While it's no secret where fat accumulates in the body... you can see it with your own two eyes, a harder question to answer is where does the fat go when you lose weight?
You may have heard (or tried) programs that promise to melt away fat from specific areas of the body, but the evidence (MRI and CT scans) sadly doesn't support these claims. It would be great if fat could simply disappear... but when you understand more about fat cells, you'll see why this just isn't possible.
So forget the fads and best-selling diet books; focus instead on long term weight loss that comes as the result of a sensible diet and exercise program in order to see that fat disappear for good.
You'll want to choose more healthy, low calorie, non processed foods and increase your activity level on a regular basis in order to see the fat start to slip away.
Eat less and move more... it's not glamorous, it takes time and effort, hard work and persistence, but the results are lasting and incredibly beneficial to your body, not to mention your self-esteem.
As you work toward your weight loss goal, remember these important points about body fat and weight loss...
1. You can change sizes, but you can't change your body shape. So when you lose weight, you lose it all over in the same proportions as the fat is distributed throughout your body. If you are pear (or apple) shaped to start, you'll lose weight, but will remain the same body shape, though certainly a smaller, leaner one than when you started. Of course, the problem is the weight, not the shape of the body, which is out of your control, often determined by your genetics or body hormones.
2. Body fat is not the same. Fat in the belly area, called visceral fat, is far more dangerous than the more unsightly subcutaneous fat that is found in areas like the thighs, because it's not only metabolically active, but it's surrounding some of your most vital organs. This type of fat disturbs the natural mechanisms of the body, releasing biochemicals that bring on inflammation, which is incredibly dangerous for both your heart and liver, as well as being bad for muscles and joints.
3. Fat cells shrink during weight loss, but you keep the same number. Humans have from 10-30 billion fat cells, and if you're obese, you can have as many as 100 billion. When you lose weight, you don't change how many fat cells you have, their size gets smaller, but the ability to expand right back remains. So even if a procedure like liposuction removes the fat cells, this does not mean that the fat cells in other non-lipo'd areas can't get bigger. How big (or small) your fat cells are depends on diet and exercise.
Remember, experts say that for weight loss to be truly successful, you need to make changes in the way you eat that you can maintain over a lifetime... not just for a few weeks or months. This is the reason most "diets" fail... they have you eating in a way that's not realistic or natural, one that very few can stick with over the long haul.
So if you're looking for shortcuts, quick fixes or magic pills that will make the fat disappear, you're sure to be disappointed. Those who have lasting success will tell you it comes from making small, simple changes that can be maintained over a lifetime.
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