The Best Skinny Fat Diet, According to Science

Having scientifically clarified how to fix skinny fat, what is the best skinny fat diet, according to the latest science?

The latest scientific research indicates that the carbohydrate-insulin model (1) — a properly executed low-carb diet focused on clean, whole foods rich in high-quality calories including high-quality protein, fats, and fiber-focused carbs (adult males need 30-38 grams of fiber daily and females 21-25 grams; 10-15 grams should be soluble)  — is the best skinny fat diet. Why? Because safely, sustainably, and successfully losing regular white/yellow fat (visceral and subcutaneous) has proven to be one of the top three most effective solutions to reduce and manage skinny fat (subcutaneous).

For acute regular fat weight loss, the bullseye is 37 grams of mostly fiber carbs to safely, sustainably, and successfully lose regular fat weight for most people. And, religiously counting calories (2) is not required (or recommended, but be aware) nor is a calorie deficit (which can slow down metabolism, hinder weight loss, and damage health, if done incorrectly, like with starvation diets). You don’t even have to exercise, although exercise is very important for overall health and managing fitness, not just weight loss. This video (3) explains the latest science from the leading experts:

Remember, a calorie is NOT a calorie (4); food type, quality, and quantity matter. Once you successfully lose the regular white/yellow fat weight, then increase your daily carb intake to 50 to 150 grams of fiber-focused carbs from well-chosen, clean, high-quality calorie whole food. How many carbs is best for your specific body depends on your unique genetics including body composition and metabolism. The more skinny fat tissue (cellulite, thin fat) you have, the more diligent you will have to be with your diet, exercise, and lifestyle consistently throughout your life.

Best Skinny Fat Diet – What Does Low Carb Mean?

Generally, a safe low carb diet is defined as 37 to 150 grams of carbs (5). Carbohydrates (6) are sugars, starches, and fiber (soluble and insoluble). Carbs, particularly sugar carbs, are turned into glucose (blood sugar) by your body to give you the energy (calories) needed to function. The more refined and processed the carb, the worse it is, in general, and too much can lead to insulin resistance (7), type-2 diabetes, and obesity, no less. Your body turns to the glucogenesis (8) metabolic pathway to break down lipids (fats) and/or proteins (amino acids) in the absence or deficiency of sugar carbs. 

Types of Low Carb Diets

Some people tolerate a high-fat diet and might be good candidates for the ketogenic (keto) low-carb diet (ketosis). While other people, not so much. There is debate about the sustainability of the keto diet which can lead to or exacerbate gallbladder, digestive, and other health issues (9), no less.

Some people tolerate a high-protein diet and might be good candidates for the Atkins low-carb diet. However, there is some debate (10) about how much high protein affects digestion, organs — especially the kidneys — and overall health. And, it is a fact that the body requires fiber for proper digestion, no less. Fiber is typically deficient in keto and more extreme versions of the Atkins diet.

Glycemic Index (GI)

The Glycemic Index (GI) (11) diet allows for all types of food (even empty-calorie and low-quality calorie and poor-quality fast, junk, and processed food) and is judged by the low, medium, and high GI chart (12) — the lower the GI, the better. This diet may appeal more to people who are genetically blessed with the ALK skinny gene (13, 14) and/or Standard Body Type One (BT1), especially the younger they are, as they likely will get away with eating low-quality fast, junk, and processed food regularly and consistently. Although your body is keeping score and even though you might not gain weight eating such low-quality food, cancer and other diseases thrive on aggregate unhealthiness (you are what you eat/assimilate).

The GI chart can compliment any low carb diet. Just exclude all low-quality fast, junk, and processed foods and the like, as needed. Well, except maybe on cheat days.

But, the best scientific low carb diet for sustainable long-term regular fat maintenance and skinny fat reduction is 50 to 150 grams of fiber-focused carbs. Clean, whole food is common and abundant. Eat 0.8 to 1.2 grams (15) of lean, quality protein per kg of body weight. Bodybuilders, amateur/pro athletes, etc. will likely require more.

For fat, the typical adult needs 44 to 78 grams (16) of high-quality fat per day. Saturated fat should make up no more than 22 grams (or less than 10% of the total calories you consume each day). Avoid fast, junk, and processed foods.

Low Carb Meals, Snacks, and Hydration – Best Scientific Skinny Fat Diet

Popular science-based diets that can be low-carb include the Mediterranean Diet (17, 18), Blue Zone Mediterranean Diet (19), and Pesco-Mediterranean Diet (20) — all of which can be executed as a vegan-leaning omnivore diet or vegetarian-leaning omnivore diet.

There are many low-carb meal (21) and recipe (22) options. Not to mention plenty of snacks (23) including fruits (24) and vegetables (veggies) (25). Stay hydrated with enough clean water, no less than four to six cups (26) of plain water each day, depending on activity levels, weather, and overall health. You can also choose tea, coffee, milk, kombucha, and such, along with food, to get a total of about 15.5 cups (3.7 liters)(27) of fluids a day for men and 11.5 cups (2.7 liters)(27) for women.

Keep in mind, your unique genetic body composition, food and hydration choices, sleep, and stress all affect your metabolism, which directly influences your weight loss efforts. The Scientific Diet Quiz Health Score and Scientific Metabolism Quiz Health Score (28), two of the Scientific Health Quizzes, utilize the latest scientific data and formulas in proprietary algorithms to accurately calculate your unique metrics. 

Is a Low-Carb Diet Better Than Semaglutide Drugs (Ozempic, Wegovy, etc.)?

