I have just discovered a new report from Australia showing that iron deficiency can hamper your weight-loss plans. Researcher Dr Amanda Patterson from Newcastle University states that women show anxiousness, nervousness and carelessness with even a mild iron deficiency in their blood tests. Not surprisingly these women also showed lower vitality and emotional stability, which may frustrate their efforts to lose weight.  It saddens me that up to 20% of Australian women could be overweight and their weight-loss plans affected by iron deficiency.

Another researcher Dr Helen O’Connor found that obesity tends to make it harder for you to absorb zinc and iron which also contributes to iron deficiency. The upshot is that if you are on a weight-loss plan, it could mean you are both zinc and iron deficient.
Just to remind you – women are also at risk of being iron deficient during menstruation, when breastfeeding and during pregnancy.

What are you going to do about it? First check with your medical advisor – they sometimes suggest a supplement, or a modification to your diet.

To make a start, this may help.
The iron you get from meat, poultry and fish is readily available to your body. Eggs, beef, pork, chicken and turkey are all good sources of iron (Personally I don’t eat pork or other “farm fed” animals – but that’s another story). Soybeans, lentils, kidney beans, spinach and leafy green vegetables contain iron, but it is less readily absorbed. In general, always vary your food to make sure you have a complete diet.

• How to enjoy your weight-loss! When you are overweight or obese, you are usually lacking in energy. Some mornings you don't even want to get out of bed - even after a full night's sleep. You may be so down that you refuse to try weight-loss. It's too hard for you. Losing weight sometimes isn't......
• Weight-loss pills may be harmful Caution! Weight-loss pills may cause you harm. Having lived for 70 years with minimal medication, and still fit and virile, I am extremely wary of weight-loss pills. Only one weight-loss pill (Alli) has been approved by the FDA in US, and that has serious question marks against its name. Most......
• Do you need for weight-loss? First you have to discover your "Weight Gain Gremlins"! Not all large babies become fat people. Most obese people are not programmed to be obese genetically, although it's likely, if some weight-loss research is to be believed, a few are. So why are so many people, some as young as five years old, overweight? Visit almost any website on......
• Weight-loss and your shopping list The supermarket is an interesting place, which I visit regularly.  I do more than simply buy stuff, I study people. I try not to stare, that might get me in trouble (that was a joke - where I live, it’s not an offence to stare, within reason of course).......
• To diet or not to diet? Weight-loss  and your diet. The most important aspect to weight-loss is what you eat. Nobody has ever put on weight by breathing fresh air and drinking water! Type in the key words “weight-loss diet” in your favorite search engine, and there are literally millions of web pages that will advise......

• Will Conjugated Linoleic Acid Assist With Your Weight Loss Plan? Conjugated linoleic acid is a natural material found in many foods.  It can lower the amount of fat and improve muscle mass.  You do not want to vary your eating or work out habits.  Conjugated linoleic acid is typically taken by men trying to drop fat and increase their muscle......
• Keeping a Food Diary One of the best ways to really keep your diet real is to keep a food diet. This is a truly excellent first step when it comes to figuring out and assessing exactly how you eat. A food diary may also be able to tell you why it is that......
• Losing Weight with the HCG Diet Program Losing weight is an important goal for people suffering obesity. Quick results have been promised by many fad diets. Among various diet programs the popularity of a new diet that requires the intake of HCG has been growing. Rapid weight loss is promised in HCG diet program. It is during......
• Avoiding Inevitable Weight Gain Did I trick you with that title? Is any kind of weight gain "inevitable"? I say no. There are many misconceptions out there that at certain points in our life weight gain may seem inevitable, but that's not necessary the case. Whether it is the freshman 15, the weight the......
• What is a Calorie? The definition of one calorie, officially, is defined as the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one liter of water one degree. Thus, a calorie is actually not a tangible item, but rather a unit of measure. Calories actually measure the energy contained in a given food......