The Truth About Fat Loss
- Web Developer
- Apr 13, 2022
- 7 min read
Fat loss! Fat percentage! Fat to muscle! Lose fat in 30 days!
These are some of the most common headliners we will hear, see and focus on when it comes to our fitness journeys. We talk about “burning fat” so we can look good by the beach or for an event. Let’s put on our geek classes and understand the physiology behind fat loss first. We are talking only about fat gain that happens due to bad lifestyle choices and not due to medical conditions or other aspects that are not always in our control.
Why am I gaining fat/weight?
The normal fat cell or adipocyte, exists primarily to store energy. The body will expand the number of fat cells and the size of fat cells to accommodate excess energy from high-calorie foods. It will even go so far as to start depositing fat cells on our muscles, liver and other organs to create space to store all this extra energy from calorie-rich diets – especially when combined with a low activity lifestyle. Adipose tissue is a type of connective tissue composed of adipocytes. Recently, this tissue has been recognized as a major endocrine organ. The physiological process of fat loss occurs when fats are liberated from adipocytes into circulation to supply the needed energy.
Historically, fat storage worked well for humans. The energy was stored as small packages of molecules called fatty acids, which are released into the bloodstream for use as fuel by muscles and other organs when there was no food available, or when a predator was chasing us. Fat storage actually conferred a survival advantage in these situations. Those with a tendency to store fat were able to survive longer periods without food and had extra energy for hostile environments.
Let us take a minute and think about that time when I ran from a predator. Not, the creeps you find on and offline but a creature who wants to hunt you and eat you to survive and gain energy. Wait it minute, that has happened…..never! In this modern era, we live in safe living conditions and with an overabundance of food, and have accumulated an excess storage of fat. Eating not just to survive and function, but sometimes overeating just because we have access. Barely any physical activity and spending most of our days sitting down.
The major problem with this excess fat is that the fat cells, called adipocytes, do not function normally. They store energy at an abnormally high rate and release energy at an abnormally slow rate. What’s more, these extra and enlarged fat cells produce abnormal amounts of different hormones. These hormones increase inflammation, slow down metabolism, and contribute to disease.
How does fat burn?
When a person begins and maintains a new exercise regimen and limits calories, the body does two things to “burn fat.” First, it uses the energy stored in the fat cells to fuel new activity. Second, it stops putting away so much for storage.
The brain signals fat cells to release the fatty acid molecules, to the bloodstream. The muscles, lungs and heart pick up these fatty acids, break them apart, and use the energy stored in them to execute their activities. What remains is discarded as part of respiration, in the outgoing carbon dioxide, or in urine. This leaves the fat cell empty and renders it useless. The cells actually have a short lifespan so when they die the body absorbs the empty cast and doesn’t replace them. Over time, the body directly extracts the energy (i.e., calories) from food to the organs that need them instead of storing it first. As a result, the body readjusts by decreasing the number and size of fat cells, which subsequently improves baseline metabolism, decreases inflammation, treats disease, and prolongs lives. If we maintain this situation over time, the body reabsorbs the extra empty fat cells and discards them as waste, leaving us leaner and healthier on multiple levels.
The reality of fat loss
Simple? No! While it seems so easy and doable, fat loss is hard. No BS here selling you that you can lose fat in the next 30 days. It isn’t trouble free and painless challenge. The struggles and mental battle can challenge you like you never imagined. So, is it impossible? No, definitely not. Remember, you have to be in this for the long haul. There are no shortcuts here.
Being lean, is a lifestyle and not just a “diet” or “workout”. You have extra weight on you because (except for when medical conditions and other non-lifestyle factors influence it) you have consumed a lot more energy than your body requires.
How do I lose it?
Simply put… a caloric deficit. That is the scientifically proven “secret” to losing fat. It literally can’t happen any other way. So just what is a caloric deficit? It’s what happens when you burn more calories than you consume (or consume less calories than you burn… just another way of saying the same thing).
Basically, every single person has a unique calorie maintenance level. This is the amount of calories that your body requires each day to burn for energy to perform all of the tasks it needs to perform. From intense exercise like cardio and weight training, to simple daily tasks like brushing your teeth and getting dressed, to the various physiological functions needed to keep you alive (like digesting and breathing).
Calories are what our bodies use for energy to do all of these things, and we provide these calories via the foods we eat. As a result, 3 things can happen…
The 3 scenarios:
If we consume as many calories as our body needs to function daily, we will be in maintenance. Our weight will be maintained because all of the calories we needed were provided. No more, no less.
