Healthy Living in Connecticut Blog

As I am about to have an abdominoplasty this coming Thursday, I was thinking back to the beginning of my weight loss journey. After many failed attempts at losing weight, what stuck for me was a lifestyle change. It's always been about health for me when I lost the weight. Any other time I tried to lose weight, it was never about health.

What started out as a journey to avoid blood pressure medication became something that turned my world around completely. Here I am, with a blood pressure taken a few days ago of 118/72, at the dentist. I felt so happy as I realized that my blood pressure stabilized on it's own... I never took any meds that my doctor prescribed for hypertension.

Today, someone who knows I'm plant based at the gym, asked me if I eat much fruit. I told him I eat a lot of fruit. He asked if I worried about diabetes? I said no, consuming whole fruit does not cause diabetes. He had never heard that before but I'm so glad I gave him something to think about. He was always worried about fruit contributing to diabetes.

And he's not the only one. As paleo diets and keto diets gain in popularity, the misinformation about fruit will continue. But I look at it as a way to teach others and change misconceptions.

Plant based foods are important to me now, and they will play an even more important role next month!.

My scheduled abdominoplasty is August 30th. I never in my life thought that I would elect to have surgery, but my loose skin gets irritated and uncomfortable with certain clothing, etc. It's not a vanity surgery although I have to be honest that I hate the way my belly looks too.

Today, I had an appointment with a podiatrist. It was a routine visit but they had to update the medical charts at the office. The medical assistant asked all the routine medical questions and I of course said no to all of them! You know the questions... do you have diabetes, asthma, etc. Then she proceeded to check my blood pressure. I told her ahead of time that I usually have a higher blood pressure when in a doctor's office.

She happily told me 120/70. Really? Even with anxiety, my blood pressure still was great! It made me think of how far I have come in six years. When I was heavy, my blood pressure was like 140/100. I was told I would need to take medication. To hear that my blood pressure is healthy made me so happy to be plant based.

I think a lot of people share my frustration. The belly is the toughest area to workout and I never see results there. My arms are great, my chest is looking better but this belly has gotten nowhere fast.

That is why I scheduled an abdominoplasty. I was a tough choice to make as I never wanted surgery. But I rarely spend much money on myself and I hardly ever take vacations. I know some people who take vacations and the price of it is more than an abdominoplasty.