Great Ways to Lose Weight Gardening

Believe it or not, your garden is a friend of your weight loss plan. There are great ways to lose weight gardening, and from the products of your garden. It's right there in front of you. All that is needed is for you to get out there and put in the effort. Here are some easy ways to lose weight while enjoying your summer hobby.

If you have a raised bed garden this will be fairly simple, but a traditional tilled garden will give you a serious workout. Every spring the soil of your garden needs to be prepared for planting, and the easiest way to do this is with a powerful tiller. But wait! There are many calories to be burned here if you do it yourself.

This spring, use a nice pitchfork and turn that soil by hand. This is a tremendous workout that will not only burn calories, it is a true strength training workout in the garden. It's like step aerobics, calisthenics, and weight lifting all at once. Turning the soil is one of most effective workouts possible in the garden, so take advantage of it.

Gardening is only possible when the temperatures are right, so sometimes it's good to get started early. The greatest way to do this is to raise your own seedlings indoors. This will get your hobby going sooner and give you more to do in the dog days of winter, when inactivity can be a problem. Find a nice spot in and out-of-the-way spot in your home and make it the seed starting center.

To get good results, just prepare some simple but necessary supplies for seed starting, order or purchase your favorite seeds, and plant. By the time your last frost date is past, you'll have seedlings ready that are exactly the variety you want. Not only that, you'll save money too. I like to start seeds in the basement with a hanging fluorescent light and heat mat. It's a great way to get me up and down the stairs every day.

When it's planting time, get out there and plant. You will burn more calories planting seedlings than you will planting seeds. Of course, some things like peas or beans, as well as most root crops, are best planted direct from seed.

Once the vegetables are planted the workload often is reduced, but there is a workout buddy just waiting for you in the garden every time you are in need of some exercise. Weeds! They will never let you down, always there for a quick calorie burn. If you are looking for the cheapest organic weed killer possible, your own two hands are the answer. Not only is it chemical free, you will never misplace them, and it doesn't matter if it rains soon after they are used.

The fact is, weeding involves bending over, squats, and stretches your muscles, and it is truly a workout. A person can easily burn as much as 200-300 calories per hour gardening, so go ahead and get out there. Not only will your garden look great with no weeds in it, your crops will not have to fight weeds for water and light, so your garden will be more productive. It's a win-win situation. Remember to drink enough water in the hot sun so you won't dehydrate.

If you want the best garden soil possible, you need compost. Sure, it's easy to find at the store, but a compost pile in your yard will serve two purposes. First, it will provide the garden with a source of nutrient-rich media that can be added each year. Second, a compost pile needs to be turned and worked once in a while. That means it is a workout.

How often to turn compost is really up to you, but a weekly turn is not out of the question. More often that that is just overkill. If you really don't want to overdo it, monthly is not too long either. The fact is that a compost pile will work pretty well with any frequency, but it will remain hotter and break down more quickly with a turn each week or so. That's faster soil for your garden, and a once-per-week workout plan that does not require a gym membership.

If you'd like to avoid a compost pile in the yard because you live in the city, consider a compost barrel instead. It hides the compost but still will give you something to do.

The biggest benefit of tending a garden at home is the produce. Not only are your home-grown vegetables the freshest you can find, they have not been treated with chemicals, shipped from somewhere, or sneezed on by the last shopper in the store. It's hard to grow anything in a vegetable garden that's not good for you, so eat up!

A diet rich in vegetables is a healthy diet, and you really should include fruits and vegetables in every meal. They are a great source of vitamins, nutrients, antioxidants, and fiber. All of these things are imperative for those that need to lose weight.

Don't stop with fresh vegetables either. You can can or freeze many things from the garden to enjoy these healthy foods during the winter as well. Don't be afraid to try this out, even if you start small. Freezing tomatoes is great for use in soups and stews in winter, and so easy to do.

You really can enjoy your garden and drop some excess weight at the same time. If you've just been thinking of the garden as a place to grow food, think again. It is an activity center, complete with various workout options, open every day of the week.

If you get out there and maintain the garden on a frequent basis, it really will be an integral part of your weight loss routine, and provide countless ways to burn calories.