Evidence-Based Tips to Weight Loss - Hacks You May Not Have Considered
I recently listened to a Huberman Lab podcast that discussed weight loss concepts that you don’t typically hear about. Andrew Huberman, Ph.D., a neuroscientist and Professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine, reviews some unique, evidence-based hacks for weight loss. Because we are all inundated with information about the “best” ways to lose weight - keto, intermittent fasting, pills, exercise regimes, etc. - I wanted to share what I believe was Dr. Huberman’s most insightful tips. These are based on quality, peer-reviewed science, and maybe some easy tools to integrate into your daily life.
You can learn about our own Medical Weight Loss program here.
THE LAWS OF WEIGHT LOSS
As we have all likely heard ad nauseam - “calories in versus calories out” is the fundamental and most important formula for fat loss and weight management. If you ingest more calories than you burn, you'll gain weight - likely adipose tissue fat. This is true. However, your hormones, thermogenic milieu (how warm or cold your body is), metabolism, thyroid levels, and innervation (the connectivity between your nervous system and fat) can affect the rate at which you lose fat.
Two key tenets of weight loss rarely discussed are:
Fat Mobilization and Oxidation: Fat loss is a two-part process - mobilization and oxidation. Mobilization is the breakdown of stored fats into fatty acids which then travel through the bloodstream. Once the fatty acids are mobilized, they then need to be oxidized, i.e. turned into fuel. Fatty acids are converted into ATP (i.e. energy) in the mitochondria of the cells. Different variables impact our body’s ability to mobilize fat and turn it into energy. The nervous system is one of them.
Our Brain Talks to Our Fat: The nervous system, or our neurons, can impact our thermogenesis - communicating chemically with our fat. The nervous system can change the probability that body fat will be burned or not. Genetically, some people may be more efficient at this, but we will discuss ways in which to encourage your nervous system to support fat loss.
NON-EXERCISE ACTIVITY THERMOGENESIS (NEAT)
So we have learned that fat needs to be mobilized and oxidized and that our brains can facilitate this metabolism. But how? One of the most powerful ways to promote mobilization and oxidation is Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis - or NEAT. During this process, shivering and fidgeting stimulate the release of epinephrine (also called adrenaline) by the neurons that connect to fat, stimulating more fat mobilization and oxidation. Shivering can be stimulated by cold (a cold shower or by getting into cold water of some other kind) and fidgeting can include subtle movements like bouncing your knee or standing up and pacing several times throughout the day. These subtle movements of our core musculature trigger epinephrine release from these neurons, and they stimulate the mobilization of fat - and that fat is oxidized at higher rates. Studies exploring NEAT found that people who fidget greatly increased their weight loss by anywhere from 20 to 30%.
Here are some tips for optimizing the benefits of NEAT/Cold Exposure*:
Cold showers or baths between one to five times per week are helpful (working your way up to five minutes per exposure). Even one exposure per week is valuable. Visit The Cold Plunge for more information.
With cold exposure, triggering the shiver is key. Some experts recommend breaking up your exposures to help trigger shiver - i.e. two and a half minutes of shiver, get out for 30 seconds, then get back in for the remaining two and a half minutes. This can stimulate more shivering than a sustained five-minute exposure.
The temperature will vary with each individual - for some, it’s 60 degrees, for others, it’s 55. Essentially - make it just cold enough to be uncomfortable.
*It’s important to note that you should consult your doctor before starting any kind of cold therapy - this can be dangerous for people with heart conditions.
MORE ABOUT COLD THERAPY: BROWN VS. WHITE VS. BEIGE FAT
Our bodies have three kinds of fat:
White fat serves as an energy storage site and is not particularly rich in mitochondria.
Brown fat is rich in mitochondria and, unlike white fat which has to travel elsewhere to get broken down, burns energy directly. Mitochondria in brown fat work as an engine, increasing thermogenesis (heat production) and calorie burn.
Beige fat is sort of in between - it’s white fat that could be brown, because it has some mitochondria in it, but not as much as brown fat.
Understanding these three kinds of fat is relevant to weight loss because, if you expose yourself to cold, you can trigger the activation of brown fat as well as convert more beige fat into true brown fat. Additionally, exercise has been known to stimulate brown fat. Essentially, the more brown fat you have, the better your metabolism and ability to burn calories. You are creating a stronger, hotter furnace.
