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Want to Lose Weight or Manage a Healthy Weight? Best Supplements, Eating Strategies and Exercises

By Ethan Boldt

January 3, 2025

2025 has arrived. Every year many people have a New Year’s Resolution to lose weight, and you may be one of them. But this time, you really mean it. You will do what it takes to make it happen in a more significant way.

Well, fortunately for you, we’ve produced a weight loss guide full of the latest information that can help you on your big goal. Namely, ways (and what) to eat to help promote fat loss, ways of regularly exercising that can produce results and even some new supplements that have healthy weight loss or healthy weight management benefits.

Here are 19 natural ways to get there, including eating strategies, exercises and supplements to strongly consider … and can be part of your healthy longevity strategy.

As always, you should consult your healthcare professional prior to beginning any new dietary or lifestyle regimen, including those for weight loss or healthy weight management. 

Employ these eating strategies

1. Consume more protein

If your goal is to promote healthy weight management, a general rule of thumb is to consume half your body weight in grams of protein a day (at the very least).

How much protein per day exactly? For those seeking to burn fat and build muscle, aim to consume 0.7 to 1 gram per pound of body weight. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, you should be getting 105 to 150 grams of protein a day (depending on your goals). This includes starting your day with a high-protein breakfast rather than one that is simply high in carbohydrates.

Whey protein is one of the best protein supplements. In fact, it can be a more absorbable source of protein than nearly any other type of food or supplement. Muscles can simply recover, rebuild and remain strong better with whey (in addition to a healthy diet and lifestyle, including regular muscle-building exercise).

All that being said, the type of whey protein you use matters. Ancient Nutrition’s Whey Protein combines high-quality whey protein, organic regenerative A2/A2 milk protein and clinically studied eggshell membrane collagen into one supplement. Each scoop delivers 23 grams of protein. (There's also now Whey Protein + Fat Loss†* Blend. More on that below.0

Plus, Ancient Nutrition’s Whey Protein (and most whey protein supplements) provides high levels of amino acids, including both essential amino acids and branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs). The bioactivity of these amino acids give whey protein its many beneficial properties.

Bone Broth Protein is a type of superfood protein powder made from dried bone broth. It’s also chock full of amino acids, including collagen protein, as well as essential minerals and the compounds glucosamine, chondroitin and hyaluronic acid. These work together to provide support for your joints and muscles, as well as your gut and skin.

These supplements can be taken pre-workout (learn what to eat before a workout), during the day or post workout. While one serving, such as a scoop mixed into almond milk or a smoothie, is a good option following exercise, you can up your intake to 2–3 servings daily if your goal is to build lean muscle.

Of course, you should always read the label for suggested use and consult your healthcare professional prior to beginning a dietary or lifestyle regimen. 

2. Eat more fiber-rich foods

Foods high in fiber are one of the best fat-burning foods. They will help you feel fuller longer and help reduce sugar cravings; plus fiber has been proven to support healthy blood sugar (already in the normal range) and cholesterol levels.

How much fiber per day? The average person only gets 15–20 grams of fiber each day when you should be getting 25–40 grams daily from a variety of high-fiber foods.

Finding it challenging to hit that fiber number? Check out Ancient Nutrition's Organic Fiber (available in pineapple mango and raspberry lemonade flavors). It's a gentle-acting, easy-to-mix fiber powder that features acacia fiber and konjac root. It also contains a SBO probiotic strain called Bacillus coagulans for additional gut support and improved nutrient absorption.

Containing 5 grams of fiber per serving, Organic Fiber contains a long list of benefits. It reduces occasional constipation, gas and bloating, in addition to occasional abdominal discomfort. It promotes proper digestion, a feeling of fullness (satiety) and intestinal well-being.

3. Reduce your sugar intake

Excess sugar intake can impact health in a variety of ways — everything from weight to blood sugar, cognitive-related and menopause-related impacts as well as overall health. In particular, sugary foods and drinks are often high in calories and can contribute to an increase in body fat.

How much sugar per day? The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that adult women should consume no more than six teaspoons/24 grams of added sugar per day, which equates to about 100 calories per day. For men, the AHA recommends no more than 150 calories per day come from added sugars, which is about nine teaspoons/36 grams. 

4. Track your calories

While more studies need to be conducted and outcomes can vary, there are many studies that point to calorie reduction as part of healthy weight management. 

For example, in a group of overweight individuals, a recent two-year study conducted at the National Institutes of Health revealed that even a modest reduction — 12 percent in this case — of calories helped each participant lose 20 pounds of weight on average during the first year and maintained that weight loss in the second year. 

