If you are looking to embark on a diet or weight loss programmes there are of course a number of options available to you; one has become particularly popular recently and that is the use of herbal remedies to help aid weight loss.

Herbal or natural weight loss products are great because they are often completely safe to use and will deliver results. However the drawback is that many of these supplements will take longer to deliver noticeable results when compared with their artificial counterparts like extreme fat burners and the like which aren’t always safe but will get you results in super fast time.

Herbal weight loss products- what to watch out for

There are quite a few herbal weight loss products out on the market and finding the right one for you can be a bit of a minefield. But here is a list of potential ingredients for you to look out for and maybe avoid depending upon what it is you are looking to achieve.

• Senna – this is a herbal laxative. Senna is a main ingredient in weight loss teas, and it works by helping to absorb fat in the colon and push it out in the form of excessive excretion.
• Chromium picolinate – this helps to regulate blood sugar levels providing you with extra energy which you may be lacking whilst on your diet or whilst embarking on a new exercise regime but be careful because it can also cause dehydration if consumed excessively.
• St. John’s wort – this supplement increases mental focus which in turn helps your brain communicate more effectively with your stomach so that you know when you are full.

Green Tea

Research has shown that green tea can help to reduce weight by stimulating the body’s thermogenesis process – this is the process whereby your body expends more energy and oxidises more fat in the body. You may well be thinking, but so what, I mean diet pills like ephidrine can do exactly the same things BUT green tea has the edge on these pills because first off green tea is far cheaper and second of all, green tea is far safer because it doesn’t increase your heart rate like some diet pills do.

Green tea is proven to increase your metabolism which means you burn more calories leading to you hopefully shedding a few of those extra pounds – an increased metabolism is a fantastic thing to have because it means you are leveraging the full potential from any exercise that you are doing, burning more calories without any of the extra work.

Garcinia cambogia extract

Garcinia cambogia extract is a small tropical fruit. Garcinia cambogia has become a hot topic in the world of weight loss and nutrition and several studies have shown that it will help people to lose weight -  in many studies it was revealed to be one of the most effective forms of natural weight loss.

The scientific name for the garcinia cambogia extract is hydroxycitric acid and whilst this sounds a bit artificial or harmful to the body, it actually works in harmony with the body. So unlike caffeine or an appetite suppressant both of which act as a stimulant to the brain, hydroxycitric acid satisfies your body’s need for energy and improves the signaling system that they body uses to tell the brain it has had enough food. This is often a part of your nervous system which doesn’t work that well if you are overweight causing you to eat more than you actually really need.

Conjugated linoleic acid

Conjugated linoleic acid is a naturally occurring substance and according to recent studies the natural supplement can help to reduce fat and improve muscle mass without any huge upheavals in lifestyle, exercise or diet.

Click here for other ways to lose weight naturally

Your weekly menu should have an emphasis on high protein content from a variety of meat, dairy products, eggs, cottage cheese, nuts and yoghurt. It will prove very beneficial if you minimize the amount of fat with the protein, a  basic rule of thumb with regard to meat consumption is if it swims, i.e. fish, it is better than if it flies, i.e., poultry, and  it is better than if it walks, such as beef or pork.

Another way to lose weight naturally is to eliminate or minimize the use of refined sugar such as dextrose, sucrose, fructose and brown sugar. Refined sugar affects the body’s metabolism and over works the pancreas, and often results in a hypoglycemia reaction. You should also look to avoid pre-packaged breads, pastries , ice creams and cold or prepared packaged meats, as these foods are generally saturated with preservatives , artificial colourings, chemical agents, emulsifiers and , well you get the idea that most food that has been interfered with is not going to be helpful in a weight loss program.

Avoid fast foods as they will normally have high levels of salt and additives and carbonated drinks will deprive your body of calcium , not good as calcium balance is essential for natural weight loss. Another interesting tip is to eat fruit and drink fruit juice about half an hour before or even after meals, which will allow proper digestion of protein.  You should also remember that there are actually good fats, and we all need them as they are vital to our health as they protect against illness and will support your immune system which will make your skin , hair and nails look better. The best ways to get these fats is from oily fish such as mackerel , salmon and sardines and you should look to try and consume at least three servings a week.

