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LOSE WEIGHT – GAIN HEALTH

This is a special plan for those of you who have “VEGGIE PROBLEMS” which unfortunately I had. The dislike of vegetables probably was the major factor in my being overweight and sluggish. Although scientific studies exclaim the benefits of eating various vegetables and I agreed with their conclusions, I still found it difficult to bring them into my regular diet.

Zilch -

Walking was my favorite hobby most of my adult life, on or off the golf course. By walking ten miles a week plus two rounds of golf plus a day or two at the gym I was able to maintain a good weight condition. However as I aged, knee problems caused me to discontinue walking more than a few blocks with great difficulty doing steps. My weight started creeping up and I found myself forty pounds over my desired and normal weight.

I today eat more vegetables in a week than I previously ate in two months, and they are of a greater variety. How is this possible? Did I have my taste buds removed? Was I hypnotized? Did I overload them with strong condiments to null their taste? No; no; no. How could I possibly not only greatly increase my vegetable intake but actually enjoy them?

All of my life I enjoyed vegetable soup but didn’t dine on it very often. If I didn’t feel like a salad prior to my meal sometimes I would replace it with vegetable soup. I seldom made soup my main dish for a meal.

I will not bore you with the details of my dining experiments but give you the final recipe I presently follow on my “soup” day. I knew I had to choose a standard off-the-shelf vegetable soup. After numerous soup trial days I chose PROGRESSO Traditional Chicken & wild rice. The can informs us that there is no MSG; two servings 100 calories each; total fat 5 g; no artificial flavors; ready-to-serve. Now I also prepare some veggies (celery, broccoli, etc.) chopped into small bite sizes. In addition I purchase mixed frozen vegetables, and pre-cooked wild rice. I add these additional veggies to the soup and further season the soup with either Peppercorn Medley or Italian Herb (McCormick) seasonings. This meal, loaded with vegetables that have had their tastes overcome by the flavor loaded soup, provides plenty for both my lunch and dinner meals. I will have this meal two or three times a week generally taking in less than 1200 calories on those days.

Is this “vegetable special” all that is required to achieve good health? Of course not. You need to exercise. It can be walking; running; swimming; the gym; sports; etc. but it should be accomplished at least three times a week. I personally believe some muscle strengthening exercises also help maintain good bone densities. Review my article on “TOOTHBRUSH MACHINES”.