Losing weight is hardly ever easy. Even though we all might know the basic formula for shedding pounds and maintaining an ideal weight — to eat less and move more — there are other factors at play that cause our bodies and minds, as well as our environments, to wreak havoc with our chances for weight loss success.

If you’ve attempted one diet after another and struggled through every exercise program under the sun but still haven’t managed to hit your weight loss goal, it could be time for a different approach. Here are four tips to try; one of them just might help you ditch those stubborn pounds once and for all!

Do a (Natural) Cleanse

While an extreme cleanse isn’t recommended — it can starve the body of vital nutrients and lead to bacterial imbalances, decreased immunity, general malaise and sustained ill health — there are ways to boost natural detox processes within the liver, kidneys, lungs and skin. Drink water; eat healthy, protein-rich (not carb-loaded) food that aids digestion (like tea, healthy fats, berries and leafy greens); and keep moving! With impurities flushed away, your body (and especially your mind) might be more ready for  healthier living in the future, making weight loss more likely to obtain.

Practice Intermittent Fasting

Research shows that when you eat could be as important as what you eat when it comes to weight loss. And if that doesn’t influence you to try intermittent fasting, research also shows that fasting can help fend off and even cure certain diseases! Sign us up!

Basically, intermittent fasting involves limiting the time you eat to a few hours each day or to eating only a certain number of calories every few days. Normal eating patterns have us consuming food all day, every day. By limiting food consumption to a specific time period or specific caloric intake, the body is able to more readily exhaust available calories and start burning fat. And when our bodies burn fat, we lose weight.

Try Lipotropic Injections

Many people have had success using a specific combination of vitamins, minerals and amino acids to boost their weight loss progress. Usually given as a weekly injection, these shots (called lipotropic injections) are offered through many natural health and medspa providers (such as the Institute of Natural Health in St. Louis). It is believed that these added nutrients foster improved energy consumption and increase metabolism, thereby aiding in general weight loss.

Meditate

There’s little doubt that the mind is a powerful contributor to overall health. There have been numerous studies that support the mind-body connection. Thus, it makes sense that controlling our minds can help us control our bodies. For instance, many nutritionists and other health care providers recommend meditation as a tool for clearing our thoughts so that we have the ability to focus on and commit to beneficial habits (like eating well, exercising and avoiding unhealthy triggers). When done correctly and consistently, meditation has been shown to improve the practitioner’s well-being and aid in his or her weight loss when needed.