as I don't want my weight to go lower. I judge by how I look... despite the sagging skin on my abs, I know that I don't need to worry about my weight. I'm proud of the weight I lost and have no interest in losing anymore. I know I have an athletic body fat percentage and that my waist circumference is considered healthy. For me, it's all about being healthy. But there are other people I've talked to that obsess about getting to a certain number on the scale.

A few months ago, I did an email interview with Derek Mitchell. He made the national news as he is doing a 5K race every month and plans to lose 175 pounds by the end of this year. He started out at about 570 pounds but he's doing an awesome job and inspiring thousands of others! I wanted to update on how Derek was doing, as he just announced he completed his ninth race. Great job Derek! If you're ever in CT, let us know... I'm sure many of your fans here would do a race with you!

1. How many races you've participated in so far?

9 - 8 live 5k's and 1 virtual 5k.

You know you've accomplished something when you have to buy new clothes!

I kept a few pairs of my size 44 pants, just as a reminder of how obese I really was just a few short years ago. To put it in perspective, I went from size 44 waist down to size 34.

It seems hard to believe that at one time I actually fit into these pants. Some of the shirts I've saved went half way down my legs, many being XXL. Now medium shirts fit me... I never thought I would fit into a medium.

I love doing cardio! After all, the treadmill helped me lose most of my weight. I've been trying to cut down on cardio but this week has really been different. I did not use the treadmill for a whole week. I don't want to keep losing weight... I'm so active that it seems like by using the treadmill, I would keep losing weight.

I still get my steps in. According to my pedometer, I do get well over 10,000 steps each day. So what do I need to use the treadmill for when I'm already active enough? I'm focusing on my muscle and I think the results are getting more noticeable each day. Also, I did run for 5 minutes yesterday around a track as a warmup.

I'm really getting into strength training. I have decided that I no longer need the treadmill. I still will do my walking and get my steps in, but I don't need to lose more weight.

During the past few months, I was using the treadmill for about 5 to 10 minutes for 5 days a week. It's not too much, but the weight tends to fall off me so easily now. I want my body to build muscle and using the treadmill might confuse my goals... my body might still think it needs to lose weight. A trainer was talking to me about cardio today, that it could actually hurt my efforts. I don't want it to get in the way of my goals!