The 10 Most Effective Ways to Burn Fat & Stay Lean

It feels like there's an infinite amount of ways to lose weight and feel great—but when you take a deep dive into sustainability, effectiveness and adherence, these 10 modalities climb to the top of the totem pole.

I challenge you to employ at least one of these for 30 days straight. In a single month you'll notice a far more captivating and mood-boosting reflection. Results won't be instantaneous, but these top 10 most effective ways to burn fat and stay lean year-round will support a healthier and smoother weight loss journey... and keep the blubber off for life.

#1 Glycemic Variability

The number one thing you can do to live a long, healthy, fulfilled life, and prevent that stubborn fat gain is to stabilize blood sugar. Glycemic Variability (GV) refers to the fluctuating patterns of oscillating blood glucose throughout the day. This includes hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) and high jumps after meals. In simple terms, it's the ping-pong effect of sugar in your bloodstream throughout the day.

Personally, I think GV should be your highest priority for retaining a healthy weight and for decreasing inflammation. It is one of the most critical biomarkers for longevity.

As we all know by now, diabetes is widespread. A recent CDC Report states that “as of 2015, 30.3 million Americans – 9.4 percent of the U.S. population – have diabetes. Another 84.1 million have prediabetes, a condition that if not treated often leads to type 2 diabetes within five years.”

However, diabetes is not the only thing that erupts from poor GV. It is a full-body effect that impacts your brain function, nervous system, endocrine system (hormonal function), cardiovascular system (heart disease risk significantly increases), and sparks a plethora of other issues.

My point is not to scare you away from enjoying any sort of sugary food. For some reason, keto dieters, elite trainers, and even your aunt is bashing this God-given molecule left and right. However, this should not be the case.

Every form of sugar, whether it's derived from starchy carbohydrates like potatoes or from that dainty (but deadly) gummy bear, always gets converted into the simple sugar glucose.

Your body processes Coke, Cheez-itz, and tomatoes all through the same mechanisms and pathways. It's the unique constituents within these foods that completely turn the tables and effect your waistline. For example, the polysaccharide cellulose (aka fiber) is rich in many fruits, veggies, herbs, and spices. Fiber content in these plant-based foods slow down your glycemic response immensely, unlike that pure starch in potato chips or wheat bread.

I digress; we’ll examine this further this on #9.

After eating some carbs or protein (via gluconeogenesis), our friend insulin from the pancreas hauls glucose, lounging around in the bloodstream, to our cells. This is to be used as energy to retain homeostasis. It’s not a bad hormone as the media keeps portraying.

Without insulin, sugar would wreak havoc on your tissues and inflammation would turn the lights off for good. The real goal is to prevent chronic uprising of this fat-storing hormone. You want to prevent your pancreatic beta cells from going into overdrive on a daily basis.

What I’m getting at is this: cut out added and refined sugars from ultra-processed foods such as cakes, candies, corn and wheat products, sodas, chips, and fruit juices.

There are only 2 routes for glucose once you ingest carbohydrates:

1) Store the sugar into fat tissue or

2) Utilize the sugar as energy for muscle contractions and movement

Obviously, the latter sounds far more suitable for your wellness AND belly.

The first route of sugar is why many regard insulin as a “fat-storing hormone”. But with energy expenditure (through movement and activity) you’re able to keep your GV at ease; preventing undesirable belly fat.

So, I recommend keeping the added sugars out of the equation to a degree. This will stagger-off inflammation and keep adipocyte (fat cell) production at bay.

For breakfast, lunch, or even dinner, stick to a satisfying berry n’ pea protein smoothie loaded with hemp, chia, and flax seeds, dark greens, and other low-glycemic whole foods to keep the cravings shuttled away.

Why? Because that gargantuan cup of orange juice side-by-side with those mouth-watering pancakes drizzled in syrup will completely sabotage your weight loss objective (and you’ll feel like a heavy, apathetic piece of rubbish)!

#2 Resistance Training

The more muscle your body hauls around, the greater your metabolic rate. This means you can go for thirds in the buffet line without gaining fat!

This is when the beauty of resistance training comes into play.