When you diet, you generally take in fewer calories than your body needs. This “calorie deficit” forces your body to use fat reserves for energy. This metabolic process of fat leaving the body happens in three primary ways: water through the skin (sweating, water through the kidneys (urination) and carbon dioxide through the lungs (when you breathe out). 

So how many calories should you eat per day?” The Harris-Benedict equation is a popular tool used by many nutrition and health professionals to calculate your basal metabolic rate — or the caloric requirements of individuals — based on sex, age, height, weight and level of physical activity. 

Here are the equations:

• Male: 66.5 + (6.2 × weight in pounds) + (12.7 × height in inches) – (6.75 × age in years)

• Female: 655.1 + (4.35 × weight in pounds ) + (4.7 × height in inches) – (4.7 × age in years)

• Then, based on expended energy (physical activity/lifestyle), multiply the equations by 1.2 for sedentary people, 1.3 for moderately active people and 1.4 for active people.

As a general rule of thumb, consuming 500 calories per day over/under your needs will lead to around one pound of weight loss/gain per week.

5. Count your macros

Now that you've figured out how many calories you need per day, you may be wondering: What should my macros be? The term "macros" refers to macronutrients, which are compounds that provide the body with energy. Macronutrients can be classified into three main groups: proteins, fats and carbohydrates.

Many people follow a macros diet plan, which involves calculating and tracking the amount of protein, fat and carbs in your diet to achieve weight loss. It's generally recommended to aim for around 45 percent to 65 percent of total daily calories from carbohydrates, 20 percent to 35 percent of calories from fat and 10 percent to 35 percent of calories from protein.

For both counting calories and macros, consider using a convenient app to help make your tracking easy. 

6. Consider intermittent fasting

Intermittent fasting, also known as cyclic fasting, helps to stop you from eating mindlessly, can crank up your metabolism and is beneficial for normal hormone production, digestion and more. Research shows that fasting can benefit blood sugar levels already in the normal range, help promote healthy inflammation levels and help keep your heart healthy.

You may want to try fasting approaches like “Time-Restricted Feeding,” which you fast for 16 hours everyday and limit your eating to eight hours (often this involves not eating anything after dinner and skipping breakfast the next morning), or “Alternate Day Fasting”, in which you eat a very small amount on fasting days, and then eat normally on non-fasting days.

7. Eat 90 percent of your meals at home

Want to know a secret regarding how to lose some weight or manage a healthy weight? Make the majority of your own snacks and meals from whole foods at home. You’ll also save money.

Don’t forget about leftovers. Use them to create new meals (for instance, make a stir-fry with leftover cooked meats and veggies).

8. Eat more slowly

When you eat fast, it’s easy to overeat. It takes about 20 minutes for your stomach to register that it’s full. Practice mindful eating, chew slowly and enjoy the flavor of your food.

This process will ensure that you not only consume fewer calories, it also eases digestion and helps your brain to catch up with your body.

9. Make healthy swaps

Eating clean doesn’t mean you have to give up your favorite foods. There are many easy and healthy food swaps that you can make today to increase your nutrient intake, reduce calorie consumption and promote your overall health.

For example, substitute stevia for sugar, avocado oil for canola and whole grains for refined ones. 

Consider these diets

1. Keto diet

Want to know about another way some people lose weight? One option is trying the ketogenic diet. A keto diet is an extremely low-carb diet in which you drastically reduce or completely eliminate the amount of glucose-boosting foods you eat.

Once glucose has been sidelined and there are no carbs available for your body to use for energy, the body will turn to stored fat instead, putting you into the metabolic state called nutritional ketosis.

Carb intake is extremely limited, often to around 30-50 grams of net carbs per day. Healthy fats can make up to 80 percent of your total calorie intake. 

2. Low-carb diet

If you’re looking for another way to possibly lose weight but don’t want to fully go keto, then a low-carb diet is a good option for some. A low-carb diet is a diet that limits carbohydrate foods — such as foods with added sugar, grains, starchy vegetables and fruit — and emphasizes foods high in protein and fat. 

Your diet will be roughly distributed as 30 to 35 percent calories from protein, 20 percent or less from carbohydrates, and about 45 to 50 percent from fat. With every meal you’ll want to incorporate 1–2 palm-sized portions of protein, such as fish or meat.

3. Vegan diet

While there are different levels of vegetarian and vegan diets, most vegetarians steer clear of eating meats, including seafood and poultry. Vegans take it a step further and avoid all products that come from animals, including dairy and eggs.

There are plenty of ways to get protein without consuming too many animal-derived foods, such as from nuts, seeds, beans, ancient grains or plant-based protein powders.

