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What is fat? Where is it really stored in the body? What actually happens when you burn fat? Where does the fat go? What else do I need to know about fat? These are some of the many questions that have many of us baffled when it comes to understanding fat and weight loss.
Let us systematically deconstruct this fatty and perplexing issue to shed light on the mysterious process of weight gain and weight loss. After reading this article, you will understand why eating one slice of cake adds five pounds on you but 3 hours of exercise barely have an effect.
What is fat and where is it stored in the body?
Fat can be summarized in 2 words – “stored energy”. It is located on special types of fat cells called adipocytes that are found under the skin. These fat cells are distributed all over the body, and you will most likely find different amounts of fat cells in different parts of the body.
The most common places you will find many fat cells are on the buttocks, arms, thighs, belly, neck, and face. Men tend to store fat on the bellies while women are more predisposed to putting on weight on the butt, arms, and thighs.
If you take a deeper look inside the fat cells, you will discover that the fat inside them is actually stored as triglycerides. The more triglycerides inside a fat cell, the bigger the size of that fat cell.
One pound of fat contains 3,500 calories. So, if you cut back on or burn 3,500 calories, you will lose an entire pound of fat.
Doctors recommend that you lose no more than 2 pounds of weight per week to ensure that your body reacts to the weight loss.
What actually happens when you burn fat and where does the fat go?
When a caloric deficit is created in the body, the body will utilize any fat that is available and stored in the fat cells. Through a sequence of complex biochemical processes, the fat cells release the triglycerides into the blood, and it is transported as free fatty acids to where it is required for use.
The fat cells shrink and get smaller as they release triglycerides into the blood. A simple analogy is to imagine fat cells as little bubbles in your body containing fat inside. When you burn fat, the fat bubbles get smaller and smaller. When more fat cells in your body shrink, you lose weight and start to look leaner. Fat cells will never disappear or go away; they just get emptied of their fat content.
On the other hand, if a caloric surplus is created in the body, the same fat cells will start to store fat inside them again. This is why it is important always to maintain the correct caloric balance in the body.
When maintaining a caloric deficit, you must always keep it between 500-700 calories. Once the caloric deficit goes beyond 700 calories, the body automatically goes into starvation mode and it will start to save all the fat in the fat cells for future use and start using muscle tissue as an immediate and alternative energy source.
What else do I need to know about fat?
A certain portion of the population that is known scientifically as endomorphs has a predisposition to gaining fat. Generally speaking, people will gain and lose fat at different rates, and when you gain weight, both the size and the number of fat cells in your body increases.
Getting too fat makes weight loss and maintenance much more difficult. You can avoid this problem in the long run by immediately beginning a weight loss program for yourself once you discover that you are overweight.
Go on a diet and start exercising early to avoid huge pains in the future. If you do not do this and procrastinate, you will probably find yourself morbidly obese in a few years.
Certain foods spike insulin levels and increase fat storage
Foods high in sugar raise your blood glucose levels. Once this happens, your body releases insulin. This process indirectly leads to more fat storage. This is why a slice of cake is not just a slice of cake. The impact is much greater as the body releases insulin to process the sugar in your blood.
To lose weight effectively, you must maintain a stable blood sugar level.
Make Your Own Meals at Home
In addition to exposing your body to an assortment of high-fat, high-calorie items when you dine out, you’re also enticing yourself to consume more than you typically would.
The result is that something that should only be a 500-calorie dinner may quickly become a 1500-calorie feast. So if you want to lose weight, you need to know exactly what you’re putting into your body, which means decreasing calories.
When starting a new diet, it’s very important to plan your meals and keep an eye on your hunger levels. When dining out, social situations when food is less important than spending quality time with friends are the norm.
As a result, many people eat more than they would ordinarily. Sometimes, non-dessert eaters will even pay for the extra calories.
If you must eat out, opt for a salad rather than a dish of spaghetti or a burger to avoid temptation. You can drastically reduce the number of calories you consume by making even the simplest choices, such as what to eat for dinner.
You’ll be able to shed those 3,500 calories with ease if you cut back on your caloric intake and up your physical activity. Keep your mind on the task at hand and your motivation high. The pounds will melt off in no time!
2. When you burn fat, the triglycerides are released as fatty acids into the blood and travel to the other areas of the body where they are required.
3. As you burn fat, the fat cells get smaller in size. They never disappear. They can grow back in size and start storing fat again if ever there is a caloric surplus
4. To lose weight, it is essential to maintain a caloric deficit and stable blood sugar levels while avoiding going into starvation mode 5. The more weight you gain, the harder it will be to lose the weight. You must not wait too long before you start a weight loss program.
Always remember, fat is just stored energy. The more exercise you do and the energy you expend, the more fat you will burn. That pretty much sums it up in a nutshell.
