There are many suggestions here from excercises in various forms to eating better;

I have a family who constantly diet!They lose weight,feel great and then stop whatever diet they're on and go back to the habbits which got them to be overweight in the first place....so they diet again for a while....

You see what's happening here!

Dieting is NOT neccessary!!!You only need to alter your eating and excercise habits SLIGHTLY to lose weight;Granted,it doesn't come off so fast but,by changeing your habits,these pounds/kilos will stay off!

A large percentage off overweight people have just bad nutrition;This needs improving,together with a little extra excercising....and I don't mean the gym,sweat and tears but that walk to the shops instead of the car,parking an extra block away,taking the stairs in stead of the elevator etc.

I am involved with the best welness business in the world,NUTRILITE,you might have heard of them!(http://www.nutrilite.com)

They have also launched a Lifestyle Balanced System(LBS)which describes everything from better nutrition and some excercise to gradually lose weight and,by changeing your habits to healthier ones,keep that weight off!!

I recommend you look into this for yourself;Don't just believe me,but I'm willing to help you to help yourself.

Be healthier,be happier,feel younger and live an awesome life!!!GOOD LUCK,

sincerely,

                           Jan  (jan.robberts@yahoo.co.uk) 

The walking is good.  Keep it up.  However I am not sure what kind of diet you describe as being balanced.  Also I’m not sure of your active time as against your inactive time period.  One thing I will warn you do not go on a crash diet (skip meals).  This will cause your fatty cells to store more fat when you do eat a little extra, and will be a little reluctant in releasing this fat.  Make sure you have at least three square meals per day.

There are four main reasons for gaining fat.

1.      Eating too much carbohydrate (especially empty one)

2.      Eating too much meat (especially fatty ones)

3.      A sluggish digestive system

4.      A hormone imbalance

Frankly for the latter, even though I could recommend supplements, I cannot guarantee they will work for you.  So this is what I’ll recommend:

Have at least one complete meal of mixed fresh fruits per day.

Make sure you have your largest meal in the middle of the day.  This meal should be mainly vegetables, both raw and cooked.  About two-thirds of you meal should be vegetables (mixed).  A half of the amount of vegetables you eat should be mixed raw vegetables.  The other one-third of your meal should be consisting of whole food and a small portion of meat.  Eat mainly fish (sea fish is best).  Drink water throughout the day; between eight (8) and ten (10) glasses per day is good.  This will help to keep you relatively full and at the same time flushes out some of the toxins in your system.

Avoid sweetened un-nutritional beverages.  Have home made fruits or vegetable drink instead.  You may snack on fruits and nuts. (Please note: do not over-cook your vegetables.  It is best eating your vegetables while it is still crunchy.)   Have at least one meal of serial per day – cornmeal, oats and any other high fiber, high brand cerials.

It is said that seeds do help to balance the hormone.  Pumpkin seeds, orange seeds and sunflower seeds are three that are recommended.

With regards the sluggish digestive system: ensuring that your bowel is free is very important.  You need to be sure that what waste you pass out is proportionate to what solid food you eat each day.  You must have between one and two bowel action each day.   The combination of recommended amount of water, fruits, vegetables and serials will ensure regular bowel action.  

Taking a regular detoxification and colon cleanse is good for keeping the digestive system efficient.  I usually recommend one that will restore the proper ph of your system after cleaning.  Preferably one that supplies you with pro-biotic.

If the above do not work then you might want to visit http://www.symmetrydirect.com/JGRANT and try the weight management system.  There’s also a good detoxifier on this website; one that I use on a regular basis.   As I said before I can recommend a supplement for hormone imbalance, however I do not know if it will work for you.  This product is also found on the above website:- Male Balance.

I believe that the use of supplements for weight management should be a last resort.  Maintaining a diet/lifestyle that works is the best way to keep the fat off.   Please remember that pure water is key for a healthy living.

You, eliminating potatoes from your diet give raise to a level of concern.  Potato is a whole food and is very nutritious.   When choosing diet, it is good keeping in mind that (referring to whole foods) every food created is good.  

Potato has a high level of vitamin C.  It has been noted in the past that, as the potato became common, scurvy, which is prevalent where vitamin C is absent, became uncommon, and soon disappeared almost entirely in potato-eating countries.

Potato is a complete food in itself.  Professor Hinhede of Denmark, a food scientist during the last war, he along with his assistant lived three years solely on potatoes – raw and cooked without any depreciation in energy.   It is best to eat potatoes in as raw a form as possible.  However raw, cut potatoes should be eaten as soon as they are cut, as their oxidation is very rapid.

Potatoes may be sliced or shredded raw and used in salads, juice them mixed with parsley, beet, or other vegetables for flavor.  Potato juice is a great rejuvenator and is a quick way to get an abundance of vitamin C as well as other vitamins and minerals.

