Where possible, people should swap highly processed and sugary foods for more nutritionally dense options. Good food swaps include:. Dietary fiber describes plant-based carbohydrates that are impossible to digest in the small intestine, unlike sugar and starch.

Including plenty of fiber in the diet can increase the feeling of fullness, potentially leading to weight loss. One emerging area of research is focusing on the role of bacteria in the gut on weight management. The human gut hosts a vast number and variety of microorganisms, including around 39 trillion bacteria.

Every individual has different types and amounts of bacteria in their gut. Some types may increase the amount of energy the person extracts from food , leading to fat deposition and weight gain.

Numerous studies have shown that getting fewer than 5—6 hours of sleep per night is associated with an increased incidence of obesity. There are several reasons behind this.

Research suggests that insufficient or poor-quality sleep slows down the process in which the body converts calories to energy, called metabolism. When metabolism is less effective, the body may store unused energy as fat.

In addition, poor sleep can promote insulin resistance and increase levels of cortisol, which also promote fat storage. How long someone sleeps also affects the regulation of the appetite-controlling hormones leptin and ghrelin. Leptin sends signals of fullness to the brain. However, when people are under constant stress, cortisol can remain in the bloodstream for longer, which will increase their appetite and potentially lead to them eating more.

Insulin then transports the sugar from carbohydrates from the blood to the muscles and brain. If the individual does not use this sugar in fight or flight, the body will store it as fat. If an individual does not immediately use this sugar, the body will either store it is glycogen, the storage form of glucose, or fat.

Researchers found that implementing an 8-week stress-management intervention program alongside a low-calorie diet resulted in a significant reduction in the body mass index BMI of children and adolescents who were overweight or have obesity. Losing 10 pounds in 3 days is an unrealistic goal for most people and could entail unsafe dieting behaviors.

Rapid weight loss like this may also make it more likely that someone will put weight back on, rather than losing the weight permanently. To lose 20 pounds in a month, people must burn more calories than they take in, either through dietary changes or increased physical activity.

However, rapid weight loss like this may not be a viable long-term option and could increase the risk of health complications, such as gallstones. Losing weight too quickly may also increase the risk of certain health complications, such as gallstones, or complications associated with unhealthy dieting behaviors, such as dehydration or nutritional deficiencies.

People who experience rapid weight loss may be more likely to put weight back on in the future. The CDC recommends that people aim for steady, gradual weight loss of around 1—2 pounds per week.

This should include 10 portions of fruit and vegetables, good quality protein, and whole grains. It is also beneficial to exercise for at least 30 minutes every day. Losing weight effectively and avoiding weight regain involves a number of factors. Learn how to lose weight here. Fad diets and rapid weight loss can be unsafe and often lead to people regaining the weight later on.

In this article, learn how to lose weight safely…. People often want to lose weight quickly, but there is a risk of malnourishment, or of giving up and putting on more weight than before. What are the best exercises for weight loss? Find out the best types of exercise for weight loss, according to research, and get other useful tips.

Losing 10 pounds safely is possible in 5—10 weeks or more. Creating a calorie deficit, eating a nutritious diet, and moving more are important factors.

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Medical News Today. Health Conditions Health Products Discover Tools Connect. How to naturally lose weight fast. Medically reviewed by Amy Richter, RD , Nutrition — By Tracey Williams Strudwick — Updated on November 8, Intermittent fasting Tracking diet and exercise Mindful eating Protein with meals Avoid sugar Fiber Gut bacteria balance Sleep Managing stress FAQ Takeaway Many diets, supplements, and meal replacement plans claim to ensure rapid weight loss, but lack any scientific evidence.

Science-backed ways to lose weight. Trying intermittent fasting. Tracking your diet and exercise. Eating mindfully. Eating protein with meals. Berberine is rising in popularity as demand increases for medications like Ozempic and Wegovy, known for their weight loss effects.

Ozempic and Wegovy are part of a class of drugs called GLP-1 agonists , which mimic a hormone that helps reduce food intake and appetite. They are highly effective, but they are in short supply in the U. Pieter Cohen, who researches supplement use at the Cambridge Health Alliance in Somerville, Massachusetts.

A meta-analysis of 49 studies published last year in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition found berberine may provide metabolic benefits in people, mainly for the heart, although there may be small benefits for weight loss.

