In an earlier article, we identified 7 steps that could move you closer to a natural weight loss diet. With the countless diets available, how do you identify a natural weight loss diet? When you think about it, it’s quite simple to identify a natural weight loss diet.  A particular diet is natural if it fulfills the following 4 criteria;

1.  Health Enhancing

The diet must add to your health. Or at least it should not take away from your health. When you lose weight, you should enjoy all the benefits that come with it. This includes lower blood pressure, increased insulin sensitivity, hormonal balance and so on. Some fad diets are too focused on weight loss irrespective of whether the weight loss comes from fat or muscle. These type of diets adversely affect your metabolism and absolutely screw up your hormonal balance.

2.  Sustainable

The weight loss achieved from the diet must be sustainable. If the diet is not health enhancing, it is very likely that it will adversely affect your metabolism and your hormonal balance. This will cause your weight to come back with a vengeance. Yo-yo dieting is bad for your health. It becomes more and more difficult to lose weight each subsequent time you try it.

3.  Without Side Effects

A natural weight loss diet enhances health. Some fad diets adversely affect your health. It disrupts your metabolism. Some diuretics affect the functioning of your kidneys. Some fat burners over stimulate your adrenal glands. Other fad diets depress your thyroid hormone thus bringing your metabolism to a grinding halt. It is not worth getting on a particular weight loss diet if it is going to have side-effects no matter how effective it is. The results never last but the side-effects could have a life long effect.

4.  Make Your Feel Good

When the weight comes off, your energy levels should shoot up. You should feel great and look younger. A fad diet would do the opposite. It drains your energy levels and makes you look haggard and feel lethargic.

Identifying a Natural Weight Loss Diet

It is very easy to identify a natural weight loss diet.  A natural weight loss diet should be an eating plan that is as close as possible to that of our pre-historic ancestors. It should be free of refined carbohydrates, processed food, excessive sugar, artificial sweeteners, processed meats, fried food, trans-fats just to name a few.

Food should be eaten in its whole form. Whole food is natural weight loss food. Its better to eat an apple than to drink apple juice. A balanced diet must contain carbohydrates, protein and fat. It’s not carbohydrates on the whole that cause obesity, its refined carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates and whole grain have tremendous health benefits and also help trim the waist.

Not all fat is unhealthy. Eliminate trans fats and cut saturated fats. Omega3 and 9 fats such as those that come from cold water fish and olive oil have tremendous health benefits. The low obesity rates of the Mediterranean people is proof of this.

People already know this and nothing mentioned above is new. Unfortunately, people remain on the lookout for a diet that will shed all the excess pounds within a month. If such a diet existed, Oprah would had found it by now. Go back to the basics. Eat healthy and exercise. Those interested in more information on healthy nutrition, could get it from the nutrition section of this blog.