It is commonly believed that when fat is burned during exercise it is used as fuel for heat or energy in the body. Some people are of the opinion that fat gets excreted from the body as waste matter, while others believe that fat gets converted into muscle.
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According to new research, all of the above ideas are incorrect to some degree as the metabolic process of weight loss can appear to be quite confusing for many.
According to research published in the Journal BMJ, high amounts of dietary protein and carbohydrates get converted into a particular kind of fat known as triglycerides. When individuals attempt to get rid of excessive fat, they are ensuring that these triglycerides are metabolised while maintaining fat free mass integrity. Triglycerides are molecules comprised of three simple atoms: oxygen, carbon and hydrogen. These molecules are decomposed by disengaging these atoms through a process called oxidation. In the study, researchers revealed that when 10 kg of fat was oxidised, approximately 8 kg was converted and eliminated as carbon dioxide through the lungs whereas 1.6 kg of triglycerides was transformed into water. Researchers deduced that approximately 30 kg of oxygen must be inhaled in order to oxidise 10 kg of human fat. This conclusion revealed that although the process was not new to science, it was merely misunderstood by experts and common man alike.
According to simple calculations, researchers concluded that when an individual loses weight, he basically exhales approximately 80% of his lost fat while the remaining 15% is converted into water which is then removed from the body through urine and sweat.
The researchers also noted that any potential weight loss objective can be easily hampered by eating too much food, specifically the wrong types of foods. It is important to understand that most individuals who battled with excessive weight have some form of leptin or insulin resistance. The whole moon that helps and regulating weight, which is known as leptin is useful in signalling that the body does not require any more food and hence one stops eating due to the rise of leptin levels. When an individual becomes resistant to the effects of leptin, he starts to overeat and over a period of time the body gradually stops sending out leptin signals.
New evidence reveals that in order to overcome leptin or insulin resistance and achieve weight loss goals, the body’s fat burning potential can be boosted by incorporating intermittent fasting. This form of fasting can help in resetting the body to make use of fat instead of sugar as its primary fuel during the fast. This is considered to be one of the most effective ways of shedding unwanted fat as well as eliminating sugar cravings. One of the best ways of getting started with intermittent fasting is to avoid breakfast and make lunch the first meal of the day. Maintaining a daily eating schedule until leptin resistance becomes better can greatly help in regularising other factors such as hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol ratios and weight. Once weight loss has been achieved, intermittent fasting can be maintained in order to sustain one’s healthy state.
It is now seen that consuming fewer amount of calories and exercising more than usual is not a recommended strategy as this does not work very well for most individuals. Here it is important to note that not all categories of the same. Instead of concentrating on consumption of calories or counting calories, it is important to address the kind and quality of foods and individual eats while getting rid of all kinds of chemical and pesticide exposures.
As can be seen, human metabolism is highly complicated and elaborate. On one hand exercise helps in enhancing fat oxidation, which leaves the body through the lungs as carbon dioxide and is excreted from the body in the form of waste matter.
What is not complex is how to optimise one’s metabolism through various lifestyle modifications such as exercising regularly and maintaining a state of activity all day long, consuming organic whole and locally grown foods that are cooked from scratch rather than buying and consuming processed foods, reducing overall sugar consumption and avoiding genetically engineered ingredients and other artificially enhanced foods.
