Foods that fix fat loss

Fed up with diets but still want to hit a healthier weight? Here's an amazing hack to try: Eat 30 different plants a week. Turns out, that's all it takes to radically improve your microbiome, the collection of 100 trillion microbes that call your body home. Current research, including some on identical twins, "shows that the microbiome plays the biggest role in determining the number on the scale-bigger than carb intake, exercise or even calories," says nutrition expert Stephen Perrine, author of The Full-Body Fat Fix. Perrine adds that a 30-plant strategy boosts the microbiome fast, triggering rapid changes in bloat, energy, fat burn and overall health. Florida mom Vicki Sheerin even says increasing the variety of plants she eats was the key that allowed her to drop 227 pounds. Keep reading to learn how to make your own microbiome magic.

- ALLISON NEMETZ

While your microbiome is invisible to the naked eye, "it contains 70% to 90% of the cells in your body. Just 10% to 30% of the cells in your body are actually human," says Perrine. So it's no wonder the microbiome exerts a powerful influence. Our bodies rely on it for help with "everything from digestion and immunity to regulating weight, mood and inflammation."

What makes one microbiome healthier than another? It's all about the quality, quantity and diversity of microbes. To get more and better microbes, we need to consume a wide variety of the plant fiber and antioxidants that make beneficial microbes thrive. "We're still not sure why, but people with the healthiest microbiomes eat at least 30 different plants a week," shares Perrine, noting this was one of the first discoveries of UC San Diego's American Gut Project, a huge database of microbes and health info helping scientists learn how to build the best microbiome.

Bye-bye body fat