Ancient Secrets to Weight Loss and Good Health

Five thousand years ago, when the ancient Rishis or sages in India were observing the ways in which the environment around them revealed the secrets to well-being, maintenance and prevention of disease, I don't think slimming their waist lines was their main concern. However, their keen sense of awareness and deep connection to the plethora of plants, herbs, and animals they dwelled with has translated over the centuries into timeless wisdom that we can now find neatly packaged on the shelves of our local drug store.

And how many neat little packages there are! It is nearly impossible not to feel discouraged and completely overwhelmed by the amount of choice out there in the supplement world. "Fat Burner," "Metabolism Booster," "Craving Curber," are just a few of the common catch phrases on the front of weight loss supplements that leave you feeling like you probably need one of each.

One of the most important pieces of wisdom that the Rishis left us, which I always go back to in moments of indecision is: we are all unique individuals, what you may need may not be what I need.

When you are trying to lose weight with the help of supplements and herbs, it is hard to remember that you are in fact an individual. Despite what the packaging is telling you, not all "fat burners" are going to be right for your personal needs and goals.

So how do we know what we need, and where do we go from there?

First off, even before walking into the vitamin store, check in with yourself. Take a few minutes to reflect on your daily habits and your emotional state. Are you the type of person who deals with a lot of mental stress and anxiety and finds yourself rushing around with an irregular eating schedule? Or, do you have a strong appetite and acidic stomach that gives you cravings to eat heavy sweet or fried foods? Or maybe you have been happily eating all the things that you like, but have forgotten to couple it with exercise and proper sleep?

These are all important questions to ask yourself (or to ask someone close to you who can give you an honest outside/inside perspective). Reflection will bring more awareness to the root of your weight gain and enable you to choose a supplement that will best support your needs. Once you have done your personal inner work, then you can start to narrow your options down.

If you feel like your weight gain has come about because of irregularity in eating and mental stress, than it is very important that you choose a supplement that is going to help ease your mind and strengthen your ability to handle stressful situations.

• Vital Lady or Vital Man, are two herbal supplements created by an Ayurvedic holistic company called Maharishi Ayurveda. The herbs used in these supplements both calm and strengthen your mind while simultaneously nurturing your digestive systems. What I like about this herbal supplement is that it acknowledges the deep-seated connection between the mind and body.
  
  
• St. John's SC27 by New Chapter is another great supplement that focuses on balancing the mental and emotional states of being. St. John's Wort is a herb that has been recognized for its calming effects and ability to support mental health, which is key to managing weight gain brought on by a frazzled mind!

For those of us who are a medium build by nature, and normally have good metabolisms, weight gain happens because of a feeling of intense hunger due to high acidity in our stomachs. This leads us to over indulging in sweets and heavy foods to "put out the fire" so to speak. Skipping meals is also an issue and will result in over eating at night. In this situation, I recommend supplements that help reduce acidity, which will "curb" your appetite for the sweet heavy foods, and balance out fat metabolism all at the same rate.

• Maharishi Ayurveda has created a Be Trim Tea for these very issues. It is full of cooling and soothing ingredients like mint and fennel, as well as cinnamon and cardamom, which help reduce "false cravings" without leaving you with the hunger shakes.
  
  
• When we skip meals or eat very sweet foods, we throw our blood sugar levels in a tizzy. Often we crave the very things that created the problem in the first place, continuing the roller coaster of insulin ups and downs. Sweet Ease, by Banyan Botanicals, is a great supplement for helping maintain healthy blood sugar levels, the root of many of our weight gain issues.

Contrary to having an over active digestive metabolism, many of us have struggled for years, or even our whole lives to get our metabolism "burning" stronger. Even when we eat very little we still seem to gain weight. According to Maharishi Ayurveda, this is often happens because of two things: "digestive impurities are being created, and fat tissue is accumulating in the body." So to get to the root of these issues we have to "boost" the metabolism with eating the right kinds of foods, taking the right kind of supplements and increasing daily movement and exercise.

• Trim Support, Sweet Ease, and Trikatu, from Banyan Botanicals, all are formulated to "enkindle digestive fire," detox the body of un-metabolized foods, and stimulate digestion.
  
  
• New Chapter's SC Diet & Energy is also an excellent supplement based on traditional herbs for weight loss, such as: ginger, cayenne, clove, and green sencha. This supplement coupled with conscious eating and physical exercise is a healthy and balanced way to lose weight.

These are only a few options of many that may or may not resonate with what you are experiencing. Even within the options outlined in this article there are variations as broad as there are humans on this earth.

When choosing your weight loss program, try and customize it as much as you can to the root of your own experience, not somebody else's or what the package of a supplement is screaming at you. You may be surprised and enlightened by your findings when you ask yourself first. And always remember that supplements are just that: they supplement an already existing comprehensive health routine. Combining sound eating, exercise and sleep with supplements that are right for you will bring you the greatest success!