Healthy Weight Loss Follow Seven Easy Steps from a Nutrition Expert. by Lindsey Duncan, N.D., C.N. As seen in Eckerd Beauty

At my nutritional clinic I use some very simple but effective techniques to promote healthy weight loss. I do not believe in harmful deprivation diets, water pills, harsh chemicals and other such gimmicks that offer only temporary weight loss while doing the body harm. I have had very successful, permanent weight loss results with my clients by addressing weight control through natural, easy-to-follow steps:

1. Supplementation

I believe in nutritional supplementation to assist with weight loss and use an all-natural nutritional support system at my clinic to help clients change their eating patterns, enhance their fat-burning capabilities, sup-port their energy levels, assist in fat digestion and enhance their overall nutrition.

In this fast-paced day and age, it's hard to always eat right and resist temptation. A good-for-you, natural weight-loss supplement often gives you that extra "ammunition" needed to achieve weight-loss goals.

2. Do not Diet

I believe that "diet" is one of those four-letter words with negative connotations.

Dieting, whether you're following one of those diet club menus that offer ready-made, prepackaged foods, or simply following a strict program of cutting out certain foods - i.e., the "grapefruit diet," the "brown-rice diet," the all-protein diet, etc. - is a diet program almost certain to fail because it is not reality based.

Yes, you can lose weight in the short-term with some of these diet programs, but in the long haul most people regain it when they begin eating normal food again. Starvation and deprivation diets cause the body to gain more weight as it adjusts itself for "famine," slowing down metabolic and digestive functions for "dietary fuel conservation" and becoming more efficient than ever at storing fat.

3. Healthy Foods

The key to long lasting weight loss is to follow a healthy diet! The idea is't to deprive yourself or to always feel hungry. It's possible to eat larger portions of good-for-you foods that satiate your appetite yet allow you to lose weight!

Eat low-fat foods consisting of fresh fruits and vegetables, rainbow salads, legumes, beans and whole grains. These foods fill you up without filling you out! Eat flesh protein in moderation, sticking to lean, small portions of fresh chicken, fish and meat. Try to stay away from fried foods, junk foods, excessive sweets, dairy, breads and alcohol.

4. The Carbohydrate Trap

Did you know that eating too many carbohydrates, even the "non-fat" kind such as fat-free cookies, muffins, bagels, etc., pack on unwanted pounds?

Both complex and simple carbohydrates are broken down into sugar by the human body. Sugar, when not used as fuel, converts to fat and is stored as such. This simple fact is why obesity is a bigger problem than ever in the U.S. despite the abundant supply of fat-free food products. Eat carbohydrates in extreme moderation!

5. Do not Overeat

Eat small meals! This simple rule has changed more lives at my nutritional clinic than you can imagine. Even the best foods can place a burden on the digestive processes if you eat too much of them.

Do not overwhelm your digestive system. This slows down your metabolism and causes weight gain. Practice "pushing back" from the dinner table when your stomach's almost full, not necessarily when your plate's empty!

6. No Late-Night Meals

Eating late is the "kiss of death" to weight-loss programs! Your body uses nighttime sleeping hours to cleanse, restore and rejuvenate the digestive and eliminatory systems. For your metabolism to function at its most efficient, it depends on this nightly restorative process to keep your body operating at optimum levels.

Have you ever eaten late at night then awaken the next morning feeling like a "freight train ran over you"? That's because while your mind was sleeping, your poor digestive system was working overtime, with very little sleep. It's impossible to lose weight with an overloaded, sluggish metabolism and eating late at night can be a main contributing factor to this problem.

7. Exercise

Last but not least, daily exercise is an important key to weight loss. Exercise raises your body's fat-burning capabilities, enabling your body to burn calories more efficiently and at a faster rate. Cardiovascular exercise, where you sweat and pant, stimulates your entire body, encouraging optimum circulation, heart strength, lymphatic drainage, lung power and more. It also enhances your mood, mind and memory. Weight-training exercise increases lean muscle mass. Muscle tissue burns calories for energy so the greater amount of muscle tissue you have, the more calories you can burn.

Find a physical activity you like to do whether it is taking long walks with your dog, joining an aerobics class, playing team sports, etc. Remember you don't have to be an Olympic athlete to benefit from exercise - just sweat and pant a little bit every day and reap the weight-loss benefits ten-fold!

Healthy, long-term weight loss is within your reach. My nutritional clients have achieved what they thought were "unachievable weight-loss goals" by following the simple guidelines listed above.

Carrying excess poundage is not a natural state for the human body. We must listen to it, support it with the right nutrients, nurture it, stimulate it and treat it "right" and our natural, healthy body weight will prevail.