Exercise in these ways

1. Lift weights

Could strength training be one of the best ways to lose weight? Savvy exercisers know that the best workouts don’t include just cardio, but incorporate strength training as well.

Building muscle helps you lose inches all around, keeps your metabolism going after leaving the gym and will help you look better, too. Researchers even discovered that weight training could be more beneficial for reducing belly fat than aerobic exercise.

2. Do high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workout

To help break through a weight-loss plateau, jumpstart your metabolism and lose fat, try high-intensity interval training and Tabata training. Some studies show that this type of exercise causes an afterburn effect in your body so you keep burning fat for hours after your workout.

3. Do long cardio

If you want to write a novel, those 20-minute bouts of writing will make your end goal a long way off. It’s the same with weight loss. While 20-minute workouts can be good for you (including for your heart and brain health, mood, flexibility and so on), they barely touch your fat stores.

What?! I’m afraid it’s true. First, when you exercise, you burn through stored glycogen in the muscles for energy. It’s only after about 20 or 30 minutes that your body goes into fat-loss mode. To achieve genuine fat loss during a workout, 30 to 60 minutes of lower- to moderate-intensity exercise is required. 

Supplements to help lose weight or manage a healthy weight

1. Multi Collagen Advanced Lean Capsules

From the company that brought you the groundbreaking collagen powder with the proprietary fermented eggshell membrane collagen ingredient backed by human clinical trials that supported skin, joint and gut health comes Multi Collagen Advanced. Among its six products in this supplement line, one is geared towards weight loss and one is geared towards healthy weight management. 

Featuring collagen from 10 food-based sources, Multi Collagen Advanced Lean Capsules is a supplement with a weight loss†*** ingredient that helps you burn calories†* and boost your metabolism†**.

It features a proprietary Fat Loss Blend that includes moringa leaf extract, curry leaf extract, organic cordyceps mycelium, turmeric rhizome extract, organic fermented ginger root, organic fermented black pepper fruit and organic apple cider vinegar. These select ingredients are backed by clinical studies. 

Benefits include: 

• Burn up to 15% more calories at rest†**

• 6x more weight loss†***

• 3x more waist and hip reduction†***

• Blocks, breaks down and burns fat†***

• Promotes healthy fat loss†***

• Increases metabolism†**

• 4X better body mass index (BMI) improvement†***

2. Multi Collagen Advanced Lean Powder

A collagen powder from 10 food-based sources, Multi Collagen Advanced Lean Powder (cinnamon flavor) is a healthy weight management**** supplement designed to help you burn calories and boost your metabolism.

It features a proprietary Fat Loss Blend that includes organic ashwagandha root extract and organic ceylon cinnamon. Select ingredients are backed by multiple clinical studies. 

Benefits include:

• Promotes healthy weight management****

• Promotes fat loss****

• Reduces body fat percentage****

• Supports a healthy, lean body composition****

• Increases muscle mass and strength****

• Boosts energy and reduces fatigue

• Helps reduce stress-induced food cravings

3. Whey Protein + Fat Loss†* Blend

Formulated with 23 grams of grass-fed whey protein, organic regenerative A2/A2 milk protein, and a clinically studied superfood Fat Loss†* Blend, this supplement is designed to help you look and feel your best. (Read more about this supplement here.)

We’re not just talking about less body fat†*, more strength†* and increasing your metabolism†*, but also recovering more quickly†, feeling less stressed, more energized† and on top of your cravings. It’s the perfect add-on to your diet and exercise routine.

4. Plant Protein+

For those who follow a plant-based diet, Ancient Nutrition’s Plant Protein+ protein powders are great options for obtaining amino acids needed for muscle recovery and performance.

It’s made with organic seeds and botanicals (such as pumpkin, hemp and chia seeds), energizing adaptogens including ashwagandha, and medium chain triglyceride fats (MCTs) — which together promote a healthy body composition and fat metabolism, and increase muscle recovery. Flavors include vanilla, chocolate and berry. 

†These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

*In addition to a healthy, reduced-calorie diet and healthy lifestyle, including regular exercise.

**Due to key ingredient. Results achieved by day 7 in a 7-day human clinical trial with healthy normal weight and overweight individuals — at rest with no changes to diet or exercise.

***Due to key ingredient. Results achieved in a 16-week human clinical trial with healthy overweight individuals who used this ingredient and followed a reduced-calorie diet and regular exercise — compared to diet and exercise alone.

****In addition to a healthy diet and lifestyle, including regular exercise and muscle-building exercise.