Are you a D.I.Y. (do it yourself) person? Me too. Whenever I can save some green and do something myself, I do. I have ripped out carpet to cut down on installation costs. I grew my own flowers for my wedding. I even bake my own whole grain bread so I do not have to pay $4.00 or more for a loaf of healthful bread.
Some would say I am cheap, but actually, I rather enjoy the reward of doing things myself. So, when I heard that I could grow my own hoodia and not pay $60 a bottle for the supplements, I thought, hey! I could stand to lose a few pounds and would it not be great to do it for less?
Big mistake. I knew that hoodia was a succulent grown in South Africa. I knew that it helps suppress your appetite because of the compound in it called p57 which mimics blood glucose and makes the brain think you do not need to eat. I realized I would not be able to turn my hoodia plants into pills, but I figured I would just chew on the stems like the natives in Africa. Or perhaps figure out how to make a lovely tea to sip and control my appetite.
I clicked here and there and found some inexpensive hoodia seeds and some surprisingly expensive sand. Living in Arizona, I wondered if could not just pull off the highway and see if Sonoran sand was just as good. But, I decided to spring for the Kalahari sand and make my hoodia plants feel at home. I wish I had the same philosophy with the seeds. I planted these inexpensive hoodia seeds and two weeks later, I had some sort of little flower growing instead of succulents. Oops! The company would not even reimburse me!
I had already blabbed to everyone I knew that I was going to grow my own hoodia plants. I could not exactly back out now. Instead, I researched some companies and found authentic hoodia seeds and special sand. The seeds were pricey, but I was not going to let that deter me. You are thinking I should have just sprung for the $60 bottle of hoodia appetite suppressants, but I was determined!
I planted the seeds and prayed for the best. In about three weeks, I had little finger-like plants springing up through the (expensive) sand. Okay, now that is what a succulent should look like! It was not long and I had little flowers on my little hoodia fellows. The smell of sweet success! Well, actually the smell of “stinky” success. The flowers on a hoodia plant have an odor meant to attract flies for pollination. Yes, they smell like rotting flesh!
I had to move them to the garage and rid my house of the stench (and the flies). Stinky or not, I had an obligation to my little hoodia plants. I did what I could, but they soon began to develop some sort of fungus. At first, I wondered if this was just another unpleasant hoodia characteristic, but no such luck. I found out that even professionals have difficulty growing hoodia. The crops succumb to a myriad of fungus and disease quite easily.
My little hoodia guys croaked over the next week. I thought my friends would give me a hard time, but I think they were happy they did not have to bring their fly-swatters with them when they visited. I guess South Africa will remain the major provider of hoodia! So, I ordered my $60 bottle of hoodia. The good news is that I have lost 10 pounds!
Can you grow your own ? Go there and become a member of our great community on Facebook.
categories: hoodia,hoodia gordonii,weight loss,dieting,natural remedy for weight loss,health,natural appetite suppressant,health and fitness
