Attack your weight gain with two steps

We gain weight for a variety of reasons, whether it's due to poor eating choices or heredity, or even due to stress and natural causes. But the worst thing you can do is go on one of those restrictive diets that make you essentially starve yourself; this type of dieting is not realistic, because sooner or later you will have to come off of the plan. You need to eat, but eat the right kinds of foods, not to mention get some exercise. A good natural supplement can help you reach your goals without stressing you out too much.

A supplement known as Nuphedrine has been particularly well-received by the dieting community, according to numerous reports and accounts online. Prior users have nothing but praise to lavish on the formula, which includes an appetite suppressant called Hoodia in addition to a patented fat burner known as Advantra-Z. Together, the formula acts synergistically to help you manage your diet plan while making your workouts more efficient. And best of all? No side effects associated with stimulants.

Are you dieting or focusing on lifestyle changes?

There are negative connotations associated with the word "diet," and perhaps this is justified. When you think of dieting, you might envision starving yourself and depriving your body of everything you like to eat, such as sweets, greasy food and carbonated beverages. But the fact is that you should be avoiding these foods anyway, and focusing instead on eating healthful foods, including fruits, vegetables and whole grains. When you look at your diet as more of a lifestyle change rather than a temporary program, it becomes easier to manage.

The South Beach Diet is perhaps one of the most famous diet plans to be introduced to the U.S. marketplace. The reason it was so popular was because it structured a sensible diet program that functions like a normal lifestyle. You don't have to give up carbs outright -- just for the first two-week period. And then you can reintroduce the right carbs such as fruits and whole grains. The final phase enables you to take control of your eating habits without feeling like you are inhibiting yourself in any way. This sure beats the restrictive fad diets out there.

Would you rather work out at home?

There is an increasing number of workout programs that enable us to exercise in the comfort of our own homes. These packages usually ask us to have a DVD or video player and enough space to perform a wide range of motions for the workouts. You don't really need any equipment aside from the occasional mat, exercise ball, or perhaps even some lightweight dumbbells. But are these workouts right for you, and are they reliable for those looking to shed pounds and keep them off?

Turbo Jam is a system that enables us to get cardio workouts in the comfort of our own living rooms, which is nice for those who don't want to pay a lot for gym memberships and studio classes. The exercises are supposed to be combined with dancing and a lot of activity, so theoretically you could burn those extra calories if you stick to the program. But that's just the problem; you might find the level of difficulty pretty low, and that's no way to challenge yourself and push yourself to the limits.

Should I pay hundreds of dollars for high-end treatments?

If you want to lose weight without spending too much money, then you probably want to stay away from the clinical treatments that promise to help burn off the fat and keep the weight down. Many of these procedures may be non-invasive, but they are also known to cost a pretty penny. In fact, some may charge you thousands of dollars, believe it or not. So the question many dieters and fitness enthusiasts are asking is, do these treatments work, and are they worth the money?

VelaShape is a minimally invasive clinical treatment that uses all kinds of modern technology to target fat and help smooth out the rough edges on the body. The treatment is supposed to use a form of Bi-Polar Radiofrequency in addition to Infrared Light Energy and Vacuum and Mechanical Massage. What does this mean for you? It means that you will have to spend thousands of dollars to get pampered, according to numerous accounts. While some participants reported pleasant results, the vast majority seem to be undecided.

Use topical creams to help burn the fat

If you're doing everything you need to do to lose weight and keep it off, then you're likely eating right, exercising with regularity and taking some form of supplementation. A good supplement really does go a long way to help you reach your goals by suppressing the appetite and stimulating your metabolism. But what if you want to do a little extra to burn off the excess fat and even get rid of cellulite in trouble areas of the body? Aren't there topical products to address these concerns?

Look around online for a quality fat-burning formula and you might stumble onto www.MiracleBurnCream.com. There you can find out about what makes a topical fat burner great -- namely, ingredients like Organic Caffeine, Organic Safflower Nut Oil and Organic Aloe Vera. The formula has been shown to help trim the fat in problem areas of the body by going deep into the skin and burning off excess fat. While you shouldn't expect to see results within seconds, the results have reportedly been fairly responsive and long-lasting.

Ingredients for a potent weight loss formula

Obviously, you can't have a good weight loss formula without having great ingredients. That's why whenever I see a supplement advertised as the best formula on the market, I go straight to the supplement facts panel and read down the list. More often than not, I will walk away from the product without being impressed. There are a handful of proven weight loss aids today, so I feel we should stick to what works instead of venturing out to uncharted territory.

You want your weight loss aid to suppress your appetite so that you can reduce your caloric intake, but you also want it to boost your metabolism and help burn fat. That's why the ingredients in MiracleBurn, a well-regarded dietary supplement, seem to be so promising. They include Hoodia and Advantra-Z, which together have been proven in studies to help control cravings and to increase our metabolic rate.

