I am a relatively healthy eater. I exercise quiet frequently 4+x a week and I’m at an OK weight. I’ve always had trouble losing that last 510 pounds and keeping it off. I tend to get really motivated and then loose it around the time of my period. Is there an all natural weight loss supplement that you can recommend for me? Is HamchoSlim or Hoodia something that I should try?

Many people tend to have this problem.  The important thing is to keep up the healthy eating and exercise and not to get discouraged.  Once you find the right equation for your body those last pounds should come off and stay off.

For starters, make sure you are doing a healthy mix of both cardio training and strength training.  Building muscle will help to increase your body’s resting metabolism which will help you to burn fat day and night.  In addition, make sure your meals are focused on good quality protein and low carbohydrate food choices.  This will help to stabilize your blood sugar and reduce the influences of insulin (a fat storage hormone) on your body.

From a supplement perspective some of the best researched products that have shown positive affects with weight loss include chromium picolinate, green tea extract and Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA).

Green Tea extract is thought to improve weight loss by stimulating metabolism with its unique compounds often referred to as EGCG.  These polyphenols naturally occur in high levels in green tea and have shown a wide variety of health effects, one of which is to gently stimulate metabolism.  Green tea also contains a small amount of caffeine which works in conjunction with the EGCG’s to stimulate metabolism.

Chromium picolinate works by improving a cell’s sensitivity to insulin.  Ultimately this results in more stable blood sugar levels and reduced production of insulin.  As mentioned earlier, insulin is our body’s main signal for fat storage.  By reducing insulin output the body has less desire to store energy as fat.

CLA has been shown in a few isolated studies to produce weight loss over extended periods of time without increasing physical activity or changing caloric intake.

The benefit of these supplements is that the weight loss is well paced and steady.  Abrupt weight loss is very difficult to sustain.  For a successful long term outcome weight loss must occur at a relatively slow pace (3-7 pounds/month).  This gives the body time to adjust to the new set point and results in a much greater chance of maintaining the lighter weight for an extended period of time.