Healthy Living in Connecticut Blog

The new year is approaching, and everyone that wants to lose weight will begin to think of their resolutions. Some people will get gym memberships, others will try the latest fad diets. Instead of diets, you have to remember that true, sustainable weight loss only comes from lifestyle changes.

To achieve your weight loss goal, I think you need other goals too. You know what helped me lose the weight? I didn't only concentrate on the weight as I was trying to find foods to lower my blood pressure. I was on a mission to not be on hypertensive medication and I changed my diet because of it. The result was weight loss! Of course I knew I needed to lose weight… my doctor told me to lose 90 pounds, after all. But I don't think I would have made all the necessary dietary changes if it weren't for the other goal of lowering my blood pressure.

Weight, that is. Researchers studying US football fans (and French soccer fanatics) found that many sports addicts turn to junk food to help take the sting out of a loss. Fans of a losing team seem to consume extra fat and sugar, using comfort food as a way to deal with their emotions.

The last tip to maintain your waistline over the Christmas holiday doesn't even have to do with food or water. Love Everyone. Here is an extremely common occurrence for a lot of people. Food = Love. Right away its easy to assume I am talking about the person eating the food but it also includes the person preparing the meal.

We've all heard the phrase “My eyes were bigger than my stomach”. Tip #2 is so simple it’s almost silly, just use a smaller plate. This is a subtle psychological trick that really works because the mind takes the image you receive and interprets it based on a proportional scale and not actual volume. Have you ever looked at a picture and had trouble trying to understand how big an object is? Like seeing a picture of a cruise ship then seeing one in person it’s very hard to understand the actual size based on the photograph.

It’s that wonderful time of year again. In a few days our favorite plus sized man in a red suit will slip down our chimneys and fill our stockings with presents. While the next day our friends and family will try to fill our bellies with excessive amounts of food. This great holiday tradition usually is followed by naps and/or driving home with your pants belt unbuckled. So how can we avoid overeating and staying away from unhealthy foods over the holidays? I have 3 easy, effective tips that can really help.