If you are alive today, then you have some fat in your body. In fact, having a healthy bit of fat on you is a good idea, especially if you are worried about your brain health or wish to maintain a shapely physique. However, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 60 percent of Americans are vastly overweight.
Still, it is difficult to understand just how much is enough or too much until you also understand how your body stores fat. When this essential internal mechanism becomes clear to you, then you can transform your body in any way you see fit.
The 4-1-1 on the Fat Cell
Ah yes, the remarkable fat cell—just sitting around waiting to be filled up by something you eat. It will never go away, but luckily it will most likely not reproduce itself either. However, there is an exception to every rule, including this one. How your body stores fat is often based on how much fat it already has. If you gain a significant amount of weight, then you can bet on seeing your body respond to that by making even more. This may not seem fair, but if you think of a fat cell as a miniscule balloon then it makes perfect sense.
The Blessing and the Curse
How your body stores fat can be seen as a simultaneous blessing and curse, if you really think about it. Although your body’s ability to store fat can be somewhat impressive and helpful at times, it can still be a bit of a problem. This only happens when we give our bodies more fat than our daily activities call for, which means that adequate exercise is important to maintain proper health. Keep this little tidbit in mind: it takes about 10 times more energy for your already overworked metabolism to break down certain dietary carbs and proteins than it does to store the fat directly somewhere on your body. In other words, your body is going to take the easiest route, so be careful.
The Hormonal Breakdown
Essentially, there are two different hormones that regulate how your body stores fat. These vital hormones are produced in the pancreas, and the most important one is known as insulin. This remarkable hormone promotes fat storage in the body when it removes glucose from the bloodstream. Blood that has too much sugar in it places the liver in dire straits while sending the excess sugar right to your fat cells. The only way to fight this is to burn off more calories than you eat.
