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Losing weight has become a national obsession, and with good reason: we all want to look our best. We do it for health, we do it to look sexy to the people to whom we feel attracted. Sure, diet pills from the big drug companies might or might not work, but who knows what they are doing to our bodies: just look at the fen-phen debacle of the late-1990s.

Happily, there are ways to naturally lose weight while avoiding potentially dangerous diet pills manufactured by drug companies. Here are 5 secrets for how to naturally lose weight fast:

Secret #1: Know your calorie math: Put simply, over a given period of time you will lose weight if you burn more calories than what you take in. Pretty simple math, right? The unfair thing is: some people have a naturally slower metabolic rate (the rate at which your body naturally burns calories). That is why you have thinner friends who can eat twice as much as you eat without gaining a pound. However, even they are not exempt from the calorie math. So, start becoming acutely aware of how many calories you are taking in per day versus how many you are burning through exercise. If the math adds up, you will be 'subtracting' pounds from your rear, thighs and tummy before you know it.

Secret #2: Drink more water: Water is the natural way to flush your system clean. As you begin to lose more weight, your blood will be flooded with toxins rejected from the cells in your body. Drinking more water will help flush these toxins out. Water also helps with basic cellular functioning and, importantly, metabolism.

Secret #3: Get a pedometer: Pedometers, or step counters, are really great little inventions. Just attach one to your belt in the morning, reset the counter to zero, and go about your day. At the end of the day, remember or write down your 'score' (number of steps). After a few days, you may find yourself trying to outdo your own high score! A pedometer makes it easier to visualize the connection between your daily activity and your calorie burning. Pedometers start at around $1.

Secret #4: Cut out dessert: People who try to diet usually end up gaining all of the weight back within a few weeks. Reason: when we deprive ourselves of food, we end up craving it more and then end up blowing the diet. Try this: instead of going cold turkey on sweets, just cut out your after-dinner dessert. Even shaving those extra 200 calories from your daily diet means taking in 6,000 fewer calories a month!

Secret #5: Learn which snack foods are good for you: Snacking is one of the biggest enemies of a weight loss plan. Eating healthier snacks can actually make you want to eat less. Reason: your body craves healthy food. When you eat right, you will be less hungry.

Losing weight naturally is the best way to go. As you lose weight, you will feel better and you will look better to those to whom you are attracted. By understanding the connection between caloric intake and calorie burning, you have the right foundation in place for see significant weight loss.