Uggggh! Body fat is ugly! Or is it? Change your perspective and view body fat for what it really is. Take a look and see how our bodies get fat...
What do you see when you look?
It's often been repeated that 'when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change'.
Changing the way you look at body fat may be most significant when you feel discouraged with your attempts at fat loss. A slight shift in perception may be the impetus you need to coax along your fat loss efforts.
Before we grapple with how to lose body fat, let's first take a closer look at... what is body fat?
Uggggh. Body fat is ugly!
Uggggh. Body fat is ugly, you say! But what is body fat anyway?
Here's a better question. What is energy?
You probably already know there are essentially six primary forms of energy on earth:
chemical
mechanical
heat
light
electric
and nuclear energy.
Here's a simple example of four of those...
You may recall that plants use light energy from the sun in the process of photosynthesis to produce carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.
Thus, food contains nutrients which contain energy. When you ingest food, it is converted to chemical energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP, the 'energy' molecule), which is then converted to mechanical energy (in the form of muscular contraction), and heat energy, which your body gives off.
The first thing we need to appreciate is that all biochemical and physical processes in the body result in heat production. Quite simply, we give off heat. Even at rest, even under the shade, even in air conditioned spaces.
How many times have you heard someone say something like...
"Oh, she has a fast metabolism"
Or, "My metabolism is slowing down"
Metabolism is a very popular, often misunderstood term that's used extensively-- particularly in discussions revolving around body fat loss.
Well, what is metabolism?
Your body builds up and breaks down substances for the production and transformation of energy, and for biological functioning. Metabolism is said to be the 'sum total' of all these processes.
Alas, by this definition alone, it is impossible to quantify and measure.
So scientists have come up with a more practical approach by defining metabolism as the rate of heat production.
The procedure used to determine metabolic rate is called 'calorimetry' and you'll recall, the basic unit for measuring heat is the calorie.
Hence, the food we eat contains energy that our body then utilizes for proper biological functioning, and to fuel our physical activity requirements. This energy is measured in calories.
Um, What is your body doing all day long?
Your body spends all of its time acquiring, converting, storing, and utilizing energy.
That's right. Your body stores away energy too. This, it's long been postulated, is the body's built-in survival mechanism to endure through periods of famine.
Although perhaps overly simplistic, when you're asking the question what is body fat, it might help to think of it this way...
After the body’s needs have been met for the moment, whatever is in excess is essentially converted and stored as fat for future use when the need eventually arises. Fat is stored in what we call adipose tissue, or fat cells (adipocytes).
The way we get fat is by having each fat cell grow in size.
We don't actually develop new fat cells. It's thought our bodies stop producing fat cells somewhere around adolescence. So the number of fat cells we have is not nearly as significant as the size of these cells.
Indeed, it's quite possible for a thinner person to actually have more fat cells in the body than a heavier person. You can imagine a fat cell the way you would a typical party balloon...
The more you fill it, the more it enlarges.
If we are constantly overfeeding ourselves and our body is continually storing away this energy as body fat, it won’t be long before we become overweight.
By the same token, if we do not expend enough energy through our physical activity and deplete some of our energy reserves, we will continue to accumulate body fat.
So this brings us full circle to our original question, "What is body fat?"
A reserve supply of...
It might be helpful for your weight loss efforts to simply view body fat for what it really is... nothing more, nothing less.
It's not really ugly at all.
What is body fat? Body fat is just energy. Actually, it's excess energy that has been stocked away by the body. Shift your perception and start thinking of body fat as just unused energy!
It's just there, waiting to be used in providing your body with the needed energy to fuel your activities.
So, go ahead. Dip into your energy reserves! Be generous. In fact, be a big spender. Spend a lot of energy.