HIIT, MODERATE AND LOW-INTENSITY EXERCISE - COMBINATIONS FOR OPTIMAL FAT-BURNING
Let’s first define these three forms of exercise:
SIT is very high or “sprint” interval training - 100% of VO2 maximum bursts of activity that last 8-30 seconds interspersed with less intense recovery periods.
HIIT is high-intensity interval training - 80-100% of VO2 maximum bursts of activity that lasts 60-240 seconds interspersed with less intense recovery periods.
MICT is moderate intensity continuous training - 40-60% of VO2 burned by a steady state cardio which is performed continuously for 20-60 minutes. ( i.e. running or biking)
ENHANCING FAT BURN BY COMBINING HIGH-INTENSITY AND MODERATE CARDIO
So how do you intensify fat-burning when you’re only exercising for 45-60 minutes? It’s been found that if you start with high-intensity intervals (i.e. 15-20 minutes of HIIT or SIT), and then follow with a short period of moderate-intensity cardio (i.e. running, biking elliptical) - or even just go about your day where you active and on your feet - you can access fat-burning quicker than the 90-minute rule outlined above. This is especially true if you fast before exercising.
One qualifier - this is all about fat burning. If you’re interested in performance, fasting before exercise goes out the window. You wouldn’t want to fast before a big race where you are shooting for optimal performance or PR. In this scenario, adequate fueling and including carbohydrates beforehand is important (but that’s another conversation).
EXERCISE FASTING OR NOT FASTING - THE 90-MINUTE RULE FOR CARDIO
If your goal is fat loss, it's been shown that for short periods of training (i.e. less than 90 minutes), it doesn't seem to matter whether or not you eat before training or you don't. If you are doing moderate cardio for more than 90 minutes, preceding this exercise with fasting will encourage weight loss. That said, most people are not doing 90 minutes of cardio a day.
LIFESTYLE PILLARS TO OPTIMIZE YOUR METABOLISM
While not glamorous, optimizing your hormones and some lifestyle variables is critical for good metabolic function and key to achieving a healthy body weight.
Sleep - focus on adequate, consistent, quality sleep. Think about things like light exposure, timing, and temperature. If you have poor sleep, it is very difficult to lose weight.
Gut Health - get your gut biome balanced. You don’t necessarily need to ingest probiotics - just simply adding a serving or two of fermented foods per day and avoiding packaged, processed foods and high fructose corn syrup can go a long way.
Thyroid Hormones - you can’t have a strong metabolism if your thyroid levels aren’t optimized. Have your thyroid tested by your doctor, especially if you have a family history of hypothyroidism. For everyday ways to optimize thyroid hormones, taking in selenium and iodine is critical. Make sure you are consuming some iodized salts during the day. Try eating a few Brazil nuts each day to boost your selenium.
EVIDENCE-BASED SUPPLEMENTS FOR WEIGHT LOSS
Many supplements can enhance weight loss:
Essential Fatty Acids - the antidepressant effects of fatty acids will promote good mood and also healthy metabolism. The key thing is to ingest above 1000 milligrams of EPAs a day - and try to get these through foods like fatty fish, grass-raised meat, or plant sources in addition to any supplements. These essential fatty acids are especially potent at reducing sugar cravings. I generally recommend taking a fatty acid supplement - it’s very difficult to get a therapeutic dose of EPAs through diet alone.
Semaglutide - Sold under the brand name Ozempic or Wegovy, this is the prescription version of a GLP-1 drug and is available by prescription. (More information about these prescription medications is on our Weight Loss with Semaglutide page.)
Yerba Mate - Yerba mate increases GLP-1 (see our Weight Loss Medication blog and our Weight Loss with Semaglutide page for more about GLP-1 medications) and increases fat burning. This is especially true if you ingest it before exercise. Drinking it at rest will also help shift your metabolism toward enhanced fat burning by increasing fat oxidation. And it’s interesting to note that you can reuse the mate leaves over and over again and extract more and more of the compounds that increase GLP-1.
Guayusa Tea - for people who don't like mate, guayusa is a sweeter tea that also increases GLP-1 and fat oxidation.
Berberine - Berberine, which comes from a plant, is a compound that reduces blood glucose which in turn will reduce insulin and thereby increase fat oxidation. Consult with your doctor on Berberine and use it thoughtfully as it can occasionally cause GI side effects for some people.
I realize this is a LOT of information. Don’t feel like you need to take on all of this at once. I advise my patients to pick one of these suggestions, incorporate it into their routine, and then when they’re comfortable, add in another. By leveraging these science-based tips, you can chip away at your weight with evidence-based hacks. You can also learn more about our own Medical Weight Loss plan here.
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