Detox formula or laxative?

A good detox product could go a long way to help us meet our weight loss and health and wellness goals, but the problem is that there are so many products to choose from. That's why it is important to get a better understanding of what approaches have historically worked, and which have proven to be useless. A product that promises to solve all your problems, for instance, might be questionable and should be treated accordingly.

A company called Flush the Fat has a line of cleansing products for the digestive system such as Internal Flush, which contains ingredients like Flaxseed Powder, Fennel Seed, Ginger Root, Goldenseal Root and Rhubarb Root. However, while the company says your digestive system will be "cleaned out," this formula looks to be more like a laxative and diuretic than anything else. There are other detox options, such as foot patches, that have been shown to be very effective.

Cover as much ground as you can

It might be easy to fall into the trap of trying to lose weight with just one product or approach, but this is not likely to be the best solution. For instance, many dieters just rely on one supplement without getting any exercise or focusing on their nutrition needs. You need to eat right and exercise in addition to taking a good natural supplement if you are serious about your goals. That's why I like programs that are comprehensive by nature.

The Duke Diet has made some noise in the diet and weight loss community, as can be seen in the forums, message boards and consumer-oriented Web sites. Many individuals appear to have found the all-around approach, which includes dieting, exercising, some supplementation and behavioral changes, appealing. You can take supplements based on Hoodia and Advantra-Z to help suppress appetite and burn fat, together with this diet plan.

Cleansing as easy as 1-2-3

Much has been made of the purported benefits of detoxifying your body periodically, whether to boost your digestive system or to fortify your immune system; detoxing has also been shown to improve overall health and wellness, and some say it can even help support your weight loss goals. But many dieters and individuals are turned off by the idea of detoxification because most methods are rather high maintenance.

While most of the mainstream plans and diets for detoxification are certainly hard to follow for the beginner, there are products such as the CleansePatch that have been shown to be more pleasurable to use -- and effective. This product is based on herbal extracts with potent cleansing properties, and you don't have to stick with any strict diet. You simply apply the patch to your feet and go to bed for five nights, and then reap the benefits of a cleaner system.

Boosting energy levels without over-stimulation

If you have weak energy levels, you will probably find it is hard to reach your weight loss goals. That's because most sensible weight loss plans involve at least some form of exercise, in addition to a healthful diet and some supplementation. You need to sustain relatively high energy levels if you want any chance at working out on a regular basis, especially for cardiovascular exercises -- which is the key for burning fat.

You can find many supplements that promise to boost energy levels as well as to burn more fat, but many of these products are likely to be based on a lot of stimulants; this is not good. For instance, one of the supplements you might want to think twice about using can be found at Appuloss.com, where you learn that the formula contains Green Tea and other stimulants. While you might achieve a burst of energy from all the Caffeine, you will also experience crashing and jitters.

Do you know where your ingredients come from?

Many of us stop short of making sure that a supplement we're looking at contains high-quality ingredients, as opposed to considering where the ingredients actually come from. A good weight loss formula will feature proven dietary agents such as Hoodia Gordonii, which has been proven to suppress the appetite. However, as more and more companies have caught on to this "miracle" substance, the quality of the sources has become compromised.

Unfortunately, there is only a handful of supplements whose Hoodia content is authentic and as potent as the real thing. At Hoodia P57.com, for instance, we learn that the Hoodia comes straight from southern Africa, where tribesmen are said to have used the plant-based extract for ages. It has also been extracted to be about 20 times more potent than the industry standard, according to reports. That's far more than can be said for the vast majority of Hoodia supplements.

Being misinformed about weight loss plans

A good diet plan ought to incorporate not only nutritious foods but also reduced caloric intake in general. This is because of the old rule that you need to burn more calories than you consume (through exercise), but if you're eating 2,500-plus calories a day then you're likely to go nowhere fast. But how can we do this the right way, instead of wandering aimlessly through the sea of weight loss products?

FatLoss4Idiots is a diet plan that is supposed to use the idea that it is not the quantity of calories consumed that matters, but the quality. That is, the company says we should change up the source of our calories so as to "trick" the body into boosting the metabolic rate and burning fat. While it is certainly nice to hear that we could lose 9 pounds in 11 days, I'm not sure that this approach is scientifically sound.

Fighting a slow metabolism naturally

You hear people saying all the time that they have a slow metabolism and that if they could only increase their metabolic rate, they would be able to trim the fat and shed the excess pounds. While you certainly ought to eat right and get regular exercise, you may also want to take a natural supplement based on ingredients like Advantra-Z, a thermogenic that increases the rate of burning fat by raising body temperature.

A supplement called Evoxin is advertised as a great general nutritional formula, with ingredients such as Green Tea, Biotin, Carnitine and Acetyl L-Carnitine. Green Tea seems to be weighed heavily as the main active ingredient, but I'm not confident that it is as good a fat burner as the company would have us believe. It contains antioxidants, but it also includes Caffeine, which could be problematic for many dieters.

