Natural Weight Loss Supplements - Do They Really Work?
Natural weight loss is the holy grail for a large percentage of the American population who are suffering at the hands of the obesity epidemic. But it's a subject that needs to be explored with some care, and with some trepidation and skepticism. Natural weight loss assumes certain parameters and theories which are not easily substantiated. It generally precludes the use of any prescription medication and assumes that little is done to control ones weight other than take a health supplement. Given these parameters it is unlikely that a successful weight loss campaign will be realized.
Before I get into the natural options for dieting and weight regulation, let me provide an example of the many misnomers which circulate the internet in regard to losing weight. Recently I was using a popular health blogsite and came across an innocent question posed by a young lady looking to shed some pounds. Her question was basic enough, "if I cut back on my food will I lose weight"? Well you'd simply be amazed at the answers she received from other so called 'experts' on the blog. All but one basically told her that cutting back on food would have negative consequences and that she would not lose weight. Comments included "No, you won't lose weight, your body will shut down and when you start eating again everything will become fat".
So lets start by stating the obvious, of course you'll lose weight. The body is simple, don't let people over-complicate it. You take in energy in from calories and you expend energy when you exercise. Exercise doesn't necessarily mean going to the Gym, you're expending energy even when you're sitting on the couch eating chips. When the energy coming in equals the energy expended, you won't gain any weight. When the energy coming in is greater than the energy expended, the body stores the excess as fat. When it's less, the body calls on its fat reserves and metabolizes the fat into usable energy.
The calories you need is based on your height, gender, age and physical condition. If your weight increases, walk a bit more, eat a bit less or do both.
Of course you can take things to boost metabolism and decrease your appetite. Your metabolism is important because it impacts how much energy your body is consuming when at rest. So a higher metabolic rate will keep you burning calories at a higher rate even when you're doing nothing, and the best way to increase metabolism is through exercise.
But for some people the notion of calorie reduction or increasing the rate and frequency of exercise still sounds like too much work. More often than not they've requested some form of miracle pill from the Doctor, only to be told that such a think does not exist, and that they need to take a hold of their lives and start eating healthily. These folks generally turn to the Internet in search of a non prescription solution and invariably end up trying a natural weight loss supplement. Such products include things like bee pollen and royal jelly. If you haven't heard it before, bee pollen is widely associated with natural weight loss and royal jelly associated with regulating and balancing the various body systems. Bee Pollen contains 'rutin', a substance with natural weight loss properties and may well have some potential as a weight loss supplement.
Natural health products should really be treated as long-term additions to your diet and not just some monthly fad, where we pick something off the shelf that's the latest flavor of the month. We've all seen the trends change, and products get left behind quickly in favor of the next fad. HGH was a product that everyone was touting the virtues of just a couple years ago (some still are), and was said to have natural weight loss properties. Coral Calcium was another that stuck around for a short while, before getting sidetracked by a few negative reports which essentially killed off the product overnight. But if you're serious about natural weight loss and using supplements, then try to find something that's been around for a long time and survived all of the ups and downs, and fads/trends. Of course bee pollen does fall into the longevity category, having been used for many centuries, as far back as Roman times, for its potent health bearing properties.
Look after your health, use common sense, try not to jump on the fad bandwagon, if nothing else you'll save yourself a small fortune in pill costs and maybe even medical expenses.
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