Surviving the Slope: Where’d That Fat Come From?!

Author: Jacky Falkenberg

Jacky’s column Surviving the Slope is about finding the best kale, learning to love excruciating pain, and getting swole at Helen Newman. Whether your goal is to stay fit during the winter or simply avoid the freshman 15, Surviving the Slope will give you all the inside tips you need to build a healthier you.

Everyone always talks about how they want to lose a couple pounds. They want to lean up and lose some fat. But where did all that unwanted fat come from? How is it made, and how did it make its way onto your body so quickly? The answer is more complicated than it may seem.

 

 

It all starts off with a little food. You ingest different types of macronutrients, i.e. carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, and these all affect your body differently. Your body’s main goal, at this point, is to turn all these into glucose your cells can use as energy. In fact, according to GroupHealthCooperative.org, 100 percent of carbohydrates you ingest can be turned into glucose, compared to only 60 percent of protein, and 10 percent of fat. Once your food has turned into glucose and hit your bloodstream, your pancreas secretes insulin. The insulin is what allows the glucose in your blood to essentially be taken on by your cells as energy. Without it, your glucose would not be used effectively. But why does glucose that is supposed to fuel your cells turn into fat? This is where overeating comes into play.

 

 

When your cells no longer need any more glucose, they refuse to take on any extra. The excess is then stored in your fat cells, where it becomes a fatty acid. The insulin, then having done its job, leaves your body until you eat more food that needs to be turned into glucose. However, if your cells need any more glucose throughout the day and you have not eaten, the fatty acids from your fat cells are released into the bloodstream where they can be absorbed by your cells without any help from insulin. In other words, your body is designed to naturally use your fat to feed your cells! The bad news, is that most of us eat too much and too often to actually allow for this to happen.

Insulin takes time to leave your body. As long as insulin is still present, fat will continue to be created, as the extra converted glucose is not needed by your cells at that time. That means that all you need to do is make sure you’re aware when there’s insulin in your body. Insulin is created when there’s any sugar in your body. Glucose is sugar; however, it can also be found in carbohydrates. Protein and fat, on the other hand, cause very little insulin to be secreted. Fat itself does not make you fat!

 

 

Therefore, if you stick to proteins and limited fats while watching your carbohydrate and sugar intake you’ll naturally produce less fat. Additionally, making sure you don’t overeat allows the insulin to fully leave your body and causes your cells to use your fat for energy instead of creating additional fatty acids. All you have to do is eat in moderation!

 

 

health, lose weight, surviving the slope