7 Ways Starting a Vegetable Garden Can Help You Lose Weight

Trying to lose weight? Are you interested in starting a vegetable garden for the first time? Want to grow your own food at home? Here are 7 important ways starting a vegetable garden can help with weight loss.

Normally this time of year, I would be Pinning vegetable gardening tips and plotting my own veggie garden eagerly.

Every year I get spring fever and have to force myself not to start seeds too early (yep, I’m a nerd). I just love everything about spring and gardening is one of my favorite hobbies, but this year is a little different.

I did just have a baby (he’s one month old this week) and on top of that, my family is planning on moving in the next year or so. We plan to keep our house and rent it. But before that can happen, we need to make some updates and that will probably take a lot of my time and money.

Does gardening count as exercise?

Every spring and summer, I get really inspired to clean up and beautify my gardens. I could spend a lot of time and money working on my garden every day.

The best part is that for me, working outdoors rarely feels like a chore or a workout. I just have so much fun doing it that I don’t realize how long I’ve been working (and burning calories)!

Gardening is a serious workout, you guys. I saw this little picture and I just have to share it:

So if you’re asking, “Does gardening make you lose weight?” the answer is – possibly! Does pulling weeds count as exercise? Most certainly.

Okay, I’m really a nerd right now. But it’s so true! Anyone who has ever worked out in the garden knows it, too!

I want you to love gardening as much as I do so I’ve put together a few of the top ways starting a vegetable garden can help with weight loss. Because I know that’s why you’re really here!

Starting a vegetable garden can help you in more ways than one! Here's why you should be gardening for weight loss and the tools beginners need for veggie gardening.

7 Ways Starting a Vegetable Garden Can Help with Weight Loss

Learn how gardening could help you lose weight (no matter what you grow) and how to start a vegetable garden for beginners with my tips!

1. Gardening burns calories, obviously.

I already talked about it, and you already know it. More moving = more calories burned. But if you look at the graphic above, you can see that different tools and different gardening activities activate different muscles.

Starting a vegetable garden may just be a great new way for you to get burning! I love to use my Garmin activity tracker when gardening – I always burn way more than expected!

2. Gardening gets you off of your screens and outside.

Have you guys tried that app that keeps track of how much time you’ve spent on your phone mindlessly checking Facebook, scrolling through Pinterest, etc.? I haven’t used it but I’ve heard stories about the CRAZY amount of time most people are in front of screens now. (Since I blog I’m probably on screens more than a lot of people, so I’m actually scared to try the app.)

Anyway, gardening is an easy way to get outside DAILY. This is especially true in the spring and summer when your plants need you the most. My absolute favorite way to wind down is to go outside to water my veggies on a warm summer night.

3. Gardening gives you a sense of accomplishment and renewal.

When starting a vegetable garden, you get to experience a full life cycle. You nourish new life, and later reap what you sow.

Successfully harvesting something that you took care of in such a way (especially if you started your plants from seeds) is extremely rewarding. Later, eating your fresh veggies is even more rewarding, both physically and mentally.

4. It gives you healthy, organic foods.

I am 100% organic when it comes to gardening, and if you’re starting a vegetable garden, I suggest doing it that way. There is no real reason you need all of those chemicals – if you use them you might as well buy the stuff at the store, in my opinion.

Organic is always the best choice, and eating conventionally grown produce is actually linked to weight gain and retention. Why? Because pesticides used in non-organic foods are linked to endocrine (hormone) disruption. (I wrote an entire post about that.) Many of those chemicals are known to mess with your hormones and possibly alter your metabolism in a negative way. So just go organic. 🙂

5. It gives you peace and time for reflection daily.

I mentioned that my favorite thing about vegetable gardening is the excuse I have to spend some quiet time outside on a warm summer evening.

I love to go out there and just “be.” It’s the same feeling I get when I work out by myself with some headphones on. It’s a chance to be quiet of mind and enjoy the process while tuning out the noise of life. You should try it sometime!

6. It gives you a greater appreciation and respect for food.

Understanding the process of nurturing each plant in such an intimate way can help you respect your food.

Starting a vegetable garden from seed and taking care of it until it returns to seed is truly incredible. You will get addicted, I promise.

7. It helps you try new things.

I’m a big believer in trying new things and doing so often. This is especially important when it comes to healthy activities. The more you try, the more you’ll discover what you enjoy.

Then healthy activities become less of a chore and more of a hobby. Starting a vegetable garden each spring might be your next healthy hobby!

How do you start a vegetable garden for beginners?

If you are interested in starting a vegetable garden this spring, you don’t need to have a lot of garden space (you can even do container gardening) and you don’t have to have any experience.

But you may need to make a few basic investments depending on the scale of your garden. Here are my top suggestions:

Books about veggie gardening:

The Seed Starter’s Handbook – I had this book passed down to me from my Master Gardener grandpa, and it is pure gold for new gardeners.
The Vegetable Gardener’s Container Bible – For those who want to grow veggies in limited spaces.
The Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening – Another book that has been passed down to me, this book will help you identify disease & pests and learn to control them organically.

Supplies for starting seeds:

Basic gardening tools:

So, are you ready to start your own vegetable garden?

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