Potato peeling, is rich in mineral elements.  At least 60 percent of the potassium contained in the potato lies so close to the skin that it cannot be saved if the potato is peeled.

It is best to cook potatoes on a low heat, if possible, and if they are not baked they should be cooked in a vapor-sealed vessel to retain their goodness.  They should not be overcooked.  A little crunchy is good enough.

Potato broth or soup can be used for catarrhal conditions.   Potato soup can also be used to great advantage in case of uric acid, kidney, and stomach disorders and for replacing minerals in the system.  The potassium in the potato is strongly alkaline, which makes for good liver activation, elastic tissues and supple muscles.  Potassium is the “healerâ€� of the body and is very necessary in rejuvenation.  It is a good heart element also, and potatoes can be used very well in all cases of heart trouble.

Please remember when cooking potatoes to always do so in the skin, and with the exception of soup, in very small amount of water, if any.

Nutrients in one pound (raw and pared)

Calories……….. 279               Iron……….. 2.7mg                 Protein …….. 7.6g  

Vitamin A …….. trace Fat ………. . 04g                    Thiamine …….. 0.40 mg

Carbohydrates … 6.8g Riboflavin …0.15mg                 Calcium ……… 26mg

Niacin ………… 4.4mg           Phosphorus .. 195mg                Ascorbic acid … 64mg

The best way to keep the weight off is to eat a little of all the whole foods available to you.  They are all good.  If you eat a little of all the whole foods available, you will get the benefit of each food without eating excess of any.  Please remember, each taste represents different nutrition in each food.  Just imagine in one day dinking 8 (8oz) glasses of water and eating a single small potato, a small slice of yam, a carrot, a small slice of cabbage, a small amount of celery, a small amount of parsley, a small slice of pumpkin, a tomato, a cucumber, a few leaves of lettuce,  a beet, a turnip, a small amount of cauliflower, a small amount of broccoli, a small amount of each of the other green leafy vegetables available, a plantain, an egg plant, a corn, an apple, a pear, a mango, an orange, a banana, a few plums, a few strawberries, each of the other berries available, a peach, a few grapes, a grape fruit, a kiwi fruit, a couple pomegranates, a pineapple, a slice of or a small papaya, nuts, seeds, beans, peas, etc, depending on what is available in your country, how much of each could you eat?  And of course a small amount of meat/fish of your choice would also be added to the list.

And note, of the list above, in addition to the fruits nuts and seeds, carrot, cabbage, lettuce, tomato, potato, pumpkin, celery, parsley, cucumber, beet, turnip, cauliflower, broccoli, and plantain are among those vegetables that can be eaten raw.

Many persons going on a diet try to eliminate fats.  Fat is necessary for energy and hormone production.  All fruits are good.           

First I need for you to understand, for you to loose the weight you will have to be able to control the depression.  Depression is a whole-body illness – it involves the body, nervous system, moods thoughts and behavior. Your depression could be triggered by tension, stress, chemical imbalances in the brain, nutritional deficiencies, poor diet, consumption of sugar, your overly concern about your weight and shape or any other factor.

I wish for you to take this attitude: “Don’t worry about a thing, because every little thing is going to be alrightâ€�.  Think always about nice, happy, good positive things.

Next step is to make sure that your diet is made of at least one complete meal of fruits, and a second of at least two thirds vegetables.  Eat all kinds of fruits and vegetables available to you.  They are good for you.  Have a meal of cereal.  Include nuts, seeds, beans and peas in your diet.  All whole food (complex foods) are good and they contribute to your feeling and looking good.  Do not forget your 8 to 10 glasses of water every day.

{Make sure these are included in your diet: soybeans, brown rice, millet, legumes, some amount of complex carbohydrate (yam potatoes, cassava, etc.), sea fish, apricot, asparagus, avocados, bananas, broccoli, blackstrap molasses, garlic, green leafy vegetables, legumes, yogurt}

Take a brisk walk sometimes.  The oxygen will do you a lot of good.  I am not sure of the setting of your home.  I do not have a carpeted floor.  I use a mop to buff the tile and it helps to keep my tummy down.  Other than that, along with the diet suggested above, you might need to do some abdominal exercise.  This will help to firm the muscles of your tummy.

Complimenting the above suggestion with supplements will help.  I can think of:

 Bio-Infinity which helps to balance the production of hormones which also helps with the regulation of weight;

Night Lite helps with the regulation of weight;

Nutrapack which is a complete food supplement;

Tranquility and Neuocalm which are designed to helps to calm the mind and body.

These supplements can be found at http://www.symmetrydirect.com/JGRANT.