Before I get into this article I have to make an admission, I love food, and yes most of the time I do enjoy my diet, is it always the healthiest, well, then unfortunately I would have to say no. When I started this website I was more than just grossly overweight, and as one doctor jestingly stated that he had seen fitter corpses. I have come a long way since then, fitness wise I have accomplished more than I expected, but my weight loss is definitely behind schedule.

When we are young time isn’t very important, and the future almost appears to be infinity, (please stay with me here as I do have a point to make) but once we reach our mid sixties, we realize how fast a lifetime passes, and how much faster time seems to be passing us by. Now my point is, because time passes so fast, and we don’t have any rehearsals, just the one take at life, its important that we enjoy every minute as much as we can, and that has to include our food.

I know a couple of people my age who constantly worry about what they should and shouldn’t eat, if they have put any weight on, and the silly part is, they are far from being overweight, and if anything I would say they are underweight. In my view life is too short for that, but I am not saying live on McDonald’s, or have fries with every meal, or eat cream cakes every day, but every now and then in moderation can’t do any harm. Now I know there are going to be some of you out there shaking your heads going “no no that can’t be right” but please bare with me until the end of this article, and my point will be explained.

I must say I hate the word diet, it just conjurers up all the wrong images for me, rice cakes, bland looking meals, cabbage soup, all the things that make us cringe, so I think it should be meal plan, or eating plan, it sounds so much more appetising. Healthy does not have to be bland, you can make some very tasty meals, and still lose weight, and I will be giving you some of my favourite recipes later in this article.

In the opening of this article I said “is my diet always the healthiest, then unfortunately I would have to say no” now let me explain what I meant. Some things I have been able to give up when I needed to, smoking, alcohol, no problem, but stick to a strict eating plan, and I am in trouble, for me it is difficult, and sometimes I do eat something that I know I shouldn’t. Now I am lucky, as a young friend of mine is a fitness trainer, and qualified dietitian. I have to say he has given up trying to get me to stick to his eating plans, but he has come up with an alternative that seems to be working quite well for me.

When I say I sometimes eat things that I know I shouldn’t, I don’t mean that I binge out on cakes and ice cream, though that is a disgustingly nice thought, no seriously its just enough to slow down my weight loss. Now when you think about it, what my friend has come up with is nothing more than plain common sense. He has said that as I enjoy my eating plan and its not outrageous on the days when I do bend the rules a bit, I just spend more time exercising, or do an extra walk before I go to bed, it seems like a fair trade-off to me. This brings with it extra benefits, because I can often find the answer to a nagging problem when I am walking, it can clear your head and give you a fresh perspective on things.

Lets get down to the important bit food, and when you enjoy food like I do, one thing that helps is to fill up on a bowl of tasty healthy soup before your main meal. While I was researching for (Weight Loss Foods That Can Help to Shed Those Excess Pounds), celery kept cropping up, as a good source of fibre, and a very healthy snack. I have to say that celery was one vegetable I thought was put here to annoy us, I absolutely hated the stuff, because of those disgusting stringy bits that keep getting stuck in your teeth. I now have to admit that celery makes fantastic soup, (you can find it on my recipes page) and is now one of my favourites along with, Leek Potato and Carrot soup. Both of these are really tasty, and great fillers before any main course.

Food is very important, but enjoying the food we eat is also very important, of course we need to be careful, but that shouldn’t stop it having plenty of flavour. I have had some requests for healthy recipes, and I have decided to now include a recipes page, and over the coming weeks I hope to be constantly adding to the list of tasty and healthy choices, so then if you are stuck and need some ideas, you will be able to just go to the recipes page. Just a couple of reminders before I go, water is our friend, for losing weight, drink at least 2 litres per day, but 3 litres is better. Increase your water intake, and after a couple of weeks you will notice your skin looking younger. Secondly eating slowly is the secret to eating less, it gives your body a chance to let you know when you have eaten enough, and you soon find you are enjoying your food more.  Also watch out for the monthly news letter which will be starting soon, with health and exercise tips and more recipes for spring…..