With the increase of Internet in our lives, there is more search for “Fat Loss Hacks”. Many things has changed but one thing that hasn’t changed – Obesity is still on the rise.
There are no legitimate fat loss hacks – despite server farms filled with fat loss hacks.
That’s because obesity isn’t a simple, hackable problem. There are many interconnected factors i.e. physical, psychological, social, environmental, emotional – that influence our ability to eat less and move more. And the magnitude of each factor can vary for any given individual. For a visual, check out the illustration below.
Most “diet hacks”, “fast fixes”, and “easy solutions” make fat loss even harder than it needs to be.
These approaches often promote overly restrictive and unnecessary rules that:
- eliminate carbs or sugar
- demonize fat or meat (ethical reasons aside)
- moralize food choices (implying there’s a ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ way to eat)
- encourage or require dietary perfection
- emphasize what’s theoretically optimal over what’s truly practical (and may advise supplements or ‘superfoods’ as necessary components)
This isn’t to suggest food and exercise choices don’t matter. But rather to say: Compared to most fat loss hacks, you can enjoy greater flexibility in what you eat and how you exercise—and still get the lasting results you want.
1) The foods we eat the most.
Many people who struggle with weight control eat too many carbs. (And too much fat.). Consider this data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).
Based on this research, nearly one-quarter of the average American’s calorie intake comes from desserts, candy, snacks, and sugary drinks.
That’s a good chunk of daily calories.
These foods aren’t on anyone’s recommended eating list. But as you can probably see: Drastically cut carbs—or even just sugar—and you’ll automatically eliminate most of these “junk foods.” (And, importantly, lots of calories from both carbs and fat.)
This leads to a popular claim: When you give up carbs, you stop craving junk food, making it easier to lose fat.
2) The delicious foods we can’t resist.
In a recent study, University of Michigan researchers looked at the ‘addictive’ qualities of common foods. The chart below shows the 10 foods that people are most likely to rate as ‘problematic’, using the Yale Food Addiction Scale.
Whether you restrict carbs or fat, nine out of 10 of these foods would be off-limits—or at least significantly reduced.
Note that all but one are ultra-processed foods, and most contain some combination of sugar, fat, and salt.
This ingredient combo makes these foods “hyper-palatable”—or so delicious they’re hard to stop eating. Food manufacturers engineer them to be this way.
What about the foods, such as soda or chocolate, that aren’t loaded with all three of those ingredients? They tend to contain “drug-like” compounds—such as caffeine and/or theobromine—to enhance their appeal.
With this in mind, It’s worth taking a look back at the previous chart, too. Eight out of 10 of the most “addictive” foods shown here in Exhibit B are also five out of the top six most consumed categories of foods in Exhibit A.
What do they have in common? They’re usually ultra-processed and manufactured to be irresistible.
Now consider: What foods are especially problematic for you? And what do they have in common?
(To test this on yourself or with a client, download Yale Food Addiction Scale worksheet.)
Typically, minimally-processed, whole foods like vegetables, fruit, beans, and whole grains aren’t high on many people’s “problem” lists. We simply don’t tend to overeat these foods consistently.
Yet there are fat loss hacks that tell you to avoid fruit, never eat a starchy vegetable, and eschew beans and grains of any kind.
Our question: When exactly did these foods become the problem?
Which brings us to our next item.
3) The nutritious foods we aren’t eating.
Public health officials have long advised we eat more vegetables, fruit, legumes, and whole grains.
But these recommendations have come under fire for not working. Because collectively, we’ve gotten fatter despite them. The argument from certain camps: It’s the fault of these “healthy” foods.
Is that the case, though?
Or is it because people are eating other (ultra-processed, hyper-palatable) foods instead?
If that sounds like a loaded question, here’s why:
According to NHANES data, 58.5 percent of all calories consumed in the US come from ultra-processed foods.4
And our consumption habits aren’t improving: During the five-year survey period, that percentage increased by one percent every year.
But let’s take a closer look at the recommended “health” foods, starting with whole grains, since they’re often particularly vilified.
Given this NHANES data, you can certainly argue people eat too many refined, ultra-processed grains.5
But whole grains? Comparatively speaking, people still aren’t eating them.
The same is true for fruit.5
And vegetables.5
And legumes.5
The reality is this: When looking to improve their diet, most people focus on subtraction. They might say: “I’m giving up sugar” (see Exhibit A) or “I’m cutting out junk food” (see Exhibit B).
Trouble is, there’s often no plan for what they’ll eat instead. This can lead to feelings of deprivation and diet dissatisfaction.
That’s why it can help to start with addition: Eat more vegetables. Eat more fruit. Eat more whole grains and legumes. Eat more lean protein. (Men tend to consume fattier sources of protein, which provide more calories, and women often struggle with getting enough protein overall.)
Based on our experience working with over 100,000 clients, this “add first” strategy can be highly effective at “crowding out” ultra-processed, hyper-palatable foods. (No, this doesn’t mean you have to live life without any “junk food”.)
Besides getting more nutritious foods into your diet, something else often happens when you “add first”: You automatically eat less.
An example: A recent study conducted at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (an institute of the NIH).6
Twenty adults were admitted to a metabolic ward and randomized to a diet of ultra-processed foods or minimally-processed foods. They were allowed to consume as much or as little as desired. After two weeks, they switched and did the alternative diet for two weeks.
The result: As you can see in the chart below, participants ate 508 more Calories per day and gained weight on the ultra-processed diet. They lost weight on the minimally-processed diet.
It’s a small but very well-controlled study (other studies have shown similar outcomes), and it reflects what we often see with clients who use our “add first” approach.
Their overall calorie intake goes down as they include more minimally-processed foods in their diet. They find food more fulfilling and satisfying.
If it seems counter to conventional wisdom to add versus subtract, you might ask yourself: What if conventional wisdom is wrong?
You’ll undoubtedly find that adding first is far easier than overhauling your diet instantly. And if it’s not working for you, you always have the option to subtract.
But the best part: It doesn’t require perfection to drive meaningful results, as you’ll see in Exhibit H.
4) Progress doesn’t require perfection.
When we coach clients at Precision Nutrition, we don’t expect them to change their habits or build new skills overnight. We don’t even want them to try.
Instead, we give them one daily health habit to practice—such as consuming five daily servings of fruit and vegetables or eating lean protein at each meal—every two weeks for 12 months.
These practices accumulate, and by the end of the year, they’re incorporating 25 practices total.
This is how we help folks develop healthy eating and lifestyle skills and habits that become