Healthy Living in Connecticut Blog

Wow, it's hard to believe it's been one year since my abdominoplasty (commonly known as a tummy tuck). This was a procedure that I put a lot of thought into and was something I waited 5 years to do. I have absolutely no regrets doing it, as I gained so much more confidence since then.

For 5 years after my incredible 150 pound weight loss, I worked hard trying to tighten my abs. I did everything, from machines that heat the skin as a way to tighten, special creams, wraps, you name it, I did it. It wasn't just the ugliness of the skin that bothered me, but also the irritation that went along with it. I would get itchy and irritated in that area. I also hated the flopping sound it would make when I ran as I would feel embarrassed by it.

I went on vacation last week, to visit my dad and step mom. It was a long trip as I went by train and they live in Virginia, near North Carolina. Not only did I have to find ways to eat healthy, I also wanted to ensure I still got some exercise in.

I went by train as I thought it would be the easiest. I figured I could get up and move every hour. The only trouble is, the train was very late arriving in my destination. What could have been an 8 hour excursion turned into 9 hours.

A friend in a running group shared an article about runners and how speed is not so important. I have to admit, before I read the post, I was very competitive. I keep thinking that I wanted to increase speed, but I'm starting to rethink it.

Most people I associate with do not run. A lot of people tell me, even in their 20's, that they can't even run a mile. How awesome is it that I'm able to run, like so many of my plant based friends who have all lost weight. We are doing it because we can run.

When I was heavy, I would dread the thought of going to the gym. Just thinking about it would make me break out in a sweat!

I would work out but would get nowhere. As I eventually discovered, weight loss is like 90 percent what food you eat and only like 10 percent exercise.

I blogged a few weeks ago how I was going to focus on strength training as I want to build more muscle. That is still the goal but I do have a few smaller races coming up. At the end of this month, I will do a 5K, which should be easy for me. Next month, there's a 10K race in my hometown. I'm doing these races more for fun and to make sure I still get some running in.

My workout routine has been concentrating on lifting more weights. I'm still doing 5 days a week, but not as much cardio as I had been doing. I still do cardio each day, but less time. I know the more cardio I do, the more weight I'll lose and the less muscle I will build.