It would be nice to be able to believe the ads and infomercials for weight loss products, wouldn't it?  It sounds so great... take a pill, or drink a drink, and watch the pounds melt away without any effort.  Eat whatever you want, as much as you want.  No need to tire yourself out with exercise.  Just take the natural weight loss potion and in no time you'll be at your target weight and looking great.

Unfortunately, despite the advertising hype about the latest and greatest weight loss aids, there is no single product or approach that is widely effective at producing safe, effective, and/or lasting weight loss. Although it is easy to buy into the fantasy of the magical weight loss potion, the vast majority of the time a combination of diet, exercise, and sometimes natural weight loss aids is necessary to effectively lose excess weight and keep it off.Numerous natural weight loss products are available and new ones are released on the market all the time. Each product promises to be nearly miraculous in it’s effects. Despite the fact that deep down they know it's too good to be true, time and time again 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 there really is an easy way for them to lose weight and that diet and exercise won’t be necessary. So although at some level they already know that the latest "miaculous" weight loss product being hyped is no better than all the things they’ve tried before that didn't work, they buy it, only to be disappointed again.

Now I'm not saying that natural weight loss aids are all completely worthless. In actuality, many do exactly what they are supposed to do. Hoodia gordonii (at least the real stuff), for example, is actually a very effective appetite suppressant. If you have trouble losing weight because you can't resist your out of control hunger, hoodia may be a big help. The thing is, the majority of people are not overeating because of actual hunger. People overeat 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 usually overeat out strictly out of actual hunger. Even the best hoodia product on the market is not going to help you if you aren’t eating out of true hunger.

Other natural weight loss products supposedly work by increasing the metabolic effects of diet and exercise. There's an important distinction that has to be realized though. They may increase the weight loss effects of diet and exercise, but they don't replace diet and exercise.  Unfortunately, if you don't diet and exercise, the effects of these products will be pretty minor or nonexistent.Some natural weight loss aids block the absorption of fat by the digestive tract.  This of course lowers the calories you absorb from each meal. But only part of the calories you consume are from fat.  Any other foods you consume in excess will be converted to fat AFTER they are absorbed from the digestive trac, so those calories cannot be blocked. Although fat blockers may enhance an otherwise effective weight loss program, a consistent diet and exercise program is still required to get maximum results.

The bottom line is, no matter how good the advertising and hype for a weight loss product makes it seem, lasting natural weight loss absolutely requires a healthy eating plan and regular exercise. There is no weight loss product on the market, natural or otherwise, safe or unsafe, that will by itself make you lose weight and keep it off long-term. In fact, even the "hype-iest" ads for weight loss products will usually state this very fact, even though it is hidden in microscopic print at the bottom of the ad.

Safe, lasting weight loss is built on a foundation of sensible diet and exercise. You may get additional benefits over and above the effects of diet and exercise from using one or more of the natural weight loss products on the market. But you need to consider what type of weight loss product serves your particular needs. For example, if you’re not overeating out of hunger, don’t waste your money buying an appetite suppressant. If you’re already eating a healthy diet and not consuming an excess of fat, don’t bother buying 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! A recent study that tested the relative effectiveness of several popular diet plans revealed that the overall success rates of most of the currently popular diet programs were about the same. In other words, the success or failure of any given diet had little to do with what the approach was. Whether people used diets that focused on low carbohydrate, low fat, calorie restriction, eating for blood type, using certain herbs and spices (as in the South Beach Diet) etc., really didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was whether or not the individual stuck to the program and did it consistently long-term!

To follow-through with your natural weight loss plan, you simply 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.  Ultimately, it often comes down to simply getting fed up (no pun intended) with being overweight and deciding once and for all you are going to do whatever it takes to get the weight off.

To sum things up, the key to weight loss does not lie in the latest and greatest weight loss product being advertised.  The real secret to safe, lasting weight loss is to choose a reasonable approach that includes diet, exercise (choose an exercise you are physically capable of doing and think you might enjoy), and possibly one or more weight loss aids.  Then find a way to make the commitment to making your weight control program a part of your daily life forever. Take control of your mind and get your brain working with you rather than against you.

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Dr. George Best is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of Parker College of Chiropractic in Dallas, Texas.  He has been in private practice as a holistic health care practitioner in San Antonio, Texas since 1992.

In addition to his practice, Dr. Best is the webmaster of several health related websites and maintains a blog on natural remedies and natural healing at www.BestHealthAndWellnessInfo.com.

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