I've heard that no one 'burns fat' but rather the fat cells shrink as one consumes less calories and uses up more energy?

[Anonymous]

BUT... I have to ask how is it that the fat cells which accumulated on one's body (esp. abdomen) from years of eating more fat laden foods shrink or disappear by the act of losing weight? How does eating no fat in one's meals truly 'get rid of the fat?' Or is it simply a matter of less calories/more activity reduce the body fat?'

Updates

+1 y

What I wonder about is re those who are fat and deliberately or nonintentionally starve themselves, where does fat go then? Do those shrunken cells eventually turn into energy?

[DreamHope]

Actually... You need to reduce your intake of unhealthy fats and ensure that you keep eating healthy fats. Rather than focusing on calories, make sure that almost everything you eat is low GI so that it will slowly release energy in your body. Eat plenty of vegetables and fruit, but make sure you eat a balanced diet with grains and lean meats, etc. Eat a large meal for breakfast in the morning, a moderate lunch and a smaller dinner. When you snack, let it be on fruit and yoghurt or something light and healthy. Eat until you are full and then stop. Don't eat comfort food. Try to exercise for at least half an hour a day. Following these rules is the way to sustainable weight loss and good health. Following these rules also prevents unhealthy weight gain or loss in a person who already has a healthy BMI.

Once fat cells have been created in your body, you can only make them shrink (hence why you can see sagging "skin" in previously overweight people), not disappear.

[DreamHope]

Calculate what your weight would be if your BMI was 21. Then eat approximately the right amount of calories needed to maintain that goal weight as if you already weighed that much. This will ensure that you reach a healthy BMI gradually without starving yourself.

[Asker]

how do pregnant women like Holly in Fityummy mummy turn out with a flat stomach after fat/skin increase?

[DreamHope]

Well, according to her website:
"Boucher believes intervals work so well with the reduction of belly fat for it has something to do with the increase in hormones called “catecholamines” (adrenaline is a catecholamine hormone). These increase after intervals, but not after slow cardio. Catecholamines are a fat burning hormone and there are a lot of catecholamine receptors in belly fat…so he seems to think the elevated fat burning hormones from intervals ends up leading to targeted belly fat loss."

I know some people have surgery to get rid of the shrunken fat cells after losing a lot of weight.

[aamy811]

If you burn calories, your body begins to "burn" the excess fat. It doesn't just melt of, but with the proper consumption and proper exercise the fat eventually goes away

[DodgersGM]

Eliminating fat isn't the way to lose weight, and I'm fact it's also incredibly unhealthy to do so.

Weight loss essentially boils down to creating calorie deficits, wherein you consume less calories than your body burns.

WWhile it's true that one gram of fat is more calorie-dense than the other two micronutrients (1g fat = 9 calories, whereas 1g of protein and 1g of carbohydrates each contain 4 calories a piece), it's still as essential part of a healthy diet.

The TLDR version: only eat whole (or MINIMALLY processed) foods, mostly plants, and not too much.

[Asker]

Eating foods close to the natural... do you mean uncooked foods too?

[DodgersGM]

It's generally good to eat foods raw when possible, yeah, but really consuming the right foods is more important than anything else.

Whole foods... for example, 100% whole wheat bread vs. white bread, or brown rice vs. white rice, or eating strawberries instead of eating strawberry jam. Basically, eat foods in a form that's as close to how they come out of the ground as humanly possible.

[Asker]

Quantitis though? And is there an alternative for those who love bread. I love heavy carbs. I don't eat much whole wheat as I've heard it adds to bloating - better to eat spelt, rye, buckwheat or sprouted foods.

[front2back]

That is true, fat cells don't disappear but rather shrink. Now, I THINK it's possible they disappear from natural means some way (like age), but I'm not sure.

And your fat isn't based off of fat intake, it's based off of carbohydrates and sugar intake, because when those foods aren't used they're converted to fat.

[wowzer]

Fat cells are created when you need more cells to store fat; think of a cell as a bag. Once you have the bag you're stuck with it, but the size varies depending on the amount of fat stored in it.

[Asker]

Need more cells to store? Please elaborate...

[wowzer]

Certainly. When your cells that store fat get to a certain size (according to the fat they've been accumulating due to eating more energy than you burn) your body will make more cells to increase your storage capacity. Cells are absolutely tiny so the number makes not so much difference to your appearance as how inflated these bags are with the fat they contain.

[wowzer]

Having more fat cells doesn't make you look fatter, but it does increase your capacity to store fat so someone that was obese and trimmed down to a size 0-0 would still have huge capacity to store fat. This means if they over-ate their bodies would store fat much easier than other 0-0's that didn't have so many "bags" readily available.

[wowzer]

*overate =)

[Tokana]

I don't know why going nony was necessary, but from what I've heard its true. Fat cells don't go away they just shrink. Eating no fat in your diet doesn't get rid of fat, its the reduction of calories and the increase of activity that reduces fat.

[Asker]

Tokana thank you. One question, does continuous consumption of fat maintain the fat accumulated on one's body? Or is high calorie intake maintain abdominal fat?

[Tokana]

maintenance caloric consumption is what keeps your fat its size, if you go over that amount you will gain weight. Whether its fat or muscle depends on your level and type of activity. so the answer is no to both.

[Anonymous]

liposuction removes them, that's probably the only way, but it's risky.