Fibre is a good ally in your quest to lose weight naturally, as fibre rich foods bulk you up and make you feel full. The average person can potentially lose up to 10 pounds per year just by doubling their fibre intake. Fibre rich foods are normally low in calories and filling, so eating more fibre means that you are eating fewer calories and therefore eating less calories elsewhere. Good food choices are Strawberries, apples, figs , potatoes, brown rice beans and nuts. Finally, if you eat regularly , which generally will be three main meals a day and two snacks in between you will give your body the best chance of losing weight naturally and NEVER skip breakfast ! your body has been without food at that point for about 8-10 hours and you will set yourself up for the day and avoid hunger pangs and potential snack attacks !

CLA, as it is often referred to as, is one of the many natural weight loss products available that can help you get out of the cycle of yo-yo dieting – if you combine taking the supplement with a healthy lifestyle then you can actually achieve your weight loss goals rather than constantly bouncing back and forth in terms of your weight – gaining and losing the same 10 or 20lbs.

Most nutritional experts will agree that eating smaller portion sizes and generally concentrating on building a healthy balanced diet is the most effective way to lose serious weight in the long term. CLA can help with this because if you create a balanced diet for yourself and construct an exercise plan whilst taking CLA then you will see even greater results because the natural substance boosts your fat loss.

OK so you want to know about the results. A recent study by the Journal of Nutrition found that people taking conjugated linoleic acid on average lost 6lbs of body fat more than a control group which merely took a placebo.

That’s pretty effective considering it is naturally and you only need around 3g doses daily for this kind of weight loss to be achieved. CLA is found in some foods that you might eat on a daily basis such as some meat and dairy products but you can of course purchase the extracted acid in a supplement format, available at most good health food shops.

CLA has also been proven to assist diabetics in increasing their blood insulin levels so if you are a diabetic looking to lose weight then this could be the magic natural weight loss supplement you have been looking for.

Garcinia cambogia has become a hot topic in the world of weight loss and nutrition and several studies have shown that it will help people to lose weight -  in many studies it was revealed to be one of the most effective forms of natural weight loss.

The scientific name for the garcinia cambogia extract is hydroxycitric acid and whilst this sounds a bit artificial or harmful to the body, it actually works in harmony with the body. So unlike caffeine or an appetite suppressant both of which act as a stimulant to the brain, hydroxycitric acid satisfies your body’s need for energy and improves the signaling system that they body uses to tell the brain it has had enough food. This is often a part of your nervous system which doesn’t work that well if you are overweight causing you to eat more than you actually really need.

Hydroxycitric acid is available as a supplement at many leading health food suppliers but as with all weight loss supplements (even natural ones) you should consult the advice of a medical professional before taking it and it is best avoided if you  are pregnant or breastfeeding.

In the studies that have been conducted into garcinia cambogia, the extract seems to work best on a particular type of individual. Those participants who ate when they were anxious or stressed found the best results from the extract as it gave them the same calming effect that they usually get from food – it helped their brain to recognise the stomach was full thereby giving them that feeling of content.

For best results, the experts recommend you try a course of chromium supplements but other than that there are no real requirements to change your eating habits (other than the natural effect the extract has) and there are no foods you can’t enjoy. We’ve tried a course of garcinia cambogia extract and we found that if you choose healthy foods then you won’t lose weight fast but you will lose weight consistently without really trying. Hydroxycitric acid is a natural way to lose weight without a huge amount of effort on your part.

Tea for weight loss has the rather undesirable effect of frequent bowel movement – for many people this is disconcerting but others seem to relish this side effect citing reasons like body cleansing. This is because most slimming teas contain natural herbs which are laxatives. Things like aloe, senna, rhubarb root, cascara, castor oil or buckthorn. These are all nature’s bowel movers and many of them are used to treat constipation so be careful when drinking so called slimming tea because you could well end up shedding more than just a few pounds.

What’s more, these slimming teas may not even help as scientific studies conducted both here and in the US have found that diarrhea induced by laxatives will very rarely absorb significant amounts of calories – so you are not really going to lose that much weight. The reason for this is that the laxatives don’t act on the small intestines where most of the calories are absorbed.

The only reason dieters see results through the use of laxatives is if they are taken over a sustained length of time because this will affect fat absorption in your body leading to loss of weight – a technique favoured by those suffering from bulimia or anorexia.

