"Weight Loss"

The weight loss industry is probably one of the biggest money spinners in the world, especially the western half! And it's not surprising when we know that a huge number of the world's population is now overweight, or even, to use that awful word, 'obese'.

Many of us are a few pounds overweight and we can live with that. Perhaps at certain times of the month we put on a couple of pounds - normally simple water retention - but generally a couple of pounds here and there won't make much difference to our general well-being.

Unfortunately, as soon as those few pounds grow into a few stone the problems build up - not only physically but emotionally as well, then weight loss becomes an issue. When you are going out for the night or have an important meeting you want to look your best. This doesn't happen when you look in the mirror and see a fat lump!

Sorting out how you feel about yourself is often the best first step to take in getting the body shape you want. If you're happy with your body shape and are confident that your weight isn't affecting your health in the long term, then don't read any further. Get back to those chocolates!

However, if you aren't happy about the way you look and feel, then you must decide to do something about it. Weight loss shouldn't be undertaken in a light-hearted way, nor should it be done for someone else - that doesn't work. Do it for YOU. Don't try all the 'lose 7lbs in 7 days diets you can find everywhere. In fact these kind of articles scream at us from everywhere magazine stand - the magazines sell, so we must assume that all of us are in a hurry to tackle our weight problems.

That's a great start, but to be realistic about it - and after all we do live in the REAL world, with all it's temptations and energy saving devices - you've probably taken some time to put on the extra weight you are carrying about. It is going to take a while to shift it.

Be nice to yourself. If you smoke, stop smoking. If you drink too much alcohol, cut down. And if you need to lose some weight, go about it in the right way. The very first thing to realise, after you have made your decision to do it for YOU- is to sort out a healthy diet.

Growing a few organic vegetables will really encourage you to stick to a good diet, and gardening, even if gentle indoor gardening, will encourage your body to enjoy regular exercise and if you have some outside space, will give you a good helping of fresh air and Vitamin D every day. Fresh fruit and veg will really help with your weight loss plan.

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Grow your own organic vegetables to make the finest meals for your family....

Thompson and Morgan are online worldwide suppliers of seeds and other products and they have some great pictures to drool over!

broad beans brussel sprouts Carrots

Chile Peppers Sweetcorn Tomatoes

Thompson and Morgan UK
Thompson and Morgan US
Weight loss and Healthy Eating with Thompson and Morgan Worldwide

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Allow yourself some proper time for a weight loss plan. Don't be tempted by the quick fix diets. It's the fast food and crazy living that has got you in this mess to begin with. Throw out all of those ideas and make a good plan for yourself. If you lose one pound a week, which is a healthy weight to lose every week, in a year you will have lost 50lbs. 50!!! If a year seems a ridiculously long time to get the body you want, then just stop and think for a moment - the year is going to go by anyway, and if you tackle a couple of fast fad diets, you will undoubtedly put back the weight, so you may end up at the end of a year even heavier than you started. Be nice to yourself!

If you are very overweight, you may find that you will lose more than a pound a week at first - that's great. But often you will reach a plateau when nothing seems to change for two or even three weeks at a time. DON'T DESPAIR. It's just that your body has to get used to being the new weight it is. Carry on with your plan, and the weight loss will continue. Be positive!

I'm not going to lay down recipes to stick with every day - for goodness sake you may not like the foods that are being suggested! But one thing I would suggest is that you keep a food diary. Not to make a note of what you HAVE eaten but what you are going to eat every day. Write it down the night before and stick to your menu plan. If it's not on your list, don't eat it!

Spend a few days working out what it is that you do that keeps your weight higher than you want it to be. Write down the calories you consume each day - be honest with yourself! When I started my weight loss plan, I was horrified to discover I was consuming more than 3000 calories every day. The suggested calorie intake for women is 2000 and for men 2500 calories per day. Any more than that and you will add to your fat supplies - unless you are taking most of the calories as protein and are body building. However, that isn't most of us!

A woman's body needs about 1400 calories per day simply to function, so if you reduce your calories to less than that, your body will think it's in famine mode, and deposit fat stores as much as it can.

The overall best natural weight loss plan you can treat yourself to is to watch the calories, do regular exercise - yeah I know 'aaaaargh!' - but honestly, as the weight comes off, the exercise gets to be fun!

So to tackle your weight loss, make a plan, be nice to yourself and be absolutely determined to lose your weight at a regular and steady pace to ensure you don't put it straight back on again! Quick check list:

- count the calories for a while until you get used to it.

- plan your menu every day, include all those 'good-for-you' foods.

- Eat regularly - every 3 hours, even if its just an apple. Skipping meals makes your body think it's in famine mode and will store fat - usually around the tummy and thighs!

- Avoid any obviously fattening foods - fried foods, cakes biscuits and - oh dear - chocolate

- Make sure you eat at least 5 portions of fruit and/or veg per day

- Don't get disheartened during the 'plateau' moments - stick with it

- Keep the vision of a healthy new you

- If you weaken and give in to a sweet treat, don't worry or think 'I've blown it' - enjoy the treat and then get straight back on track. If your intended weight loss plan is only about a pound a week, an occasional treat won't make that much difference. Note though - occasional is once a month - not once a day!

- And - this is really important - get some exercise - toning your muscles will help prevent any loose flesh after weight loss, and not only that, it will raise your metabolic rate, give you lots of energy and you won't even feel you want that quick energy boost in a bar of chocolate or a bag of chips!

You can find more about growing your own vitamins and lots of recipe ideas in my book recently published with Findhorn Press. Grow Your Own Pharmacy You really can grow enough fruit and veg to keep your family glowing with good health!

Good Health!

More "Weight Loss" reading

http://www.flower-and-garden-tips.com/weightloss.html