When you lift weights, you are quite literally breaking, tearing, and ripping apart your muscle tissue. Then, shortly afterward, a repair stimulus runs through your veins. 24-72 hours following your weight-bearing session… magic happens.

Your body immediately responds by shuttling all sorts of repair mechanisms to rebuild and revamp that obliteration. Amino acids, glucose, and a plethora of other nutrients from the food you consume convert into this red mitochondria-rich tissue.

Increased muscle mass does indeed elevate metabolism, which helps your body burn an influx of calories long after your workout. This is why consuming adequate protein an entire day after a heavy session is critical for recovery.

In one study, “it has been shown that muscle protein synthetic rate (MPS) is elevated in humans by 50% at 4 hrs following a bout of heavy resistance training, and by 109% at 24 hrs following training.”

This is why I tell people if you truly want to see physique changes, don't obsess about treadmill work. For true physical body improvements, focus on that mind-muscle connection using resistance training. This also applies to women.

Many girls divert away from heavy weight-lifting because they think that they will get “bulky” and “masculine”. That, my friends, is very far from the truth! In fact, it'll do just the opposite: It'll tighten and tone your sexy body, burn fat, and shape your curves exactly how you want them.

Cardio, on the opposing spectrum, doesn’t provide the physique change you truly desire. Sure, jogging has immense cardiovascular benefits—but it's not going to give you the results some of you are hoping for.

Also, keep in mind that If you do a few bench press sets and chow down on some spinach, you're not going to wake up looking like Popeye. It can take weeks to months just to see some fitness changes (such as more plump muscles or decreased body fat).

On a side note, the only way to ‘tone’ your muscles is by lifting heavy weights—progressively increasing overtime—with lower rep ranges (i.e. 4-12 rep range). Combine this tactic with periodic fast-twitch, explosive movements and before you know it, you got yourself a six pack.

Light weight-lifting (under 50% of 1 rep max) has its merit, but it merely draws fluid into the muscles and doesn’t tear the fibers down to the desired degree for repair and growth. Lifting lighter weights can also prevent muscle atrophy from the current position you're in, but there's no gain with no pain.

There are many different forms of resistance training. You can pick up dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells, cables… yet we shall never cease to forget what's accessible at all times—your own body weight.

Pushups, sit-ups, chin-ups, squat thrusts, hanging leg-raises, lunges, dips, and step-ups are some body mass exercises that you can do to strengthen and promote that awe-inspiring chiseled physique.

When you strength train, your ability to drive glucose into the muscle increases tremendously versus aerobic training. Resistance training helps transport glucose into the muscles for storage and promotes an immediate increase in insulin sensitivity, which lasts 2–48 hours.

Shortly after this form of exercise, your marvelous pancreas will start to operate more efficiently. Beta cells, which secrete insulin to lower blood sugar after a meal, slide on their powerboots and increase insulin sensitivity.

While insulin resistance is ultimately harmful to your health, insulin sensitivity is beneficial. When you have high insulin sensitivity, you can eat high-glycemic foods without as much fat-storage and cravings for that sugary donut dissipate away. This is not only beneficial for building a badass body, but it lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes, stroke, heart disease, osteoporosis, Parkinson’s, and a whole slew of metabolic disorders.

The most common excuse I hear in skipping a workout: I don't have time.

It feels like our hectic clocks are constantly stacked with responsibilities 24/7. School, work, meetings, hobbies, volunteering, whatever it may be—it seems we never have time for the gym. Instead of trying to find time for training, think about how you can make time. Some activity is better than none.

As discussed earlier, you have a body that can be moved at any moment in time. You have the opportunity to drop down and crank out 20 pushups, body squats, or lunges at any given moment! There's always time. It's all in how you organize your daily schedule. Try setting aside a block of time free from commitments and responsibilities.

A great way to start is with 10 minutes of weight-bearing movement. The following day or week, go for 15 minutes, then gradually increase to a minimum of 30 minutes daily. Soon that “precious” time needed for other things will morph into a necessity. You’ll feel so good that you’ll want to spend that precious 30 minutes, or even more.

It’s all in how you look at it. Get pumped!

