Healthy Living in Connecticut Blog

As many of you already know, I've been wearing a pedometer for a while now. I haven't really updated the story in a while but I have now walked 13,140,000 steps in three years! That's equivalent to 6,225 miles, or roughly the distance from Connecticut to Los Angeles, CA and back!

I don't keep a daily log of my steps and the numbers are an estimate. I just know that on average, I probably get around 12,000 steps a day (some days around 10K, other days closer to 15K). It's not an exact number but I'm confident that it's probably close to the actual number of steps that I walked.

...At least I hope I'm gaining muscle! I've been hitting the weights 5 times a week. I've been doing stretching, crunches, planks, chest presses, lunges and so much more! I know I eat enough protein and calories and I definitely feel stronger. My trainer won't check my body fat percentage for a while but I know it's getting there!

So far no one has said they've noticed I've lost weight, which is a good thing! I've been trusting my trainer when he said to not worry about my weight. It might drop but as long as I'm eating the right foods and enough protein, it should level off. I weighed myself today and the scale read 201.8 pounds. This marks the first time, probably in my whole adult life, that I'm not in the overweight range on the weight chart. It was not my goal to lose weight, but I'm fine with it as I am now officially in the "normal body weight" area of the weight chart. According to the BMI chart (which I don't usually pay much attention to), my weight should be less than 202 pounds.

Here's part 2 of the interview with Philip McCluskey, the former CT resident that has become well known nationally after losing over 200 pounds and becoming a vegan. Click here to check out part 1, if you haven't already done so.

Philip offers some insight on protein and how he thinks it's a myth that more protein is better. I now there's a lot of conflicting information out there as to how much to have, so check out Philip's view on the subject.

I spoke about the benefits of MSM powder a few days ago. I found out about the product from a video Philip McCluskey posted on YouTube. I wanted to try the product myself to see if what he claims is true, that it would help tighten my loose skin. So far, I'm very happy with the results, although I still have a way to go.

Philip McCluskey is a native of Danbury, CT. He once weighed in at 400 pounds and was on the verge of gastric bypass surgery. After many failed attempts at losing weight, he finally decided to try a vegan lifestyle. This is what eventually helped him to lose 215 pounds. He became nationally known and has been on many TV shows, including "The Doctors", a TV infomercial with Jack LaLaine, among many other appearances. He is also the author of many books, including "Raw Food Juice Bar", among others. Check out his website by clicking here.

I'm choosing a non-surgical way to tighten my abs and it's going to take work. Today, I did a Power Pump class at the Y. I started this class a few weeks ago, at the recommendation of my trainer. The class is great because I learn so many new exercises each week and get a great workout in.

After the class, I had my personal training session. My trainer went over my weight and checked my BMI. The scale has been reading between 208 to 209 pounds. My BMI is at 26 so there is some room for the weight to go down, as anything over 25 is considered overweight anyway. My body fat will be measured during my next session, which isn't until March.