It may seem counterintuitive to try to boost your weight loss by adding more fat to your diet, but sometimes that’s just what you need to get things moving in the right direction. And MCTs—or medium-chain triglycerides—aren’t your typical fats. Unlike most fats, which are long-chain triglycerides, MCTs are shorter, so your body can quickly break them down and absorb them. They also travel straight to your liver, where your body can use them as an immediate energy source, or they get turned into ketones. Because your body uses MCTs quickly and more efficiently than other types of fat, they’re less likely to be stored as fat.
In one study in 2008, researchers compared the effects of taking MCT oil versus olive oil during a sixteen-week weight loss program. At the end of the sixteen weeks, the participants supplementing with MCT oil had greater overall weight loss. They also lost more overall fat and stomach fat, specifically.
MCTs are available in supplemental form as an oil you can drop right into your coffee or as a powder that you can mix into smoothies or with some almond milk. If you don’t want to buy supplements, but you still want to increase your intake of MCTs, add coconut products and/or palm kernel oil (which is different from the controversial palm oil) to your diet. While MCT oil is 100 percent MCTs, coconut oil contains about 45–65 percent.