#3 Intermittent Fasting

In order to achieve optimal health, we must strategically monitor not only what we eat and how much, but when we eat. This is one of those things we oft forget about.

Regarding the Standard American Diet (SAD), we are urged to eat throughout the day, snacking in between meals, without any sort of digestive or metabolic break. Many people believe that eating three meals daily is healthy and that skipping meals can be extremely detrimental. This is simply not the case.

This is why I have been utilizing the wonders of intermittent fasting daily for over 2 years. I personally like to eat my last meal around 9pm (at least an hour before bed). During the day I consume less than 50g of carbs, typically from low-glycemic sources like grapefruit, berries, and any veggies. Then, for my last huzzah, I carb-load anywhere from 100-200 g with sweet potatoes, sprouted and soaked legumes, steel-cut oats, or ancient grains like quinoa and amaranth. This not only boosts serotonin levels for uninterrupted sleep, but it kicks fat loss into gear during the day by slightly elevating ketones.

Eating cyclic keto does your brain and body wonders.

With this accessory tactic in mind, in order to reach the 12-18 hour time period, I almost always skip breakfast.

Breakfast, otherwise known as Break-Fast, has been shunned from my lingo for quite some time. The morning meal right when you wake is definitely not the most important meal of the day, like we are told to believe.

No Breakfast!?! What!?! Aren't you starving by noon!?!

I like to look at it this way; during our paleolithic or ancestral times, we would never immediately wake up to a jumbo glass of OJ and an egg burrito stuffed with greasy bacon slices. On the contrary, us humans would scavenge for a variety of plants and animals for hours on end. We didn't have the luxury of opening the fridge or pantry to a facefull of food first thing in the morning.

Okay, let's flip the script. Say you drink a plant-based smoothie loaded with chia seeds, brown rice protein, greens, berries, and so on (much lower in the glycemic scale and much healthier nutrient content). This is a great thing to do for optimizing energy and health, don’t get me wrong. But if you ate a late night munchie meal and only gave your body a meager 8-10 hours without food, that's when you lack the tremendous health benefits of intermittent fasting.

This is where the science of skipping breakfast and eating your first meal in the afternoon starts to make more sense.

For most individuals, your cortisol levels are at their peak in the morning and lowest at midnight. Cortisol is a steroid hormone released by your adrenals. It helps your body respond to stress, regulate blood sugar, and fight infections. If you have chronically elevated cortisol, from rough relationships, your douchebag boss, or general day-to-day life, body fat will be nearly impossible to shed off.

This is because cortisol snatches sugar from the liver via gluconeogenesis (converting liver proteins into glucose) and dumps it into the bloodstream. This creates a chain reaction of mechanisms such as driving up insulin and causing nasty fat gain. That's a no-go if you are trying to lose weight.

Another critical hormone to consider is leptin. Leptin is your “I feel full and satisfied” hormone that regulates food intake, energy storage, and secretes in a diurnal rhythm with lowest levels in the morning. AKA: your body truly isn't hungry in the morning, but your mind might be. That could be derived from other factors such as daily glycemic roller coasters or lack of good sleep hygiene. Things like these may manifest these morning cravings.

My point is simple: eating breakfast with elevated cortisol and leptin may not be the best decision for an adult metabolism and for fat loss. However, you can in fact have an intermittent fasting routine and eat breakfast too. I just prefer to eat later in the day after my evening workouts based off of my current academic and work schedule.

Personally, this is much easier to adhere to versus eating your last meal of the day at “dinner time” around 6pm. If you were to finalize your nutrition at 6pm, feel free to chow down on a wholesome protein and fat-rich meal around 8am the following day. This example adds up to a solid 14 hours fasted!

Keep in mind, it all depends on preference, but the key is to not pass out every night on a full stomach. Let that delish food settle down for healthy digestion. Sleeping on a full stomach will inhibit good sleep. All your blood flow will head towards your digestive tract, not recovery and replenishment. Eating an hour or more before bed will also lower your glycemic response in the morning and get your hormones groovin’ naturally; perfect for fat loss and recovery.

If you're interested in learning more, check out my Intermittent Fasting blog on cvcwellness.wixsite.com/blog.