Research has shown that green tea can help to reduce weight by stimulating the body’s thermogenesis process – this is the process whereby your body expends more energy and oxidises more fat in the body. You may well be thinking, but so what, I mean diet pills like ephidrine can do exactly the same things BUT green tea has the edge on these pills because first off green tea is far cheaper and second of all, green tea is far safer because it doesn’t increase your heart rate like some diet pills do.

Green tea is proven to increase your metabolism which means you burn more calories leading to you hopefully shedding a few of those extra pounds – an increased metabolism is a fantastic thing to have because it means you are leveraging the full potential from any exercise that you are doing, burning more calories without any of the extra work. If you ever see someone who is stick thi but perhaps eats whatever they want without gaining weight, it’s down to the fact that they have a high metabolic rate meaning they burn way more calories than the rest of us.

Green tea is also a natural energy booster and an increase in energy levels can help you to spend more time exercising (thereby losing more weight) but it can also help you to enjoy life more. We recognise that being overweight can sometimes mean a lack of energy but green tea can really help to put a spring back in your step. Unlike those expensive energy drinks, green tea isn’t full of sugar or un-natural substances and it is really cheap to buy.

Green tea, much like fibre, can also help to block your body from absorbing fat which means that if you drink green tea in combination with a healthy balanced diet that it could help you to lose weight much faster because if you reduce your fat intake and drink green tea then any fat that remains in your food is unlikely to be absorbed by your body.

It is worth remembering that green tea also contains caffeine so you should cut down on your intake of other teas and coffees otherwise you risk sleepless nights and feeling low when the caffeine high wears off. Our advice would be to avoid decaffeinated green tea at all costs because the chemical processes that are used to remove the caffeine have been proven to destroy the health benefits of the tea rendering drinking it a little pointless.

Green tea really is though, one of nature’s natural weight loss aids because even if you keep to the same calorific intake and drink green tea then you should see a gradual weight loss and better energy levels. If you want to enjoy the full effects of green tea though then you should start up and exercise plan and re-think what you eat.

The added health benefits of green tea:

We decided to put together a few tips that can help you lose weight in a fast but controlled way.

1. Look at the bigger picture – remember that there is more to losing weight than starving yourself and in fact this is proven to be damaging to your weight loss goals over a longer period of time. You should also look to incoporate exercise into your weight loss plan as soon as you can even if it is just a short amount of exercise on a daily basis like a brisk walk (i.e. getting off the tube or bus a few stops early and walking) or going for a swim on your lunch hour.

2. Create a realistic plan – if you try to radically change your lifestyle too quickly in order to achieve results in a short space of time then you will more than likely end up achieving nothing whatsoever because your body and your mind won’t be able to cope with the shock factor. Start easing yourself into your new life by making small lifestyle tweaks – effectively chunking down your overall weight loss goals.

3. Go with the flow – we should all listen to our body. There is no getting away from it, our body knows what it is doing so if you feel exhausted or if you feel like you can’t run that extra pile or swim that extra length then stop. You don’t want to over-train or face malnutrition because you’ve been starving yourself. Notice we said listen to your body not listen to ‘the lazy fairy’ that sits on your shoulder telling you to watch TV rather than going to the gym – that’s no way to lose weight.

4. Eat more fibre – this is an all too often forgotten way to shed easy pounds. Fibre makes you feel fuller more quickly and for longer because it stays in your stomach for longer bring down the rate of digestion. It helps to shift fat through your system far quicker too because it helps your body to resist digesting the fat and nasty stuff so a single slice of  whole grain bread after a meal can be really helpful.

5. Avoid fried foods – if you are trying to lose weight then you should steer clear, at all costs, of fried food. If it has been fried then it has been cooking in unhealthy oils and it’s own fat. It is far healthier to enjoy the same types of food but grill them instead, that way most of the fat will end up on the griddle rather than in your tummy!

6. Drink water – this can help in two ways; firstly, if you are feeling hungry then head to the fridge and pour yourself a nice big glass of chilled water, drink it as fast as you can. If you still feel hungry after this then grab yourself a healthy snack, if you don’t then you were probably just eating out of want or boredom rather than need. Secondly, drinking plenty of water can help you avoid sugary fizzy drinks which not only helps your weight loss goals but also your teeth. Hydration also helps to cleanse your body (detoxify) and more importantly it assists vital organs like our brain and vital processes like our metabolism. And it’s free!