Losing weight

Losing weight is never easy. First of all you have to be in the right state of mind and determined that you want to succeed, and secondly you have to identify what you should and should not be eating.

Most health experts agree that eating healthy foods such as fruit, vegetables, wholegrains, pulses, fish, chicken and seeds and nuts, while drinking plenty of water enables you to adopt a diet that is sustainable and filling but enables you to lose weight. This also means cutting out coffee, tea, colas and alcohol, sugar, and saturated fats.

 The 21st Century Epidemic

Currently 24 million adults are overweight, and predictions are that half of the population will be clinically obese by the year 2030. The government is particularly concerned because obesity is one of the main risk factors for cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

A recent survey claims that the so-called ‘hourglass’ figure will no longer exist as waist sizes for women which currently average 34 inches are going to go up to 42 inches in 50 years’ time if we keep getting bigger. The research was commissioned by the magazine Prima which found that women’s waists are now 7 inches larger than their grandmothers were! According to the Daily Express the 1950’s woman had a waist of 27.5 in and now it is 34 in. So no longer the 36, 24, 36 that was considered so desirable, with busts now at 39 in as opposed to 37 in and women an inch taller now at 5ft 4in on average.

People who are classed as obese have a body weight of over 30 BMI (body mass index), while anyone of 25-30 BMI is considered to be overweight.

Body mass index is obtained by dividing a person’s body weight in kilos by their height in metres squared (times itself) For example, you might be 1.6m (5ft 3in) tall and weigh 65kg (10st). The calculation would then be: 24.8 BMI – just below the overweight bracket!

  • There has been a 25 per cent increase in the number of overweight and obese children since 1995;
  • Almost 17 per cent of children are now estimated to be obese;
  • It is 50 per cent more prevalent in boys and 80 per cent in girls from the lowest social groups;
  • Presumably the prevalence among girls is because teenage girls tend not to play sport, whereas many of their male counterparts do;
  • Exercise is a big factor in keeping people slim and healthy.

Unfortunately highlighting the issue can make obese people feel as if they are being persecuted. There are so many reasons why someone becomes overweight and it may be better viewed as an addiction, like alcohol or drugs, to be treated with compassion.

Emotional factors:

‘It’s like shedding the layers of an onion getting to the real cause behind obesity,’ according to counsellor, Bar Hewlett. There could be any number of factors that lead people to have mixed feelings about food including:

  • Conflict at the dinner table as a child;
  • Dysfunctional families and sibling rivalry;
  • Discipline based around food – ‘you’ll go without your tea for that!’
  • A need for attention seeking;
  • Self-loathing

The result can be one of two extremes – obesity or anorexia. It’s too trite to blame obesity on overeating – the question is why do some people need to eat more than others? Some people feel that when things go wrong in their lives their way of gaining control is to eat.

Addressing the emotions that make people want to eat is the best way to lose weight. See Emotional Eating.

Healthy Soul advocates healthy eating, exercise and addressing emotional issues where weight is a continuous and serious problem for you.

Organic Weight Management Plan

Viridian has launched an Organic Weight Management Plan that consists of four food supplements to encourage your body to lose weight. This isn’t some faddy new ‘miracle’ diet but a sensible balance of nutrients to help stabilise blood sugar levels and metabolism, regulate gut flora, restore the correct balance of acid/alkalinity so that the body is not too acidic, and help to safely detoxify leading to loss of weight. It consists of:

• Organic Green Tea in capsule form
• Organic Soulfood Greens
• Organic Mineral Complex
• Organic Nopal

Green Tea has a number of properties that help in weight loss – it increases metabolism, thereby increasing core temperature, which burns more calories. It also is high in antioxidants and has been shown to increase the detoxification of enzymes.

Organic Soulfood Greens consists of Spirulina, wheatgrass, barleygrass, alfafa leaf, wild wrack, seaweed and chlorella which provide a huge array of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, essential fatty acids and antioxidants to raise energy levels, restore normal acid/alkaline levels in the body and help to detoxify.

Organic Mineral Complex contains over 80 essential trace and macro minerals together with nettle and horsetail herbs which help to eliminate excess fluid.

Organic Nopal comes from natural dehydrated leaves of the prickly pear cactus, which is very high in nutrients and fibre. The high fibre content increases its own volume in the stomach making you feel full up and as it digests slowly it regulates glucose in the body, stabilising blood sugar levels. It also reduces fat absorption, regulates gut flora which improves digestion, and can have a diuretic effect, reducing fluid from the body.

The Organic Weight Management Plan from Viridian, includes 90 veg caps of each of the above with a daily dose of three of each at each meal time, and a 24 page informative booklet on losing weight. It costs £65.00 from Nutricentre.

Featured products
Organic Weight Management Plan Viridian Nutrition Organic Nopal, Organic Soulfood Greens, Organic Green Tea, Organic Mineral Complex x 90 each £65.00
***Please click here to purchase from Nutri Centre***

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