Fatima Cody Stanford, an obesity medicine specialist and the equity director of the endocrine division at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. For people in those studies, the optimal dose appeared to be 1 gram per day, Stanford said. Holly Lofton, the director of the weight management program at NYU Langone Health, referring to a medication people with diabetes use to lower their blood sugar levels.

Highly effective drugs, including aspirin and morphine, come from plants. Known side effects of berberine in humans include nausea and vomiting, Stanford said.

In animal studies, it appeared to enlarge the liver and the kidney and reduce the number of white blood cells, which fight off infections. Larger studies would need to be conducted to know whether there are any serious side effects in humans. Stanford said she would recommend speaking with a doctor before taking berberine as a part of a weight loss regime.

It may not be safe for pregnant women, she added. In fact, he said, if people do experience weight loss using berberine, they should stop taking it immediately and talk to a doctor. Berkeley Lovelace Jr. is a health and medical reporter for NBC News.

He covers the Food and Drug Administration, with a special focus on Covid vaccines, prescription drug pricing and health care. He previously covered the biotech and pharmaceutical industry with CNBC.

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Some of the most popular supplements claim to improve nutrition, boost energy, build muscle or burn fat. Companies that make supplements are responsible for the safety of their products. They must ensure that their products are free of contaminants and that they're accurately labeled. Dietary supplements don't require approval by the U.

Food and Drug Administration FDA. But if a supplement is found to be unsafe, the FDA can issue warnings or ask that it be withdrawn from the market. The FDA can also take action against companies that make false or unsupported claims to sell their supplements.

You might be surprised to learn that makers of dietary supplements rarely carry out clinical trials. That's part of the reason why there's little scientific evidence to show that weight-loss supplements work. For example, raspberry ketone is marketed as a clinically proven weight-loss product.

That claim is supported by one clinical trial. The trial included 70 adults with obesity. All were placed on a restricted diet and exercise program. They were then randomly assigned to receive either a placebo or a supplement containing raspberry ketone, caffeine, bitter orange, ginger and garlic root extract.

While these results are intriguing, the fact that the trial was small and lasted only eight weeks means the results can't be reliably generalized to real-world situations. And importantly, a short trial like this may miss side effects that only become apparent with long-term use.

In addition, the trial used a supplement that contained multiple ingredients. So it's impossible to tell which ingredient was responsible for the weight loss.

Ideally these initial results would be tested in a much longer trial involving hundreds of participants with careful monitoring for side effects. Results from such a trial would allow for an informed decision about the safety and effectiveness of such a product.

Until such trial data is more readily available, claims regarding dietary supplements and weight loss should be treated with caution. A product isn't necessarily safe simply because it's natural. Though rare, some dietary supplements have been linked to serious problems, such as liver damage.

Supplements can have strong effects. Ephedra ma-huang is an herb once used for weight loss. It's now banned by the FDA because it was associated with adverse effects, such as mood changes, high blood pressure, irregular heart rate, stroke, seizures and heart attacks.

Some weight-loss supplements have been found to contain hidden ingredients, such as prescription drugs, that may be harmful.

It's important to do your homework if you're thinking about trying a weight-loss supplement. Check credible websites, such as those run by the U.

Office of Dietary Supplements and the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Also be sure to talk with your doctor before taking any supplement.

This is especially important if you have health problems, take prescription drugs, or are pregnant or breast-feeding.

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Sorry something went wrong with your subscription Please, try again in a couple of minutes Retry. Show references Dietary supplements for weight loss. Office of Dietary Supplements. Accessed Oct. Perreault L. Green tea extract is also rich in caffeine and the polyphenol epigallocatechin gallate EGCG , both of which are compounds that can help you burn fat 12 , In addition, these two compounds complement each other and can help you burn fat through a process called thermogenesis.

In simple terms, thermogenesis is a process in which your body burns calories to produce heat 14 , 15 , In another study, scientists compared the effects of a placebo, caffeine, and a combination of green tea extract and caffeine on burning fat. They discovered that the combination of green tea and caffeine burned roughly 65 more calories per day than caffeine alone and 80 more calories than the placebo Keep in mind that in these studies the participants took green tea extract in combination with additional caffeine.

Therefore, this does not definitively show that green tea extract alone has these same effects. Studies have shown that while no detrimental effects have been reported from green tea itself, the excess consumption of green tea extract may prove to be harmful to the liver, particularly if taken on an empty stomach.

