Retailers spend a lot of time helping customers determine the ideal solution or product for their specific needs. When it comes to weight management that often becomes a difficult task: multiple factors come into play when a person tries to lose weight. 

A few questions can help customers make the right choice for either short- or long-term success. First, identify where they feel the trouble lies with losing weight, which typically falls into one of three buckets: 1.) They don’t have time to incorporate daily exercise into their schedules. 2.) They don’t have the energy to exercise. 3.) They have a hard time saying no to foods they love.  Once you know the key element to their weight gain you can direct them to the right product. For example, if they are having trouble finding time to exercise every day you might suggest a metabolic booster such as EGCG, 7-Keto, or extracts from African mango and black pepper to name a few.  If they are lacking energy and stamina to endure their workout, focus on products that contain ingredients for natural sources of energy: caffeine, ginseng, citrus aurantium, yerba mate, guarana, B vitamins, or CoQ10.    If it’s a matter of overeating, the first step is to coax them into maintaining a food log for a short period of time to really help them understand how much they consume. Also, suggest a few products that have ingredients to help them control satiety, such as protein-based drinks, hydroxycitric acid and garcinol, caralluma fimbriata, or emulsions of all natural vegetable oils. Workouts hinge on more than nutrition, of course. Retailers must determine how their customers like to exercise and how to get them on track. For those with a lack of motivation, direct them toward books on why exercise and maintaining a healthy weight can change their lives forever. If customers can't find the right exercise program, show them your selection of DVDs and books on different ways to make exercise a daily habit, or identify the program that best fits their current abilities and interests and provides them with cardio, muscle development, or a combination of both. When it comes to an effective exercise routine enough can’t be said about the health benefits of muscle development as we age.  Helping your customer determine their muscle definition to support effective changes in their body composition can significantly help them achieve their weight loss goals. Along with three days a week of exercise to build muscle strength, many nutritional supplement ingredients such as conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), garcinia mangostanta fruit rind, fucoxanthin, chlorogenic acids, chitosan, or proteins can help target changes in body composition. Learning how and what customers like to eat will reveal clues to steer them in the right direction. Are they are eating too much? Too often? The wrong foods? No good weight loss plan succeeds without incorporating the right foods into the diet. For example, customers who overindulge in breads and refined starches can manage their carbohydrate intake via functional ingredients such as chromium picolinate, white kidney extract, or green coffee extract. Asking questions and knowing nutritional options can help customers control their hunger and produce satiety or a feeling of fullness. And it will help them to reduce their caloric intake. However, long-term weight loss success, and ensuring the right kinds of energy to experience the full benefits of a workout, requires more. Retailers must have a great selection of resources on hand for customers to learn the benefits of clean eating and incorporating it into their daily lives. (Tosco Reno's books are a great example of resources you might consider.) Not only does clean eating help with weight loss but also in reducing the risk of disease and increasing their chances of aging healthfully.