What is the Ice Hack for weight loss?

New year, new fad diet. Just when you thought the world wide web had thrown all the diets imaginable at you, it’s time to make way for another. 

This time it’s the Alpine Ice Hack weight loss diet which has gone viral after claims it can speed up weight loss. It claims to melt away stubborn fat while also boosting metabolism for rapid weight loss.

If you haven’t lost weight by joining in with the many Tiktok dance trends, maybe this could be the solution? 

It’s certainly proving popular as many try to add it to their daily routine in order to try to succeed in their weight loss journey when all other attempts have failed.

So, let’s explore what the ice hack diet is, and whether it can help you shift those stubborn pounds. 

What is the Ice Hack diet?

The Ice Hack diet is marketed as yet another “simple weight loss trick.” 

It involves drinking a cup of ice water first thing in the morning or sucking on ice cubes.

The idea is not a new one, but it’s been reinvented recently in the form of Tiktok videos to promote the idea which is why it’s being talked about again.

Why is it supposed to work?

The claims suggest that the ice hack helps increase calorie burn and promote weight loss. The idea is that the body burns more calories when it has to warm up cold water or ice to body temperature, leading to increased energy expenditure, calorie burn and weight loss. 

This is technically true as the body will burn more calories as it heats up. 

The only question is - will it burn enough calories to make a difference in a weight loss journey?

Does the Ice Hack diet work?

On the face of it, there’s some logic to it, and it certainly sounds convincing, but as with most fads, the more you look into it, the more flaws you find. 

The reality is that there is very little scientific evidence to support the weight loss claims, and there has not been enough long-term research over time. 

Certain elements are true. For example, the body does use extra energy to warm up cold water or ice. However, the amount of energy is so small that it is unlikely to significantly impact calorie burn. 

This leaves us wondering if the discomfort of all of that cold water drinking and ice cube sucking is really worth it?

The reliable fact-finding website Snopes has also noted that “YouTube has removed a paid ad that promoted an "odd ice hack," "Alpine ice hack," or "ice twist" for a purported weight loss dietary supplement, citing its policy against "spam, deceptive practices, and scams."

It should be clear to anyone who has seen “quick weight loss” fads in the past that this one is unlikely to have any longevity and seems to have been put together as a quirky idea, rather than a solid scientific-based diet.

What should you do instead?

There’s little doubt that drinking water can aid weight loss, but not in the manner that promoters of the ice hack suggest. 

Drinking water before a meal can help your stomach feel fuller, ultimately leading you to want to eat less. 

Staying hydrated is also important when considering a healthy diet. Regular exercise and better eating habits are far better choices than sucking on ice cubes, and the former are methods that are at least scientifically proven to work. 

Should you do the ice hack diet?

Unproven fad diets come and go, and the ice hack is far from proven to aid weight loss. The diet is based on the idea that the body will burn calories when it heats up, and sucking on ice will enable the drop in temperature needed for the heat rise to follow. 

One of the major flaws in this idea is that any calorie burn that takes place would be incredibly low and not enough to justify putting this into practice daily.

The best way to lose weight is to watch what you eat and eliminate foods high in sugar.  In addition to this, a routine of exercise is essential to burn off calories. Something that will be far more effective than sucking on an ice cube.

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