There are a lot of myths out there about fat loss and distribution. Many people on the internet will tell you a specific product will help you redistribute fat in desired areas to sell you something. It is essential to know the real way fat loss works to avoid wasting your time and money on untrue facts. Here are five things you need to know about fat loss.
Fat Loss Vs. Weight Loss
Weight loss factors in fat, muscle, and water loss from the body. Fat loss is just fat targeted and considered a more healthy way to lose pounds. It is hard to differentiate between weight loss and fat loss because the scale just shows a weight reduction. However, when you lose muscle, it can be counterproductive to your goals. The more muscle you have, the more calorie-burning potential you have, the better blood sugar regulation, fat regulation, and inflammation control. In addition, when you lose muscle, it decreases your potential calorie burn at rest and therefore increasing the chances of regaining fat.
What is Spot Reduction
Spot reduction is the idea that you do a certain exercise to target fat loss in a specific area. The problem is it doesn’t work like that. According to ACE fitness, “Spot reduction doesn’t work because it usually targets muscles that are relatively small through exercises that are relatively insignificant in terms of enhancing overall fitness, strength, and energy expenditure—regardless of how much you “feel the burn” when training them.”
When you target an area of your body for exercise, you are working to make it stronger and build muscle. However, for fat loss, you have to factor in the food you eat to create a caloric deficit in the body. When there is a calorie deficit in the body, your body uses excess fat for energy, making you smaller. The problem is you cannot tell your body where to use the stored fat.
Fat Loss and Genetics
When you think about how your body gains and loses fat, you must think of your body type and genetics. Some people are more prone to carry fat in their hips and thighs, whereas others may have it in their abdomen and arms. Your genetics helps determine how your body will be shaped, and there is not much you can do about that naturally. What you can do is improve your exercise capacity and health while focusing on your diet. The progress will come!
Fat loss and Gender
Men tend to lose fat quicker than women. This is due to our differing sex hormones, testosterone and estrogen, which drive fat storage. In addition, men and women tend to carry their fat differently because of the hormone receptors that attract fat. Men are more prone to be apple-shaped, and women are more pear-shaped. However, when women go through menopause, they tend to shift to apple-shaped fat distribution.
The six types of body fat
Now there are many claims out there regarding supplements targeting brown fat vs. white fat etc… In fact, there are six types of fat in the body. What is the difference between them?
Brown fat– helps to keep you warm and is found more prevalent in children than adults. However, scientists have found leaner people carry more brown fat, and are exploring brown fat activation as a treatment for diabetes.
White fat– stores energy and produces hormones that are released into the bloodstream. The hormone adiponectin is secreted by the small fat cells, making the liver and muscles more sensitive to insulin. Most fat cells in your body are white, and if you feed them too much dietary fat, they expand, causing dysfunction.
Subcutaneous fat– The layer of fat directly under the skin that you can pinch. It is a combination of white, brown, and beige fat. A certain amount is healthy to have but too much leads to imbalances in the body.
Visceral fat– This fat is most likely known as that stubborn belly fat and surrounds the inner organs. Too much of this can be dangerous to your health because it interrupts essential processes, leading to developing chronic conditions like diabetes.
Essential Fat– Helps to regulate body temperature, vitamin absorption, hormones, and cells. It can be found in organ membranes, bone marrow, and the brain. Women, in particular, should have 10-13% of their body fat from essential fat to be in good health.
Beige Fat– The midway between brown and white fat. It functions similar to brown fat by using energy to produce heat in colder temperatures. There is a growing number of research that activating beige fat may help prevent obesity.
Supplement Claims and Fat Loss
I wanted to tell you all about fat loss to understand why some claims to sell you a product are not valid. We know that you cannot pick where you want to lose fat or how it is distributed. Your fat loss and distribution depend on many factors you might not be able to change quickly, so it is essential to be patient. Check the science behind the claims a particular product makes. Supplements should be used with a healthy lifestyle to assist in weight loss support, but be careful of overly stated promises.