#4 Adequate Sleep

Sleep can be quite ironic—we oft adhere to the night owl life and shun 7 to 9 hours aside. “I’ll be fine with 6 hours of sleep... morning (insert name here) will worry about it. Nightime (insert name here) is watching TV, scrolling through IG, studying for a big exam, or partying with friends".

Then the early AM alarm goes off screaming in your ears… your groggy brain immediately slams the snooze. At that moment in time, you couldn’t care less about the potentially beautiful day ahead.

It's human nature to crave sacred sleep.

This rough-rounded circadian cycle of snoozing can be toxic to our mind, body, and spirit. Overtime, a fat list of repercussions will erupt.

Just one night of poor sleep can lead to:

- Brain fog & poor cognition (increase in Alzheimer's proteins)

- Food cravings

- Increased blood glucose & insulin secretion

- Weakened immune function

- Lower sex drive

- And one we rarely consider: Fat gain.

In one efficacious randomized two-period two-condition crossover study, 2 groups of middle-aged adults were researched during a 2-week period on the role sleep plays on fat-mass. Group 1 tracked 8.5 hours of sleep per night, and the other logged 5.5 hours of sleep per night (which the authors point out is a "norm" for people in this day and age).

Both groups ate the same amount of calories each day (~1,450 calories). After a mere 2 weeks, the people who slept 8.5 hours, over the short 5.5 hours, lost significantly greater fat. People literally amped-up fat loss while they slept.

The main contributor to this phenomenon is because during sleep, the conversion of yucky white fat (i.e. belly fat) to metabolically-active brown fat increases substantially. Brown fat burns white fat.

Brown fat lies in tight-knit vascularized areas between the shoulder blades, around the clavicle, kidneys, neck, and throughout the spinal cord. It’s called “brown” because of its greater concentration of mitochondria vs. white fat.

Remember from high school biology the “Powerhouses of the Cell”? Well, that’s exactly what mitochondria are. This organelle manufactures the required energy for life, known as ATP. The more efficient the mitochondria, the longer you’ll live... and greater chance you’ll achieve that lean physique. One study shows that white to brown fat conversion increases dramatically when we get adequate REM and deep sleep rhythms.

So, one of the easiest ways to tap into that unappealing squishiness is to treat yourself to some deep, fulfilling sleep. Crank the thermostat down to a cozy 65ish degrees, dim the lights, put on blue-light blocking glasses, and drink some calming, warm herbal tea to grasp that solid 7-9 hours of rejuvenation!

#5 Hot & Cold Therapy

Ice Ice Baby and Hot in Herre. . .

Our bodies thrive on fluctuating temperatures; we are biological machines designed to shiver and sweat. This is especially true when we bounce back and forth between temperature extremes with the power of Contrast Hydrotherapy.

Cold therapy is by far one of the most effective ways to burn fat and ramp-up metabolism. It can be hard to kickstart this practice, but it becomes a daily ritual before you know it.

There are a variety of cool techniques within the realm of cold therapy. From cold plunges in lakes during the frigid winter months to something as simple as a 2-5 minute ice shower. The cold craves your attention.

Remember the white to brown fat conversion I mentioned earlier? Well, besides sleep, fasting, and exercise—cold therapy outnumbers these modalities ten fold.

Brown adipose tissue, as mentioned found around the neck, clavicle, spine, and around the kidneys, generates heat. The white fat around your buttocks, belly, and legs can readily convert into this beloved brown. This boosts your metabolic rate. So, one of the best ways to tap into that stubborn white fat is to freeze it off.

I got to say, other than fat loss, icing has a plethora of other benefits such as:

- Enhancing immune function

- Balancing hormone levels

- Decreasing blood sugar (while dissipating food cravings)

- Improving adrenals

- Improving deep sleep

- Increasing pain tolerance

- Decreasing inflammation

Cold exposure is my go-to for staying lean year-round. Every morning I take a 3 minute minimum cold shower after cleaning up with hot water. Then, if I am feeling sparky, I’ll go back and forth from hot to cold every 30 seconds (this is the Contrast Hydrotherapy I referred to earlier). I will do a second session of this at the end of the day before sleep. If you were to only factor in this routine daily for 4 weeks, I guarantee you’ll notice those abdominals peeking through.

