Why it gets harder to lose weight every time we gain weight
/Did you ever wonder "what is fat"? I mean what does the fat on our bodies consist of?
In simple terms, what you "see" as fat in your body is "Adipocytes".
Adipocytes are cells which act like balloons: your body fills them up with fat globules (triglycerides), and they inflate and become bigger when they're filled up.
These Adipocytes are a "biological survival mechanism" animals (including humans) develop.
For 99.9% of human history, food was not available every day. So our bodies developed the ability to "store excess calories" when food was available, to use when food was not available.
Unfortunately, this "survival mechanism" is a disadvantage during modern times when food is abundant: it makes us "gain fat".
The problem for us today is: our bodies "never destroys" Adipocytes!
Allow me to explain:
1. You eat more calories than you require, OR, you eat more carbohydrates than your body can make use of;
2. Your liver converts this excess into Triglycerides;
3. Those excess Triglycerides are then absorbed by the Adipoctyes, which "inflate" like balloons;
4. We "gain weight" and we can visibility see ourselves getting fatter.
The problem is not here, the problem is when we "lose fat".
- We go on a diet, exercise, and / or fast;
- Adipocytes start releasing some of those excess Triglycerides to be used as energy.
But here's the kicker: Adipocytes almost never die. They shrink, but your body "keeps them".
In fact, the minimum number of Adipocytes in humans is genetically predetermined: if some die, they are immediately replaced, even if you're not eating in excess.
This is part of the reason some people have a tendency to gain weight easily: they have a high number of Adipocytes "ready to fill up".
Unfortunately, it gets even worse for some of us (like myself): when we eat in excess for an extended period of time, while some of the excess Triglycerides go to fill up existing Adipocytes, our bodies (at the same time) makes "new Adipocytes".
So not only do we have a "minimum number of Adipocytes" which are easy to fill up, we make "new ones" which ALSO never die!
So every time we gain weight, then lose it, it's easier for us to gain weight the next time because now we have more and more Adipocytes!
So how do we minimize this risk?
1. Avoid "yo yo" dieting: every time you "let yourself go" and gain fat, you make new Adipocytes. It's better to maintain a healthy (even if slightly overweight) bodyfat than going up and down all the time
2. Fast: there is some evidence that sustained fasting can lead to the death of (a small number of Adipoctyes). The evidence is not yet fully convincing, but some early studies have shown promise.
3. Cold: same as with fasting, some studies have shown that cold exposure helps with shrinkage and potential death of excess Adipocytes.
4. Get a genetic test: it can help you manage your lifestyle. In my case, it proved what I suspected: I have high pre-disposition to gain fat (make more Adipocytes).
5. Test what your respond to hormonally: Adipocytes respond to hormonal signals. Are your hormones more sensitive to eating more carbs? More saturated fat? More unsaturated fat? every person is different. Try different ways of eating and see how your body responds.
