The #1 Best Diet To Follow if You Want To Lose Visceral Fat

There are many different reasons why someone may want to lose weight. For some people, it’s about feeling more confident in their clothes or when they see photos of themself. Others may want to lose weight so they can move easier without feeling out of breath. Many people may be motivated knowing that being diagnosed as medically obese is linked to an increased risk for health conditions including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke, fatty liver and some forms of cancer.

If you want to lose weight to benefit your health, it can be especially beneficial to focus on getting rid of visceral fat. Never heard of it? Here, endocrinologists explain what this type of fat is, why it can be detrimental to health and the best diet for getting rid of it.

Related: Want To Lose Weight? Here Are 16 Actually Doable Ways To Do It Quickly and Safely 

What Is Visceral Fat?

Dr. Ana Maria Kausel, MD, a board-certified endocrinologist with Anzara Health, explains that visceral fat is the accumulation of fat around the organs of the abdomen.

Dr. Reza Nazemi, MD, a board-certified endocrinologist and co-founder of the World Top Docs app, adds to this saying that visceral fat is also known as "toxic fat" and is hidden inside the body around vital organs, such as the liver and intestines. This, he says, is different from subcutaneous fat, which is the fat that feels soft when you poke your belly.

Related: This Is the Best Food for Visceral Fat Loss, According to Registered Dietitians and Physicians

Dr. Nazemi says that visceral fat is more detrimental to health than subcutaneous fat because it creates more of certain inflammatory proteins that impact the body’s tissue and organs as well as narrow the blood vessels. This, he explains, is linked to a variety of health issues including high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease and certain types of cancer.

“Visceral fat is produced by a diet high in ultra-processed foods, sugar, stress levels that increase cortisol—a hormone that stores fat—and not exercising. Usually, people can be genetically predisposed to store more fat but these genes get triggered by [unhealthy] habits,” Dr. Kausel says.

Related: Looking To Lose Weight? Get Started With These 40 Expert- and Science-Backed Foods and Drinks

Both doctors say that an easy way to know how much visceral fat you have is by wrapping a measuring tape around your waist over your belly button, measuring your waist circumference. “A waist circumference of 35 inches or more in females and 42 inches or more in males means that you have too much visceral fat,” Dr. Nazemi says.

“Machines at gyms like the InBody scan can measure visceral fat as well and women also get a report from their visceral fat when they do a bone density test. In blood we look at the ALT level, fasting glucose, insulin level and triglycerides,” Dr. Kausel adds, naming other ways someone can know how much visceral fat they have.

Related: This Is the #1 Worst Food for Visceral Fat, According to Registered Dietitians

The Best Diet for Losing Visceral Fat

If you have a health goal of losing visceral fat, Dr. Nazemi shares that the best way is by reducing weight and keeping an active lifestyle. “Basically, you need to burn excess calories and don't let them pile up,” he explains. Diet plays a key role in this and Dr. Nazemi says that the best diet for losing visceral fat is a plant-based diet that’s low-carb and low-sugar.

Scientific studies do show a connection between following a plant-based diet and losing visceral fat. One reason for this is because a plant-based diet is naturally high in anti-obesity compounds including polyphenols and flavonoids. It’s also high in fiber and a high-fiber diet has been shown to lead to weight loss as quickly as in one to two months. “Fiber is good because it feeds our microbiome, AKA the good bacteria, keeps us full longer and avoids glucose spikes, which helps regulate insulin levels. [This is important because] insulin is the hormone that accumulates visceral fat,” Dr. Kausel says.

In another study, participants who followed a plant-based diet lost an average of 19 pounds in three months and 27 pounds in six months. One major reason for this, the researchers say, is because plant-based foods have a lower calorie density than many foods that aren't plant-based; you can eat bigger servings of them for fewer calories than foods that are not plant-based.

Related: 150+ Foods You Can Enjoy on a Plant-Based Diet, From Red Wine to Pistachios 

It’s not easy to lose visceral fat, but both doctors say it’s worth the effort. “Getting rid of visceral fat takes a lot of lifestyle interventions that take effort, but in the end, if you are able to reverse it, you'll feel better, live better and live longer,” Dr. Kausel says. And following a plant-based diet will go a long way in helping you get there.

Next up, here are 40 plant-based protein sources proving that you can get enough protein without eating meat.

Sources

• Dr. Ana Maria Kausel, MD, board-certified endocrinologist with Anzara Health

• Dr. Reza Nazemi, MD, board-certified endocrinologist and co-founder of the World Top Docs app