Do not exceed the recommended dosage Green tea extract is simply concentrated green tea. It contains epigallocatechin gallate EGCG and caffeine, which can help you burn fat through thermogenesis. Protein is incredibly important for burning fat.

A high protein intake can help you burn fat by boosting your metabolism and curbing your appetite. It also helps your body preserve muscle mass 20 , 21 , For instance, a study involving 60 participants with overweight and obesity found that a high protein diet was almost twice as effective as a moderate protein diet at burning fat Protein can also curb your appetite by increasing the levels of fullness hormones like GLP-1, CCK, and PYY while reducing levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin 20 , While you can get all the protein you need from protein-rich foods, many people still find it challenging to eat enough protein daily.

Options include whey, casein, soy, egg, and hemp protein powders. Keep in mind that calories are still important. Protein supplements should simply replace snacks or part of a meal, rather than be added on top of your diet.

The recommended daily intake of protein will vary based on your activity levels, age, sex, weight, height, etc. That said, the Recommended Dietary Allowance RDA for protein is 0. Protein supplements are a convenient way to increase your protein intake. There are two different types of fiber : soluble and insoluble.

Soluble fiber absorbs water in your digestive tract and forms a viscous gel-like substance Interestingly, studies have shown that soluble fiber can help you burn fat by curbing your appetite 26 , 27 , It can also help reduce levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin 26 , 27 , In addition, soluble fiber helps slow down the delivery of nutrients to the gut.

When this happens, your body takes more time to digest and absorb nutrients, which can leave you feeling full for longer While you can get all the soluble fiber you need from food, many people find this challenging.

Soluble fiber supplements can help you burn fat by curbing your appetite and possibly reducing how many calories you absorb from food. Some great soluble fiber supplements include glucomannan and psyllium husk. Yohimbine is a substance found in the bark of Pausinystalia yohimbe , a tree found in Central and Western Africa.

These receptors normally bind adrenaline to suppress its effects, one of which is encouraging the body to burn fat for fuel. A study involving 20 elite soccer players found that taking 10 mg of yohimbine twice daily helped them shed 2.

Keep in mind that these athletes were already quite lean, so a 2. Further research is needed on the long-term effects of yohimbine.

Nonetheless, more information is needed on yohimbine before it can be recommended as a go-to fat-burning supplement. Furthermore, because yohimbine keeps your adrenaline levels elevated, it may cause side effects like nausea, anxiety, panic attacks, and high blood pressure It also can interact with common medications for blood pressure and depression.

If you take medications for these conditions or have anxiety, you might want to avoid yohimbine Yohimbine may help you burn fat by keeping adrenaline levels high and blocking receptors that normally suppress fat-burning.

However, it can cause unpleasant side effects in some people. However, they often do not live up to their hefty claims and may even harm your health 2. Unfortunately, there have been many cases of fat-burning supplements being pulled off the market because they were tainted with harmful ingredients Additionally, there have been many cases in which contaminated supplements caused dangerous side effects like high blood pressure, strokes, seizures, and even death On a brighter note, the natural supplements listed above can help you burn fat when added to a health-promoting routine.

Keep in mind that a supplement cannot replace a nutrient-rich diet and regular exercise. They simply help you get the most out of health-promoting activities like exercising and eating a balanced diet.

In some cases, commercial fat burners can be dangerous, as they are not FDA regulated. There have been cases of dangerous side effects and contamination with harmful ingredients. Several other supplements may help you lose weight. However, they either have side effects or lack evidence to support their claims.

There are other supplements that may help you burn fat, including 5-HTP, synephrine, green coffee bean extract, CLA, and L-carnitine.

However, they each have limitations. However, plenty of natural solutions can help you burn more fat when combined with a health-promoting lifestyle that includes eating a nutrient-rich diet and exercising. These natural solutions include caffeine, green tea extract, protein supplements, soluble fiber supplements, and yohimbine.

Among these, caffeine, green tea extract, and protein supplements are likely to be the most effective at helping you burn fat. Talk with a healthcare professional before starting the use of any new supplement to make sure you fully understand any risks, benefits, or interactions.

Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available. Several natural foods and beverages have been shown to increase metabolism and promote fat loss. These 11 healthy foods can help you burn fat.