So how do we burn fat and drop the weight? How do we make our body’s use the fat we have stored as energy? This will really come in to play if you are a shift worker and it’s 3 a.m. and you’re trying to get through the rest of your shift. Well, I’m about to explain what fat is and how are body’s use it as fuel and how we can drop that weight to get into shape. Stick around, you just might like it.
A basic short and sweet definition- Everything we eat is made up of macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates, and fat) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). These are converted to energy inside the body, to help fuel our bodily functions.
Here is the problem; dietary fats have been blamed for many health problems, but it’s an essential nutrient for optimal health. Adipose tissue (stored fat) provides cushion and insulation to internal organs, protects nerves, moves vitamins such as A, D, E, and K throughout the body. It is also the largest reserve of stored energy. Just remember, one gram of dietary fat equals nine calories. This calorie density is the highest of all the nutrients. Stored body fat is different from dietary fat. Body fat is only stored in the body when we consume more calories than we use. And this is from any foods we eat, not just from dietary fats.
Types of Body Fat
Scientists are learning more and more about adipose tissue and its roles in our bodies. Two well-known types of adipose tissue are white fat and brown fat. White fat is largely responsible for energy storage and metabolic functions like insulin sensitivity and is the most common type of fat in the body. This type of fat is found in large droplets in fat cells, and is typically stored in the hips, thighs, and stomach. Too much white fat can lead to obesity and can increase the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Brown fat on the other hand, helps regulate body temperature by breaking down blood sugar (glucose) and fat molecules to create heat. Brown fat is smaller than white fat, and contains many mitochondria, which are the “powerhouse of cells” that break down nutrients to create energy. Brown fat is activated by cold temperatures. It’s found in places such as the neck, collarbone, kidneys, and spinal cord. Newborn babies have more brown fat than adults, but most of it disappears during their first year of life.
What Happens When You Burn Fat?
When your body uses the fat as fuel, the fatty acids inside the fat cells are broken down and released into your system as water and carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide is exhaled through your lungs. Your body uses the water for hydration.
The remaining fat cell shrinks in size, now depleted of its fatty acids. This energy conversion also produces heat. This is basically what happens in a nutshell without going into the scientific details. I am trying to keep it short and sweet.
How the Body Uses Fat for Fuel
Fat provides the main fuel source for long, low- to moderate-intensity exercises. These are endurance sports such as marathons. Even during high-intensity exercises, where carbohydrates are the main fuel source, the body needs fat to help access the stored carbohydrates (glycogen). So, the fat is still needed. Using the fat to fuel the exercise, however, is not a simple process.
It has to have three parts: Digestion, Transportation, and Conversion.
Digestion: Fat is very slow to digest and then be converted into a usable source for energy. This process can take up to six hours.
Transportation: After the body breaks down the fat, it needs time to transport it to the working muscles before it can be used as energy. This can take a while also.
Conversion: Converting stored body fat into energy takes a lot of oxygen, requiring decreased exercise intensity. This is the tough part. Many athletes need to remember this.
Athletes need to carefully time when and how much fat they eat. Generally, eating foods high in fat immediately before or during intense exercise is not a good idea, nor recommended. Because first, the workout will be over before the fat is available for energy. And second, doing so can cause uncomfortable gastrointestinal symptoms, such as nausea and vomiting. So, the timing of the fats must be taken into consideration.
One of the most efficient ways to convert fat to energy is through high-intensity interval training (HIIT). In one research study, overweight participants could convert body fat to energy in half the time using HIIT vs. aerobic activity. HIIT specifically converts visceral fat to energy. This is white adipose tissue and is often found in the midsection. However, not everyone is able to do HIIT workouts and so then what do you do to burn fat as energy?
Fat is an almost unlimited resource that the human body provides for us, however it does come with two problems: The first one is the human brain is a sugar loving machine, it needs glucose to function and the rate at which fat is burned for fuel is too slow to support it. In other words, your body fuels itself with a combination of glycogen and fat, with fat being the source of fuel that lasts but which cannot be tapped quickly enough to keep you moving fast.
The problem with your sugar loving brain is it can be solved by taking in enough carbohydrates during exercise, the fat burning problem can be solved by teaching your body to use fat at a faster rate. So, what I have found is the easiest way to improve your ability to oxidize fat and turn fat into energy is to train for longer periods of time at a slower/steady pace. Generally, you don’t want to go much faster than your normal pace if you’re trying to stimulate your fat oxidation capabilities. While most athletes are well aware of this, there are several diet and training tricks out there that claim to increase the quality of their training workouts. Try not to fall into the trap of believing some of these tricks and “special fat burning diets” before e-mailing me or reading my blog posts. I am sure I have probably touched on the subjects one way or another.
Until next time.
Take care,
Darren
Harmony Shift 