Health Food Help

I'm going on a trip to Wales early next year, to see if I like it, and I want to drop some weight and tone up a bit for the trip. Does anyone have any recipes or foods that may help me in this journey?

Lyndsey xx

I've been doing the south beach diet for 10 days and I've lost 7 pounds (the weight loss will slow down after the first two weeks).  It's low carb, but not as restrictive as Atkins.  It's been a pretty good experince thus far and I plan on sticking to it!

Should add that I've been exercising, too -- 45 minutes on the treadmill each day and I'm slowly adding in an exercise video here and there (it's WAY too cold up here to go outside to exercise!   ).

I think that a good thing, esspecially as you wish to tone as well, would be to head to your neighborhood gym and talk to some of the trainers there.  Get on a good excersie plan and eat sensibly.  There are loads of great websites with excellent low-fat recipies.

One thing to remember: if you plan to tone (and gain muscle mass) you may not see much of a drop on the scales as you would like.  Remember that muscle wieghs more than fat.  Count the inches, or look at the fit of your clothing: don't get hung up on pounds and scales.

I had great sucess in loosing some extra weight a few years ago without really "eating less".  I made small changes in diet instead: toast, but no butter; baked potatoes without butter and sour cream; non-fat lattes without the sugary flavorings; basically, anything "extra" that could be gotten rid of, I got rid of.  Plus, it helped me to create new, healthier eating habits.  In addition, I walk up a couple of flights instead of always using an elevator.  I get off the bus one or two stops early.  Those little things all help a lot!

Good luck!

sounds kewl! Will do thanks Girlies!

My suggestion is to only do those things that you can imagine doing for life.  The best way to gain weight has been proven to be going on a diet...because most people cannot stay on the diet for life and end up gaining more weight than they lost after time.  Giving up little things, or cutting back on portion size (which is typically outrageous in the States) is the best thing to do...and then exercise on top of that.  It is suggested that you need one hour of exercise a day at least 4-5 times a week to truly lose weight.  This one hour can include walking to your car, going up stairs, etc, so it's not as much as you'd think...but you do need to do some heart raising exercise at least a few times a week and for a bit of time.

Best of luck to you!

I try to work out as much as I can, usually walking since i'm not physically fit to jog just yet. I enjoy Tae-bo i just need to get the dvds 

Lyndsey, don't feel discouraged if you don't have time  to exercise 4-5 times a week. Trust me, even if you just manage a couple of times, you will see results! Even if you just do one workout a week .... that's one more than you're doing now, right? The key I think is to do what you can, and do what you enjoy. If you like walking, go for walks. If you like music, crank the stereo and dance around your living room like a mad woman. If you like swimming, join your local Y. There's something for everyone out there. Don't feel that you have to turn into a gym rat to get in shape. Keep me posted as to how you're doing, OK? I'm trying to exercise too and we can all use support, right? (I'm not just talking about sport bras here  )

of course Belinda. Sports bras are the devil though.