Now let's turn up the thermostat.

The sauna falls as the superhero for heat-shock therapy, yet the benefits aren’t tied directly to fat loss. There are four diverse types of saunas: traditional Finnish sauna, dry sauna, steam bath (also known as a Turkish bath), and an infrared sauna.

Each experience varies from one type to the next, but they all have similar benefits:

- Improve cardiovascular health (aka: good for your heart & circulation)

- Aid in recovery after exercise

- Increase heat-shock proteins (aka: boost longevity of your cells)

- Helps flush out toxins (i.e. heavy metals)

- Reduce risk of Alzheimer’s by a whopping 65%

- Reduce stress

- Help induce deeper and more fulfilling sleep

- Boost immune function

- Improve complexion (skin health)

- Social benefits (I’ve had some of the most intellectual and spiritual discussions in that hot box)

Notice how I did not directly mention fat loss from frequent sauna treatment. However, if you truy dig-deep into all of these benefits, you come to realize that they do in fact directly connect to your metabolism.

For instance, if you can reduce stress, you will lower cortisol which in turn lowers insulin and blood sugar (fat storing modulators right there!). Also, the pure bliss of accelerating heart rate from these high temperatures (170+ degrees for ~20 minutes) initiates a fiery metabolic rate. The sweating process itself requires a notable amount of energy.

The conversion of fat and carbohydrates to energy burns-up calories and fat stores. According to U.S. Army Medical Research (Ward Dean, M.D.), "A moderately conditioned person can easily sweat off 500 grams in a sauna in a single session, consuming nearly 300 calories in the process.”

As your heart pumps to higher extremes, a great deal of mechanisms in your one-of-a-kind body demand more oxygen. Your hundreds of thousands of mitochondria in each one of your cells metabolize sugars, fatty acids, and amino acids, for more efficient energy production. So, with that in mind, the body begins to convert more calories (from food or white fat) into usable energy.

Cold and heat therapy not only boost endorphins (making you feel kickass after each session), they have a plethora of tremendous health benefits. Aim for 5+ days per week of shivering and sweating. Another healthy way to get slim.

#6 Postprandial Walks

As much as you want to just lay on the couch after a big meal, you're truly doing your body and mind a disservice. Whenever we humans have an insulin spike, whether it's from a Twix bar or even a medium rare sirloin steak, a domino effect of physiological mechanisms occur. A graceful 15-30 minute walk after eating a meal eliminates the negative consequences from lounging around.

Postprandial (or post-meal) walks help:

- Improve Digestion

- Speed up Metabolism

- Improve Sleep Quality (especially after dinner)

- Lower Blood Sugar

- Improve Blood Circulation

- Reduce Fat

One study on 3 groups of Japanese folk stole the spotlight for this particular health-hack. Out of the 3 groups of men, each had a different action after a meal: sit, stand, or walk. The low-volume 30 minute walk after a meal kept serum fat concentrations 18% lower than sitting or standing.

Easy-going walks grasp the golden ticket within the glycemic variability realm. This post-meal stroll helps clear glucose from the bloodstream because more of it is taken up by the muscles.

Heading for a brief walk, instead of the hittin’ the sack, is not only fantastic physically…but it puts you into a clean state of mind. Walking with friends and family after a filling dinner sparks stronger interpersonal relationships and opens up many doors to overall wellness. Sounds much more meaningful than vegging away on Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Hulu; lacking any real, impactful conversations.

Movement is critical after eating, but getting your legs swinging throughout the day plays a major role in sustaining lean fat-mass and a well-regulated blood sugar. More on that in #8 of the top 10 most effective ways to burn fat.

#7 Meditation & Mindfulness

Although there is not a ton of research verifying the efficacy of meditation directly helping fat loss, meditation and mindfulness does help you become more aware of your present thoughts and actions. This alone allows you to make healthier and more cognizant decisions in your daily life; thus, the fat vanishes before your eyes.

