Healthy Living in Connecticut Blog

Someone recently asked me about how I stuck to eating so healthy and maintain my weight. She was saying that she has trouble staying with healthy foods. After a while the food gets boring to her. This was someone who did a wellness challenge... as you know I participated in two challenges last year. One thing I learned from the challenge is it's a lifestyle change, not a temporary diet. The only way to lose weight and keep it off is to incorporate the habits from the challenge into your daily routine, even after the challenge ends.

So many people will go back to the foods that got them overweight in the first place. I think one reason that it's hard for some people to keep a healthy diet is that they didn't find food that they liked enough to stick with. If you don't like the food you're eating, eventually you will give up and go back to your old style of eating. It's important to incorporate a large variety of healthy foods and be creative. If you hear of a food that has a lot of health benefits, try it and see if you like it.

In a recent post I mentioned a pivotal "moment of clarity" most people experience when they resolve themselves to lose weight.  Mine was somewhat embarrassing to say the least. However... as clear as that moment was... it came with another reinforcing experience that definitely sealed the deal with my need to live a more healthy lifestyle and to achieve a healthier weight.

Often for work I would travel to Boston, MA.  One of my offices was there since the product management team was run from that location.  I would travel there 2 to 3 times every other  week.  I would take the long drive from Bristol Connecticut to one of the outer lying towns near Boston and take the T rail into the city. I would get off at Government Center station and walk 4 blocks to the office.

I know fish is very healthy, providing essential nutrients and most important, omega 3 fatty acids. If you like it, you will enjoy all the health benefits that fish provide. But, some people just don't like the taste of fish and I happen to be one of them.

I was a picky eater as a kid. Not only did I not care for fish, I also didn't like sausage, bacon, etc... That's probably why I loved junk food so much. My mom did cook a lot of chicken, beef and turkey so I did get enough protein! There were a lot of foods I loved, Italian being my favorite and still is! I grew to love healthier foods, mostly on the vegetable side but still do not have much liking to seafood.

It was in the news recently that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie recently underwent lap band surgery in order to lose weight. While I applaud him for attempting to fix his problem, I do not agree with his method to correct the obesity. I believe the only healthy way to lose weight and keep it off is to eat right and exercise.

I had a comparable build to Governor Christie just a year and a half ago. I needed to lose weight and my doctor advised me to as well. I was fat for way too long and I didn't want to get diabetes. I finally took a stand and changed my food intake. I also increased my exercise by doing a hour on the treadmill most days of the week. The weight came off gradually at an average of 3 pounds a week. Surgery may have given me results at a quicker rate, but I would rather learn the proper ways to live healthy and to adjust gradually to my new weight.

I remember when I first started to lose weight. I was very careful about what foods to eat. I'm not saying that I'm not careful now, but I do allow myself a day to cheat on my "diet" every now and then. If you don't cheat on your diet once in a while, I think you will be more likely to go back into your old habits. I say the word diet but I still am not comfortable calling the way I eat a diet... I eat healthier foods dailly but it's more of a lifestyle change than a diet.

I was recently on vacation. It's hard to find healthy foods away from home. I did bring a lot of walnuts, almonds, protein bars and fruit, but still, I did not eat totally healthy. I did allow myself dessert one day last week as I had a piece of chocolate cream pie. It was a lighter version with low fat whipped cream. Surprisingly, it was enough to satisfy my sweet tooth. This coming from someone that used to eat a half a gallon of ice cream a day!