Despite advertising claims, there is no single product or approach that is widely effective at producing natural weight loss. Although many hopefully search for a magical one-step solution to their weight problems, the vast majority of the time a combination of diet, exercise, and sometimes natural weight loss aids is necessary to effectively lose weight and keep it off.
There are many natural weight loss products available and additional ones come out all the time. Each promises to be nearly miraculous in it's effects and people buy the latest and greatest weight loss aid with eager anticipation, hoping that it will finally be the answer to their weight problems. They want to believe that a pill, or a patch, or a tea, etc.. will be all they need to lose weight and that diet and exercise won't be necessary (because dieting and exercising are difficult). Even though deep down they probably know that the latest weight loss miracle being hyped is no better than all the things they've tried before, they want to believe it will work, and so they buy it, only to be disappointed again.
Now this is not to say that natural weight loss aids are all completely worthless. In fact, many do exactly what they are supposed to do. For example, hoodia gordonii (at least the real stuff) does seem to be a very effective appetite suppressant. So, if the main reason that you have trouble losing weight is because you have out of control hunger that makes you eat excessively, hoodia may be a big help. The problem is that most people are not overeating out of actual hunger. They may eat out of boredom, out of habit, out of a need to satisfy a craving, or out of a need to soothe some emotional issue they are dealing with, but they don't eat out of hunger. Hoodia is not going to help you if you aren't eating out of hunger.
Other natural weight loss aids may work by increasing the metabolic effects of diet and exercise. It kind of stands to reason that if you fail to incorporate diet and exercise the effects of these products will be pretty minor.
Some natural weight loss aids block the absorption of fat by the digestive tract and thereby lower the calories you absorb from each meal. While this does tend to help with weight loss, unless you stop eating everything except fat (which is not a good idea), you still are taking in other calories that, in excess, will be converted to fat AFTER they are absorbed from the digestive tract. Here again a consistent diet and exercise program is needed to get maximum effects.
At this point, you may have guessed that one of the primary points I am trying to make is that lsting natural weight loss, absolutely requires a healthy eating plan and regular exercise. No weight loss aid, natural or otherwise will by itself make you lose weight and keep it off. In fact, the ads for weight loss aids will usually state this very thing, even though it is in microscopic print at the bottom of the ad.
What it comes down to is that natural weight loss is built on a foundation of sensible diet and exercise. With a good diet and exercise program in place, you may get additional benefits from using one or more of the natural weight loss products on the market. But do your research to find a product that serves your particular needs. In other words, if you're not overeating out of hunger, don't buy an appetite suppressant. If you're already minimizing your fat intake, don't waste your money on a fat blocker.
Now, once you have your weight loss plan in place with your diet, exercise program, and whatever natural weight loss aids you choose to use, there's one little thing that needs to happen for you to successfully lose weight. You have to stick to the program! If there's one thing that renders the vast majority of natural weight loss efforts ineffective, it's a lack of follow-through.
It has been my experience that very few people stick to a natural weight loss program consistently for more than two weeks at a time. Of course, some people may intermittently follow a weight loss program for months or years, but they get sidetracked over and over again and really are not consistent for more than one or two weeks in a row, so they never get any momentum and achieve their goals.
A new study that tested the relative effectiveness of several popular diet plans revealed a fascinating finding. The overall success rates of most of the currently popular diet programs were about the same. The success or failure of any given diet had little to do with what the approach was. In other words, low carb, low fat, calorie restriction, eating for blood type, etc., really didn't matter. What mattered was whether or not the individual stuck to the program! To sum it up, it doesn't matter so much what you do to lose weight (within reason), as much as it matters that you do it consistently long-term!
To follow-through with your natural weight loss plan, you MUST get control of your mind. There are many ways to do this and many different techniques that work to varying degrees for different people. You can get a lot of help in this area with products from Anthony Robbins, Dr. Phil, and others, as well as through technologies like hypnosis, the Sedona Method and Emotional Freedom Technique. You may need to try several methods to find what works well for you.
Regardless of the approach you use, the true key to effective natural weight loss really has very little relationship to the hottest weight loss aid on the market, or the most recent diet book being promoted. The real secret is to choose a reasonable approach that includes diet, exercise (choose an exercise you are physically capable of doing - starting with advanced kickboxing if you've been a couch potato your whole life is not going to work!), and possibly one or more weight loss aids and then make that program a part of your daily life forever. And the way to make that happen is to take control of your mind and get your brain working with you rather than against you. Good luck!
Dr. Best provides free diet, exercise, and supplement information on his website covering natural weight loss. He can be reached via email at DrBest@TrainYourBrain4WeightLoss.com
