Like with exercise gadgets guaranteed to melt away fat and firm up your body, many of us yearn for that magic pill or beverage we can pop or guzzle that will produce instant weight loss. Fat blaster pills. Lose weight while you sleep formulas. The latest herb from the Amazon rain forest that miraculously burns fat. A secret tea formula that revs up your metabolism to help you shed pounds easily.

These are all one bogus. Or dangerous, or both. A tragic example of a dangerous one was Phen-Fen, which had to be pulled off the shelves when it was implicated in several deaths.

It is a tragedy when people lose their lives, or hurt their health, looking for an easy way to lose weight. But it is all the more tragic when you understand that the easy ways to lose weight healthfully are all around us, in the form of whole, fresh, natural, plant-based foods, foods as they come from nature.

Start consuming more of these and less of the junk and fast foods that make up the typical American diet today. That is the easy, healthy way to lose fat healthfully and permanently.

Here are some other true food and drink magic pills, and healthy habits, that honestly help you lose fat.

Take in 200 to 250 fewer calories a day, every day. This is very easily done. Start by eliminating the least nourishing junk food you eat, like donuts, chips, pastries, candy, French fries, cheese puffs, junk crackers, sugar packets, and all such junk foods.

Sodas are one of the easiest ways to cut out junk calories, but remember, do not think that switching to diet sodas is the way to go. It is not.

Along with sodas, eliminate or drastically cut down on sports drinks, energy drinks, meal replacement beverages, iced teas, coffee drinks and all such beverages, including alcohol, particularly if you are female. All of these contain sugar and are overwhelmingly empty calories.

All of the above foods and beverages are junk foods, with little or no nutritive value. Cut them out of your diet and you will reap big fat loss benefits. You can call it magic if you like.

Here is the second part of eliminating junk foods from your diet. Replace the junk foods with whole, natural foods. If you are not used to this all at once, do it one piece of food at a time. If it is in a package, bag, wrapper, can, carton or bottle, that is a good sign it is not a whole, natural food. That goes especially for the phony health foods like energy bars, meal replacement bars,diet or meal replacement shakes, and many others with labels saying natural, fat-free, low-carb, high energy, low cholesterol, etc.

Remember, eat foods that are real, foods as grown, nothing taken away, nothing added. I occasionally eat foods that come in a package, bag, wrapper, can, carton and bottle, and I make sure they are good foods. But mostly I eat as many foods as possible that are as close to natural as possible.

Make friends with a Fuji. A Fuji apple that is, or blueberries, or bananas, oranges, papaya, grapes, mango, watermelon, raisins, dates, pineapple, cherries, cantaloupe, prunes. Make fruit your snack food, and your dessert food. This is a very simple but powerful eating strategy that will help you lose fat and keep it off permanently. Fruits satisfy your sweet tooth and improve your overall health. Fresh fruits are full of anti-oxidants and other healthy nutrients, as well as fiber, a vital part of your dietary intake.

Take your own food along with you. It is easy to get into the habit of packing lunch and snacks to take to work or wherever. We all know what the alternatives are: pick up a candy bar, or a pastry, or chips, or some other junk food, including the pseudo-health foods like energy bars, meal replacement bars and all such junkers.

Get into the healthy habits of absolutely refusing to buy anything from food vending machines, food kiosks, hot dog stands, convenience stores, fast food joints, snack bars. Cut out the junk foods and beverages, and stick with fresh, whole, natural foods, as they come from nature.

And practice the other healthy habits you just read. All these are the real magic formulas for fat loss, and they never fail.