If we exceed this amount and therefore consume MORE calories than our bodies need, all of the left over calories that weren’t burned will then be stored on our body in some form for later use. And guess what form it’s most often stored in? Yup… body fat! This is known as a caloric surplus, and it is the one and only cause of fat gain.
When we consume LESS than our maintenance level amount. What happens then is that our bodies are forced to find some other source of energy to burn instead. And guess what that source most often is? Yup… your own stored body fat! And this is the one and only cause of fat loss.
The human body can act as a fat-burning machine by depending on low-calorie foods instead of high-calorie foods in addition to doing regular exercise, avoiding toxins and processed food.
Exercise with a mix of aerobic (cardio) and weight training not only helps you burn that fat and calories but also improves your metabolism and strengthens your body and leads to muscle gain. Muscles are a big contributor to calorie burn!
Eating clean, healthy, nutritious, balanced and caloric deficit meals keeps your energy consumption low and helps in weight and fat loss. This is the ultimate and only truth!
What about those other fat loss diets?
This is for all the stubborn and misinformed people who like to mention that other diets help people lose fat and they are not about caloric deficit.
I mean, people lose fat on low carb diets, low fat diets, paleo diets, vegan diets, raw food diets, or not eating after a certain time at night, and countless other types of diets that involve every gimmick, fad and method you can think of except the specific task of creating a caloric deficit. But yet, they have all caused people to successfully lose fat.
Obviously I must be wrong about all this calorie stuff, right?
Wrong.
You see, all of these diets and methods just indirectly cause you to create that caloric deficit.
What I mean is, any diet that actually causes you to lose fat did so because it caused you to create a caloric deficit. That’s a fact. There is literally NOTHING else that could possibly make it happen. This is the most basic proven science of the human body. Calories in vs Calories out (aka the law of thermodynamics) is ALWAYS the basis for fat loss (or gain).
These diets and methods might never come right out and admit that or say you just need to eat less calories (partly because it doesn’t fit with their gimmick, partly because people don’t want to hear that they have to [What!] count calories or [NOOOO!] eat less of them, and partly because it’s hard to make money off of something that is simple, obvious and free.)
BUT every successful fat loss diet makes you do it anyway. How? By getting you to do things that just so happen to restrict or reduce your calorie intake. For example…
Eating less carbs means you’re eating less calories.
Eating less fat means you’re eating less calories.
Eating less “dirty” junk food means you’re eating less calories.
Eating less processed foods means you’re eating less calories.
Eating less grains means you’re eating less calories.
Not eating after 7pm causes you to eat less calories.
A raw food diet, vegan diet, paleo diet or any remotely similar diet eliminates many of the foods you were regularly eating, which means you’re now eating less calories.
In every single case, less calories end up being eaten. And it causes you to lose fat. But what some people incorrectly think is that it was the reduction in carbs, or fat, or grains, or sugar, or junk food, or processed food, or not eating after 7pm or whatever else that made it happen.
It wasn’t.
It was the reduction in calories that indirectly came as a result of all of these other things. Sure, these “things” are what caused the deficit to be created, but the deficit itself is what actually caused you to lose fat.
Ok. I was looking at losing only belly fat though
Spot reduction does not work! Simple!
Commonly, people desire to lose weight from the belly, hips, thighs, and butt.
While spot reduction, or losing weight in a particular area, has not been shown to be effective, some people tend to lose weight from certain areas faster than others do.
That said, genetic and lifestyle factors play a significant role in body fat distribution. Moreover, if you have a history of weight loss and weight regain, body fat may distribute differently due to changes in fat cells over time.
Rapid weight loss has been associated with several negative side effects, such as micronutrient deficiency, headaches, fatigue, muscle loss, and menstrual irregularities. As such, many advocate for a slow, gradual rate of weight loss due to the expectation that it’s more sustainable and may prevent weight regain.
The Bottomline
Fat loss is a complex process influenced by a number of factors, with diet and physical activity being two of the major ones. It is not easy but it isn’t impossible either. With a sufficient calorie deficit and proper exercise regimen, fat cells shrink over time as their contents are used for energy, leading to improved body composition and health. It’s important to consult your healthcare provider/a certified nutritionist/coach prior to starting your weight loss journey to prevent any potential negative side effects.
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