Anecdotally, since I began daily meditations my freshman year at community college (i.e. morning 20-minute guided meditations through headspace or with binaural beats), I set an intention with food. Food has morphed into fuel. Food is life. It no longer rests as a pure pleasure or comfort—at least I can say that for 90% of my diet ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

For instance, in my later years at Kirkwood high school, I suffered from a binge eating problem. It wasn’t too overly disastrous or obsessive, but I developed a poor habit of eating gargantuan meals until I couldn’t stand up straight. Then, I would just sleep it off, or shall I say, sleep it on.

Months passed and college smacked me square in the face. Stressors and obligations stacked up, so I began to research, read books, and listen to a handful of podcasts that discuss a variety of wellness practices, such as meditation and mindfulness (Ben Greenfield Fitness, Align, Bulletproof Radio, and The Doctor’s Farmacy, to name a few).

These outlets expanded my biohacking conceptions and made me much more aware of my vision, thoughts, and open-mindedness. Uncomfortable and uneasy at first, mediation eventually develops into an organic routine.

I became more aware of my thoughts, feelings, and actions with what I shove down my trap. Everytime I eat, I ask these mindful questions:

How does this particular food influence my physiological makeup?

How will I feel after this, mentally, physically, and spiritually?

Will I be more in-tune or out-of-tune afterwards?

Mindfulness and meditation led me to intermittent fasting, hot and cold therapy, and other significant modalities in my life— further adopting a healthier, strong-willed relationship with my choices. I rarely, if ever, chow down on inflammatory fast-food. I now adore cheffing-up delicious and wholesome recipes with ingredients I can see and pronounce.

Meditation further activates your rest-and-digest state, otherwise known as your parasympathetic nervous system.

Living in such a chaotic society bombarded with signs, commercials, and a boat-load of stimulating technologies, we seem to never chill those nerves. We are constantly in a fight-or-flight vibration. This bodily state seizes all your energy and flows it towards protect and preserve. Meditation on the other hand, helps one manifest a lower respiration rate, heart rate and better blood flow to the brain, indicating less constriction of blood vessels.

With constricted blood flow to our digestive tract, we lack sufficient peristalsis (movement of food through intestines), secretion of digestive enzymes, and much-needed stomach acid; thus, inhibiting proper assimilation of nutrients from our food. This further wreaks havoc on metabolism. Also, the jacked-up cortisol from stress simultaneously creates wicked cravings for sugar and fat. That's an uh-oh.

To be clear, mindfulness is the awareness of “some-thing,” while meditation is the awareness of “no-thing.” Like anything in life, they require practice practice practice. Your brain picks up these things overtime; soon, it becomes glued-in muscle memory!

Gotta have both for a lean body & mind.

#8 Activity Throughout Day

The average American adult now spends about 6½ hours a day sitting — an increase of about an hour a day since 2007. BUT, this staggering statistic doesn’t have to be true. If there’s a will, there’s always a way!

Let’s say you have a typical 9-5 desk job, working on your tushie Monday through Friday. To turn the tables (and the mirror) you can begin this fat-loss journey by:

- Setting up an affordable standing desk

- Going on walks during your “grace periods” (i.e. replace coffee and donuts break)

- Performing 30 body squats or pushups every 30-45 minutes besides your desk

- Get off the bus or subway one stop early and walk the rest of the way

- Park farthest away in the lot… walk the rest of the way

- Take part in an exercise program at work or a nearby gym

Also, additional daily “tasks” and "obligations" translate into hobbies without you even realizing it. Walking your frisky pooch, gardening, playing pick-up basketball, yoga, lifting weights, running local 5ks, paintballing, biking, dancing, crafting furniture, hiking, seasonal activities with family… the list goes on and on.

Your groovement patterns on a daily basis change your body, along with your brain chemistry. This goes to show your body and mind are one. They are in no way separate entities.

The air that muscles through your lungs oxygenates that squishy pink matter.

#9 Cut Out PUFAs—Eat More Plants, Herbs, Spices, & Fiber

What if there was a substance that you were consuming regularly that was severely hampering your efforts to get healthy and lose weight, regardless of caloric intake?