According to clinical trials, it takes roughly 4 to 5 weeks (29) to reach a steady level of the semaglutide (glucagon-like peptide-1/GLP-1) drug in your system, with full effects likely not seen until at least week 8 of treatment. Typical regular fat weight loss is around 2.2 pounds (1 kg) or about 1.1% of body weight after one month. After two months, it’s around 4.5 pounds (2 kg) or 2.2% of body weight. Then, roughly 15 pounds after three months and about 27 pounds after six months (30), which translates to approximately 5 pounds of weight loss per month. Not really that impressive, all things considered.

If you can afford semaglutide drugs like Ozempic or Wegovy out of pocket (insurance does not cover it for most people for weight loss), find a doctor to prescribe it for weight loss (it is usually for type-2 diabetes), find it in stock, are willing to tolerate the stout list of severe side effects, and are willing to take it forever (as soon as you stop taking it you gain all the weight back and likely more), then this regular fat weight loss strategy might be for you. But it most certainly is not a miracle solution.

Low Carb Done Right

Whereas, if you follow the latest science and execute a low carb diet properly, you can safely, sustainably, and successfully lose regular white/yellow fat weight without side effects or high costs. Throw in consistent, regular exercise like walking, and you can lose 1–2 pounds (31) on average of regular fat per week — 4–8 pounds per month. Add a SAFE, short-term proper calorie deficit (typically 500 calories below Standard BMR), and you can speed things up further. As mentioned, your unique genetic body composition directly affects your regular fat weight loss and management efforts, no less, including skinny fat reduction, if you are experiencing it.

Maintaining Default Genetic Muscle Mass – Best Skinny Fat Diet

The human body will always burn calories consumed from food and calories from stored regular white/yellow fat first (32, 33). It does not casually and arbitrarily burn priceless genetic default muscle/mass. It will only do so if you are starving it/denying it the nutrients it requires, which is all too common in calorie-deficit diets. A properly executed low-carb diet does not require a calorie deficit, which helps maintain genetic default muscle/mass while reducing skinny fat.

What is the Best Skinny Fat Exercise, According to Science?

References 

1. 1. NIH, National Library of Medicine: The Carbohydrate-Insulin Model of Obesity: Beyond ‘Calories In, Calories Out’, August 01, 2019, David S Ludwig, MD, PhD and Cara B Ebbeling, PhD. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6082688/
   2. Harvard Health Publishing: Stop counting calories, October 1, 2020. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/stop-counting-calories
   3. Today Show: Can’t lose weight by eating less? Why low-carb diets may be the solution, June 06, 2022, Morgan Radford, Lauren Dunn and A. Pawlowski. https://www.today.com/health/diet-fitness/weight-loss-low-carb-diets-rcna31724
   4. Harvard Health Publishing: There’s no sugar-coating it: All calories are not created equal, November 4, 2016, Celia Smoak Spell. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/theres-no-sugar-coating-it-all-calories-are-not-created-equal-2016110410602
   5. WebMD: What Counts as a ‘Low-Carb’ Diet and Is It Right for You?, February 7, 2024, Kara Grant, MS. https://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20240207/what-counts-as-low-carb-diet
   6. Cleveland Clinic: Carbohydrates, last reviewed on 03/08/2024. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/15416-carbohydrates
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   8. Wikipedia: Gluconeogenesis. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluconeogenesis
   9. UChicagoMedicine: Ketogenic diet: What are the risks?, January 23, 2023, Natalie Helms. https://www.uchicagomedicine.org/forefront/health-and-wellness-articles/2023/january/ketogenic-diet-what-are-the-risks
   10. Healthline: Is Too Much Protein Bad for Your Health?, April 27, 2018, Kris Gunnars, BSc. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/is-too-much-protein-bad-for-you
   11. Harvard Health Publishing: A good guide to good carbs: The glycemic index, April 14, 2023. https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/a-good-guide-to-good-carbs-the-glycemic-index
   12. Glycemic Index Guide: Glycemic Index Chart: Glycemic index and glycemic load ratings for 500+ foods. https://glycemic-index.net/glycemic-index-chart/
   13. NIH, National Library of Medicine: Identification of ALK in Thinness, June 11, 2020 (Epub 2020 May 21), Michael Orthofer, Armand Valsesia, Reedik Mägi, Qiao-Ping Wang, Joanna Kaczanowska, Ivona Kozieradzki, Alexandra Leopoldi, Domagoj Cikes, Lydia M Zopf, Evgenii O Tretiakov, Egon Demetz, Richard Hilbe, Anna Boehm, Melita Ticevic, Margit Nõukas, Alexander Jais, Katrin Spirk , Teleri Clark, Sabine Amann, Maarja Lepamets, Christoph Neumayr, Cosmas Arnold, Zhengchao Dou, Volker Kuhn, Maria Novatchkova, Shane J F Cronin, Uwe J F Tietge, Simone Müller, J Andrew Pospisilik, Vanja Nagy, Chi-Chung Hui, Jelena Lazovic, Harald Esterbauer, Astrid Hagelkruys, Ivan Tancevski, Florian W Kiefer, Tibor Harkany, Wulf Haubensak, G Gregory Neely, Andres Metspalu, Jorg Hager, Nele Gheldof, Josef M Penninger. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32442405/
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   19. Fellow One Research: Insights From Gnosis: Blue Zone Mediterranean Diet, June 14, 2020. https://www.fellowone.com/fellow-one-research/spiritual-science/council-advice/best-daily-life-advice/insights-from-gnosis/blue-zone-mediterranean-diet/
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   24. EatingWell: Low-Carb Fruits Ranked from Lowest to Highest Carbs, November 15, 2022, Lisa Valente, M.S., RD (Reviewed by Dietitian Novella Lui, RD, M.H.Sc.). https://www.eatingwell.com/article/290638/low-carb-fruits-ranked-from-lowest-to-highest-carbs/
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