How to lose weight the natural way

Since I've been on APSense, I've seen a lot of people advertising weight loss products.  In fact, I see them advertised in the offline world as well.  There are two main types of product - those that suppress your appetite, and those that stop your body digesting fat.

I lost a fair bit of weight - over 70lb - a few years back, and have maintained a healthy weight ever since, so I think I'm qualified to comment on this.

Most people are successful at losing weight using pills and other supplements.  After all, if your appetite is suppressed, you don't feel hungry, so you don't eat as much.  Or, if the fat is passing straight through your body undigested, you can eat more fat than you should, and you will still lose weight.

But what happens afterward?

You stop taking the supplement, continue eating as you always have, and the weight piles back on.  A lot of people are probably nodding their heads here.

Losing weight and staying slim and healthy is rather like making money online.  There are no quick fixes and magic tricks.  You need to take the time to learn a few things, then change your behaviour to fit in with what you've learned, and you'll start to move towards your goal.

It's actually very simple.  1lb of body weight is equal to 3,500 calories.  (1kg is 7,700 calories.)  So, to lose 1lb, you need to cut 3,500 cals out of your food intake OR use an extra 3,500 cals through exercise, or (best option) a mixture of both.  It doesn't matter how long this takes.  You could lose 1lb a week or 1lb a month, and you will still get to where you are going.

One reason people turn to supplements to lose weight is because the diet industry makes it seem so dfficult to do it without them.  Well, of course they would.  They want to sell their products, so it's in their interests if you think it's impossible to lose weight any other way.

Actually, it's quite straightforward.

You don't have to starve yourself, or spend hours every day at the gym to lose weight naturally.  All you have to do is make some small changes in your lifestyle.  For example, swap some of your high calorie snacks (biscuits, cookies, cakes, etc) for fruit or a small yoghurt, or go for a walk for 30 minutes most days.  Make one change at a time, and get used to that before you try to make another change.

Don't try to crash diet, and cut out all the fun things from your diet.  Your goal is to keep on enjoying life, and for that you need treats occasionally, just probably not as often as you have them right now!

If you would like to try losing weight the natural way, there are lots of free resources online to help you.  The best place I have found to get all the information you need in once place is the Weight Loss Community forum.  The link below goes to a "Where to start" post in the newcomers section.

Where to start, What to do

I don't get anything for sending you to this site, except for the knowledge that I'm helping someone onto the path to being slim and healthy for life.  Which I'm guessing is what you're really looking for.