What if this substance was linked to accelerated aging and a variety of common health problems?

What if this substance was hidden in numerous "healthy" foods that you consume daily without knowing?

The culprit? Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids, otherwise known as PUFAs (an Omega-6 fatty acid notrorius for inflammation).

Polyunsaturated fatty acids are extremely high in these oils:

- Peanut

- Safflower

- Sunflower

- Canola

- Corn

- Grapeseed

- Soybean

- Cottonseed

- Margarine

Vegetable oil production is quite nauseating. The first vegetable oil shortening put on the food market was Crisco in 1911, which was originally used as lubricants for machinery and soaps in the industrial industry. Eventually, they learned to dye it and solidify it to be used as a lard (animal fat) replacement.

Veggie oil processing is a nasty long process. When first extracted from seeds or beans, it comes out as a pasty grey flavorless liquid. In order to remove this unappealing discoloration, it has to be further doderized and heavily bleached. Sounds a lot more unnatural to consume this oxidizing, inflammatory oil than milking a cow, churning butter, or even eating animal lard.

Once people realized that they could cheaply manufacture these vegetable oils, why bother eating saturated fats from animals? That's when the false saturated fat craze sparked. People flipped out about saturated fats for no apparent reason and started consuming these heavily processed and oxidizing oils. During this transition phase, a surge of health issues and diseases started arising, and the health epidemic in America began. Obesity hit America hard.

Here are the list of science-backed reasons to cut back on PUFAs and these disastrous veggie oils:

Blood Sugar: PUFAs damage your pancreatic beta cells that produce insulin. If you want to incinerate fat, you want a very effective blood sugar handling system (discussed in #1 Glycemic Variability). Reducing sugar consumption, as well as PUFAs, will help you manifest healthy blood sugar levels for life.

Metabolism: PUFAs can stress various systems in your body, particularly the rate at which your cells produce energy (i.e. your metabolic rate). This has numerous implications for thyroid health and general hormonal balance.; aka losing weight will be an uphill battle.

Digestion: PUFAs can cause nutrient malabsorption. Digestion problems are rampant in this day and age. However, eliminating PUFAs from your diet is a very effective way at supporting one’s digestive fire. Your whole body’s health is directly linked to your digestive system. Digestive weakness guarantees a poorly functioning body and mind.

Detoxification: Everyone knows the liver is one of those top organs. The liver plays a major role in detoxification and vegetable oils loaded with PUFAs can stress the S%#it out of the liver. That sluggish feeling you feel after eating out? You probably chowed down on some inflammatory oils.

Skin health: Your skin is a simple reflection of how your insides (gut wall) is doing. Like I always say, a healthy outside starts from the inside! PUFAs are closely linked to age pigment formation, acne, eczema, and a whole slew of inflammatory skin issues. In addition, constantly consuming PUFAs increases free radical damage. That's why people that consume a ton of oily fast food won’t have the most desireable complexion compared to your salmon, avocado, and flaxseed eating buddy.

Now that you cut back on these fatty, oxidizing oils, you can start saucing in more plants, herbs, spices, and fiber on your plate. Eating 90%+ whole plant-based will ignite your metabolism, form a more favorable gut microbiome, make potty-time a fun-time, and torch off that stubborn belly fat. My favorites for blood sugar management include Ceylon cinnamon, cayenne pepper, black pepper, turmeric, ginger, rosemary, lemon, and cardamom. Consuming these and a variety of herbs, spices, low-glycemic berries, cruciferous veggies, and plenty of fiber (aim for 40+ g a day) will support a healthy weight-loss protocol.

Feast on Mother Nature’s God-given creations!

#10 Supplements

Supplements will most definitely provide that extra zest in your fat-burning arsenal. Yet in order to sustain a healthy weight your entire life, you must start with foundational stuff like diet, sleep, and exercise. These groundworks must not be pushed aside. There is no such thing as a magic pill. Relying on supplements for losing weight will not only be a waste of money, but they’ll barely enhance your true fat-burning potential. With that in mind, make supplements an extra lil oomph in your weightloss journey, not a necessity in achieving your overarching goal.

