Herbal brews help weight loss and hot flashes

There are many safe herbal preparations or single herbs that can be of benefit when trying to navigate through menopause.

Here is a list of favorites and some of their benefits:

• Chamomile- relaxing, digestive, great drunk last thing before bed

• Green tea:-antioxidant and anti aging

• Sage- one of the best helps for hot flashes, try some with your ordinary black tea.

• Artichoke--supports liver function

• Dong quai- this herb is high in plant estrogen and is known to ease many of the symptoms associated with menopause including hot flashes.

• Dandelion-this herb is great as a liver cleanser and tonifier, try it mixed with roasted chicory

• Damiana- is noted for its aphrodisiac qualities,it could be of great benefit for women experiencing low libido or other sexual disfunctions. It also helps to regulate the pituitary gland.

How moods can affect weight

When I am down all I want to do is eat.

Not so good if what you want to eat is all the heavy duty foo like pasta, cream cakes, chocolate and ice cream.
It is down to habit, we have become used to associating the rich starchy calories packed food with comfort.

How to change that?

Here is what to do:

1.First acknowledge you are having a blue day, this means allowing yourself to feel sad and decideto have a nice time at feeling blue.

2.Make a large pot of your favorite tea.

3.Put on your favorite music

4.Get ready to feel better

5.Time for a nice, very long walk.

When you get back home you are probably feeling a lot better and whatever it was that got you down has lifted or you made a decision about changing the situation.

This is only what works for me, but I found that when I decide to let myself have a quiet day or a sad day, without blaming myself for feeling the way I do i don't have to turn to food as comfort.

It has been established that people who are overweight are more likely to suffer depression, what came first, the overeating or the depression?
When our hormone play havoc we often feel we need that chocolate or ice cream, I used to go through this once a month before menstruating, this just carries on now, hormones still fluctuate and I get the sugar cravings. However the less I indulge in those carb binges the less frequent they become.

After menopause keep walking

I am really a couch potato, I like nothing better than sitting on my confi sofa with a good book and a cup of tea. Luckily I get quickly bored and I move to the garden or go for a walk.
I must confess that seeing my own mother unable to walk to the bus unaided is enough to put the fear into me. I must clarify, she has osteoarthritis arthritis, has had a difficult life and I don't think that in my mother's day there was much worry about eating right and exercising, folks worked hard, ate meat twice a day and smoke cigarettes. We know better, and we have a chance to live longer and healthier, there is no excuse for us.
As we get older it is easy to get lazy, driving everywhere, I am also a bit guilty of that one, until I moved to the city. I decided to explore my city [Brisbane, Australia] on foot and using buses and the river cat only when I got too tired. It was a blast, I found lovely suburbs and the best little coffee shops this way, coffee being one of my great pleasures, i would walk several k's a day this way, just to find another coffee house.
All this walking had a great bonus: I got quite fit and lost a lot of weight as well!
I have since got the walking bug, when ever I can I put on my day pack, don my walking shoes and off I go. There are walking groups in most cities the world over, it is easy enough to join if you dont like the idea of walking on your own, alternatively start your own group.
There are many other ways to get outdoor exercise, try cycling or running or swimming. Most of those activities can be very social and there are many groups in the cities and bigger towns.
The main thing is to keep moving.

Raw food snacks

Replace the cookies and potato chips The hardest part of my own weight loss journey was not snacking on bread, cookies or potato chips while watching TV or just sitting down reading a good book. In the past I would always have a cup of tea and a plate of sugary snacks in front of me, somehow watching a movie would not be the same without being able to reach for a nice morsel of food.
In came the healthy snacks

Here is a list of my favorites:

Carrot and celery sticks with a low fat yogurt and cucumber dip, add a touch or mint and a little garlic

Raw nuts with dried fruit, easy on this one as it packs the calories, I like to cut apple segments into it

A plate of fruit cut into bite sizes

A cup of frozen berries

Instead of a snack make a pot of freshly brewed green tea, green tea is full of antioxidants and it may well stop the urge to eat, very often we mistake thirst for hunger.

Middle aged spread

Every pound added to your weight before your 40s will generally spread evenly over your body after that, it settles around the belly and waist. This extra weight can sneak up on you, you may buy looser clothes, just an extra dress size... or two...or 3.

Shedding that weight becomes difficult due to changes in lifestyle:

* we are busier
* eat out more
* children are tiring us out,
* we have more stress
* we sleep less
* don't exercise enough
* consume sugar and/or alcohol

so at the same time that we are slowly gaining fat most of us are also slowly losing muscle.

How does this all contribute to middle aged spread?

Muscle tissue is more metabolically active than fat tissue, so it requires many more calories, even at rest. As you begin to lose muscle, even though your activity levels may remain about the same you will burn fewer calories for any given period of time. This may not make much of a difference over a few days or a few weeks or even a few months, but over the long haul it can have a dramatic effect on your weight as well as your overall body composition.

Excessive fat stored around the abdomen can lead to an increased risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, breast cancer, and high cholesterol.

The only proven way to lose body fat is to burn up more calories than you consume.

The energy expended must greater than the energy consumed!

Science tells us that 1 pound of fat is equal to 3500 calories, so a daily calorie deficit of 500 calories should result in 1 pound per week fat loss.

When you create a calorie deficit , you will lose fat.

There is no better time to start but NOW

·Have a full health check up before you begin. This is important as the emphasis is on improving your health as well as losing weight.

# · Start moving more. Walk as much as possible, park your car just that little bit further and walk to the shops.

# · Avoid sugar

# · Write down what you eat, include all drinks and snacks. This way you can easily see where you need to cut back, begin a weight loss journal

# · Drink more water, eight glasses a day is recommended.

# · Cut back on bread, limit it to eating no more than 2 slices a day, preferably in the morning.

# · Drink green tea, it is full of antioxidants and curbs the appetite

# · Learn to cook using less fat, no more deep frying, instead try an oil spray.

# · Have a good breakfast of oatmeal, fruit and yogurt. This will give you energy and you will be less likely to reach for a quick sugar fix later on.

# · Get at least 20 minutes of sustained exercise daily.

# · Build a support network; enrol the help of family and friends.

# · Throw away all unhealthy and fatty snacks and get into nibbling on apples or celery sticks and carrots.

# · Have a hearty soup for dinner and avoid sitting in front of the TV while having your meal.

# · Move your body as much as possible; listen to your favourite CD and dance!

My weight loss journey

There is so much written about weight loss, yet we are still struggling [I know I am] to find the magic formula or the little golden pill that would just melt away all that nasty fat.

Middle aged spread creeps up and before you know it you added inches to your waistline. I gained 2 dress sizes in as many years and if this goes on I may have to pay for an extra seat next time I fly!
Dieting and exercise go hand in hand, it is not just a matter of fitting into a smaller size, my main aim is fitness and a healthy longer life, at 40 life is only beginning. The down side of 40 is loosing weight becomes a little harder.

Diet and exercise may not be the only answer, our MIND may have a lot to do with it, I would even venture to say that it plays the biggest part.
The way we see ourselves and feel about our bodies is often the result of years of negative conditioning and contrary messages from the people around us and the media. Open any magazine and you will see stick thin actresses and then a caption mentioning their cellulite!!
Excuse me but what is the message here? We should all look sick and undernourished?
I don't know about you, I do feel better when I loose a bit of weight but only because my fitness and health improve too.

If you have any weight loss ideas that have worked for you, please leave a comment.