INTRODUCTION
Weight loss can be a product of fat burning, and muscle or water loss. For most of us, burning body fat is a goal. We want to ditch the love handles and uncover our abs. However, there are a ton of misconceptions about transforming your body into a fat-burning furnace. Let’s dive into the science behind burning fat.
Understanding Fat Deposition;
Lipogenesis: The Process of Fat Storage
Lipogenesis is the process of fat deposition that occurs in the liver and adipose tissue. Carbohydrate and protein consumed in diet can be converted to fat. The carbohydrates can be stored as glycogen in the liver and muscle and can be also converted to triglycerides in the liver and transferred to adipose tissue for storage. Amino acids are used for new protein synthesis or they can be converted to carbohydrates and fat.
When we eat starches and sugars, our body breaks these down into glucose, which is the easiest fuel for our cells to burn (oxidize) for energy. If we eat too many calories, our bodies convert the excess glucose into fatty acids, and lock them away in the form of adipose tissue for later use. Excess amino acids from protein we ate can also be converted to fatty acids for storage. As long as we have excess energy from food in our bloodstream, regardless of the form, the fat cells remain untapped, and growing. This process of both handling excess carbohydrates in the blood and the inhibition of the breakdown of fat is controlled by a complex hormone signaling system, which includes insulin as one of the primary signals. Elevated blood sugar from a meal triggers the release of insulin, which tells our fat cells to hold onto their energy stores, and tells our muscle and other tissues to absorb and burn the glucose first.
How Fat Cells Work;
The Process of Fat Burning
When we think about losing weight, the assumption is we’ll be losing fat, but weight loss is more complicated than that, because not all weight loss is necessarily fat loss. When we reduce calories, our bodies don’t exclusively turn to burning excess fat for fuel. In an ideal world, we think that when the body burn fat, we will lose belly fat first and it would be easy to look like a fitness model, but that’s unfortunately not the case.
When you begin a diet and reduce your calories, the body can burn fat, but it can also burn lean muscle tissue if you get too hungry. This is a cruel trick of nature, and one of the reasons you tend to regain your weight.
Most people really do not know how the fat cells work, how the fat burning process takes place, or where the fat goes when it is burned. It is actually quite a complex physiological process, when the body loses fat, the fat cell does not go anywhere or move into the muscle cell to be burned. The fat cell itself stays right where it was under the skin in thighs, hips, arms, etc., and on top of the muscles. Fat is stored inside the fat cell in the form of triaglycerol. The fat is not burned right there in the fat cell; it must be liberated from the fat cell through somewhat complex hormonal/enzymatic pathways. When stimulated to do so, the fat cell simply releases triaglycerol into the bloodstream as free fatty acids (FFA’s), and they are transported through the blood to the tissues where the energy is needed. By lipolysis, each molecule of triaglycerol splits into glycerol and three fatty acids. The reaction is catalyzed by hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL). The stored fat gets released into the bloodstream as FFA’s and they are shuttled off to the muscles where the energy is needed. As blood flow increases to the active muscles, more FFA’s are delivered to the muscles that need them. FFA’s get inside the mitochondria by LPL and this is where the FFA’s go to be burned. When the FFA’s are released from the fat cell, the latter shrinks and that is the reason for the leaner look when the body loses fat because the fat cell is now smaller. Note that, “we don’t actually “lose” fat cells, we “empty out” fat cells,” our body fat is basically just a reserve source of energy and fat cells are like the storage tanks. Unlike a gas tank in the car that is fixed in size, fat cells can expand or shrink in size depending on how “filled” they are.
Tips for Effective Fat Burning
Here are some tips to get you started with your fat burning routine:
Get active:
We all know that physical activity burns calories and builds muscle. Whether it’s going for a walk, playing a sport, or hitting the gym, you need to increase your activity levels to burn fat and get lean.
Stay hydrated:
Exercise performance is impaired when you are dehydrated by as little as 2% of your body weight. Lean muscle in the body is comprised of roughly 80% water and it needs that water to properly function. Proper hydration allows your body to perform at the highest level while also increasing your ability to burn more calories.
Mix up your workout routine:
Don’t get stuck in a repetitive workout routine … it’s important to switch it up! Complement your cardio work with some resistance training to build muscle as you burn fat. In fact, muscle will supercharge your results by helping you burn more calories while at rest. Aerobic exercises, such as high-intensity interval training, can decrease belly fat and burn a ton of calories in a short period of time as well.
Clean up your diet:
Sugar-filled beverages like soda, lemonade and cocktails can
increase belly fat
. Replace these drinks with hydrating fluids like water.
. Replace processed foods such as chips and baked goods with protein-rich nuts and veggies. This shift in diet will increase your fiber to help you feel full and ultimately prevent overeating without constantly counting calories.
Practice portion control:
Another easy way to cut calories is to practice portion control.
Commit to quality sleep:
Sleep deprivation activates appetite and can lower your metabolic rate, which leads to overeating and fewer calories burned.
In Conclusion, Fat loss is achieveable if you can follow the simple steps outlined in this post and stick to them over time. Remember that fat loss takes time, so be patient and consistient with it.