Here are my top-rated supplements I take everyday to stay lean year-round:

Digestive Enzymes and Probiotics: When you consume over 3,500 calories a day to regenerate from heavy training, your tummy can use some extra support. Regardless, digestive enzymes and probiotics are a powerful tool for resetting the microbiome and enhancing nutrient absorption. With healthy and diverse gut bacteria, you can digest food better and increase metabolism for ampilfied fat loss. I personally have been using LiveWell Enzyme Blend with ginger extract and other fabulous natural plant-derived blends for a healthier biome and bod. Probiotics are best used as a supplement to an already dialed-in diet. This means loading-up on fiber from a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. These foods provide a basis of prebiotics for these amazing gut buddies to thrive on.

Apple Cider Vinegar: Every morning I wake, I drink 2-3 large cups of filtered water with a tsp to tbsp of Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar. This pure acetic acid can boost digestive energy, lower blood sugar, decrease bloating, and torch up metabolism. And you don’t need much. Try going twice a day, morning and night, with a teaspoon diluted in water (to avoid enamel breakdown from acidity) and gradually increase to a tablespoon daily if desired.

Bitter Melon and Rock Lotus Extract: These two support healthy blood sugar levels and energy metabolism, even after large, carb-rich meals! Rock Lotus is originally from China and Bitter Melon from Japan. They both have been used for centuries to enhance health and longevity, specifically a healthier insulin response that supports weight management and liver health. Take 600mg of each before your largest meal on an empty stomach to enhance fat loss and to live a longer, more vibrant life!

MCT Oil: A flavorless saturated fat loaded with C8 and C10 fatty acids, otherwise known as Medium Chain Triglycerides, has been touted for its fat-loss benefits over the oast several years. Because it gets metabolized by the liver for energy, not stored or used as calories, it's a stellar way to enhance your fat-burning potential and increase endogenous ketones. Popularized by the Bulletproof Diet, 1 tsp to 1 tbsp of MCT oil can be added to your daily coffee for a nice fatty texture without disrupting the rich flavor.

Matcha: Matcha is one of the most well-renowned health-boosting treat to add to your diet plan. One bowl of Matcha can boost your metabolism up to 4X, which will significantly help you lose weight. Matcha has 137x more antioxidants than regular steeped green tea (because you are consuming the whole ground green tea leaves) and the major antioxidant called EGCG will skyrocket metabolism like crazy. It also has tremendous longevity effects. That's why these Japanese wise men seem to live forever...

Bone Broth and Collagen: These two amazing sources of detoxifying protein and anti-aging constituents boost skin, gut, and metabolic health; fantastic supplements for chewing through fat. They fill you up even though low in calories and virtually zippo carbohydrates. Bone broth and collagen are both rich, complex, and soul-satisfying.

Fish Oil (DHA & EPA omega-3 fatty acids): The typical American consumes a ratio of 15:1 or more of omega-6 to omega-3 in their diet which wrecks their overall health. We should aim anywhere between a 1:1 to a 4:1 ratio. As discussed in #9, you want to decrease consumption of unhealthy omega-6 fatty acids. But you also want to kick-up your omega-3s in your diet through fatty fish (wild-caught salmon, mackerel, sardines, anchovies), walnuts, hemp, chia, and flaxseeds, and olive and avocado oil. On top of this, you can supplement with 3-8 grams of fish oil daily. My favorite brands are Thorne, Omax3, and Carlson Cod Liver Oil.

Ashwagandha Root: This ayurvedic adaptogen has been used for centuries for its stress-relieving properties. It helps manage your cortisol and balance hormones back to equilibrium, whether they’re too elevated or too depressed. Balancing your hormones will open up the gates to fat loss. When your hormones are out of whack, especially with chronically elevated cortisol (your stress hormone), then losing that last 5-10 lbs will be nearly impossible. This is where the power of this ancient indian root comes in! I recommend taking this wonderdrug daily from these brands: Organic India, Physician's Choice, or Gaia Herbs. These three brands are organic and third-party tested, a must for supplements, especially herbal supplements.

~A HEALTHY OUTSIDE, STARTS FROM THE INSIDE~