By Emily Abbate | Nov 10, 2017

Say farewell to fad diets—and hello to these safe, natural weight-loss tips.
Losing weight can be tough. Yes, there are a plethora of diets, workout routines, and pills out there that seem like a roadmap to the weight-loss promised land. But at the end of the day, keeping pounds off involves tweaking your lifestyle. Natural weight loss, which involves adopting healthy habits that you can incorporate long-term, can help that number on the scale go down in a safe, effective way.

The only problem: When you hit a simple Google search, there's an overabundance of natural weight-loss remedies, products, and pills practically screaming at you. How do you know what's legit?

"Stay away from anything that doesn't promote health," says JC Doornick, D.C., a health and lifestyle coach who travels the world helping people lose weight. "Anybody taking pills, stimulants, injections, fluids, or eating 500 calories a day is focused 100 percent on weight loss and zero percent on health."

It's also important to identify the strategies that feel right for you. A tactic like intermittent fasting may work for some, for example, but others may feel loopy come 11 a.m. without an energy-boosting breakfast. Check out the tips below to help you figure out how to lose weight naturally, in a way that feels totally customized to you and your body. That way, once the pounds peel off, they can stay off—for good.

Do the workout you love.

Often times, we think the best weight-loss strategies start with a lofty exercise program. But the reality is that workouts are only one part of the picture, and there are a slew of recommendations for how much exercise we should be getting on a regular basis. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), for example, recommends that adults should exercise 150 minutes a week at a moderate intensity, or incorporate 75 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity. Meanwhile, a study published in Circulation found that the amount of exercise we get has a direct relationship to our heart health—the more you get, the healthier your heart will be—and they suggest two full hours a day as the new goal.

Basically, everyone's different, so it's hard to nail down a guideline that applies to everyone, says Sara Gottfried, M.D., bestselling author of The Hormone Cure and The Hormone Reset Diet. But if all else fails, remember this: Something is better than nothing. That's why Dr. Gottfried suggests incorporating 30 minutes of moderate intensity movement daily, devoting five minutes before your workout to an active warm-up, then another five minutes to cool down and prevent injury. Once you've got that down, you can layer on time and intensity. "After two weeks, add 10 minutes so that you're exercising moderately for 40 minutes, four days per week, or increase intensity," she suggests.

Finding something you enjoy is an important component to any fitness routine, too, because—duh—it means you'll be more likely to stick with it. So if running isn't your thing, don't sweat it—try a Zumba class, or meet girlfriends for Spin after work. (You could even try working out according to your Zodiac sign.) "You might get results from something you hate, but those results won't last," says Jess Sims, C.P.T., a Fhit Pro trainer at Fhitting Room in New York City. And don't be afraid to branch out and see if there's something else to love. "Varying your workouts will help keep you entertained and help you progress because your body doesn't get used to the same movements," adds Sims. Plain and simple: There's no one-size-fits-all workout, so don't box yourself in.

Experiment with eating.

Just like exercise, diets are different for everyone, especially when it comes to the best way to lose weight naturally. "I could tell my patients to eat nuts and berries, meditate, sit in a corner, and eat salmon. But if that doesn't work for them, they're out," says Doornick. "It's important to be realistic about what people can and can't do. Start where they want to start, and set realistic food parameters." (Here's why you should give up restrictive dieting once and for all.)

But if you just want to make a few tweaks to your current eating plan, Gottfried has three suggestions:

Befriend the produce section. It's no secret that eating vegetables is good for you. But shockingly, only 27 percent of American adults eat the recommended three or more servings they should be getting daily, according to a CDC report. Aim to up your vegetable intake to one pound per day. Not only will it help you hit your weight-loss goals, but eating a rainbow of vegetables can also help protect against cancer, heart disease, and the effects of aging. (Looking for dinner inspo? These creative recipes make the most of spiralized veggies.)

Try intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting (or IF) has gotten trendy over the last few years thanks to mainstream wellness pushes like the Bulletproof Diet. The concept: Stave off food for 12 to 18 hours between dinner and breakfast, as doing so may offer many of the same benefits of a low-calorie diet, like a lower incidence of cardiovascular diseases. Couple it with high-intensity exercise and Dr. Gottfried says you're looking at a winning combo.

Cut out grains for three weeks. As much as we love carbs, "most grains have a fairly high glycemic index, meaning that after one to two hours, your blood sugar surges," says Dr. Gottfried. "Unfortunately, foods that spike your blood sugar are chemically addictive. They spur inflammation in your body and keep you in a downward spiral of craving that can ultimately lead to a growing waistline." To break the cycle, try scratching grains for less than a month, and pay attention to how your body reacts to the change.

Beware of natural weight-loss pills.

Between social media ads and TV commercial breaks, it's nearly impossible to escape messaging around natural weight-loss supplements. A lot of them are plant-based—green tea extract, bitter orange, raspberry ketones—and harmless-sounding. But do they work? Not exactly, says Melinda Manore, Ph.D., professor of nutrition at Oregon State University. In her research of hundreds of natural weight-loss supplements (a $2.4 billion industry in the United States), she concluded that there's not a single product that results in significant weight loss. And, what's worse, many of them have side effects that can hinder your fitness goals (including bloating and gas). Not exactly a surefire way for you to fit into those skinny jeans.