Getting market value for your supplements

Supplements are not cheap by any stretch of the imagination, especially if you are buying a new bottle or two every month for general health and wellness, dietary support and/or sexual enhancement. That's why it is important to know exactly what you are getting in return for your hard-earned dollars, especially in the ultra-competitive market for weight loss formulas. You don't want to be getting a mediocre product for the same price you would be paying for the best in the business.

A supplement known as Cortislim seems to be marketed towards male and female dieters who need help combating the weight gain associated with a raging appetite and stress. The formula is a blend of Vitamin C, Calcium, L-Theanine, Magnolia Bark and other nutrients. However, at around $40 or more per bottle, you would expect higher-quality weight loss aids like Hoodia Gordonii, a proven natural appetite suppressant.

The detox patch to end all detox patches

A good dietary supplement can go a long way to help us meet our weight loss goals, whether it is to slim down our waistline or whether we want to shed a great number of pounds -- for good. A supplement should help us address two key struggles: a raging appetite and a slow metabolism. Hoodia and Advantra-Z are great options, but what if we also want to detox our system?

You can go on one of those fad diets that require a restrictive diet based on a weird concoction of lemon juice and spices. Or, you can try one of those foot patches that have become popular, though not all are as reliable as they claim to be. The Cleanse Patch seems to be a crowd favorite, according to numerous online testimonials, for its ability to remove toxins and other impurities after just five nights of use. (You simply slap the patch on the underside of your feet and forget about it until the following morning.)

The power of the mind to overcome hunger

If we all had the willpower to resist our out-of-control appetites, then we wouldn't need supplements, self-help books and audio programs to help us along the way. But the reality is that many of us have a hard time knowing when to say no to that extra slice of cake or pizza, and we can use all the help we can get. The tricky part is figuring out what form of support is best for us.

There are programs like Provida that claim to hold the secret to overcoming our hunger, through a series of audio sessions and literature to educate us on making smarter eating choices. The program is supposed to be semi-interactive, since a different course of action is encouraged depending on our individual needs. But the question becomes, where do we stand after we are finished listening to the entire series? Perhaps a supplement based on Hoodia and Advantra-Z might be more practical.

A blast from the past -- where it belongs

The weight loss community was once abuzz with the discovery of a stimulant known as Ephedrine, which was shown to boost the metabolism and help burn off body fat. It was one of the more popular weight loss aids and fitness formulas to hit the shelves ever. Of course, that intrigue eventually gave way to the realization that there were many side effects that affected the heart and central nervous system.

And yet, there are apparently supplements that still contain this vile ingredient, which has been attributed to at least a few deaths in the U.S. A supplement called Metabothin appears to be circulating on the Web, even though Ephedrine has been banned in America. It's not clear whether you can still buy this product, but hopefully that is not the case and any mention of the supplement online is just residual.

Rapid weight loss -- is it a good idea?

If you've ever come to the point where you stopped wanting to do all the right things to lose weight gradually over a long period of time, it was probably because of a lack of tangible results that you could see and feel. You might have been tempted to just go for the products and programs out there that claim to promote a large amount of weight loss in a relatively short period; but do these work?

Leptoprin is an example of a supplement marketed as a quick and easy solution for those who need to shed a lot of pounds quickly. In fact, the company says this is a good option for anyone looking to lose 20 pounds or more. But the formula, which includes Garcinia Cambogia, Epimedium and L-Tyrosine, does not appear to be anything special -- though you may lose a lot of water weight.

Need a little help resisting cravings?

At some point during a diet in the past, we are likely to have come to the point where we realized that we wouldn't be able to starve ourselves like this for long. Maybe we lasted a couple of weeks at best, but the inevitable caving in probably led to some hardcore binge eating. The best types of diet plans have been shown to be the ones that require well-balanced meal plans and gradual weight loss over a period of time.

For those struggling to keep their hunger in check, a supplement like Hoodia P57 might come in handy. The formula is apparently based on authentic forms of Hoodia that is many times more potent than the industry standard, which is saying a lot. The great thing about Hoodia is that it contains a molecule called P57, which signals to the brain that the body feels full -- even if little or nothing has been eaten.

Thermogenesis with herbal extracts

We could all use a boost to our fat-burning properties, judging by the lack of fat loss even when we put in more than our share of cardio exercise -- and even if we maintain a healthful diet. While there certainly aren't any shortcuts to burning off the fat in trouble areas of the body, there are supplements that can help by boosting our metabolism and increasing body temperature.

This phenomenon is called thermogenesis, or the burning off of body fat by increasing heat in the body. A supplement called Fucothin claims to be capable of doing this effectively, but the main ingredient seems to be derived from Sea Algae. I'm not entirely sure what the idea here is, but I am almost positive that it would not be nearly as potent as Advantra-Z or another proven fat burner.