The Fat You're Losing

sophiethecat · 04-04-2012, 06:04 PM

Guys, thought this was a great post on the ML: The Problem with Surface Area

The visual really makes it hit home.

Maybe we can get some more info here in one place about WHAT fat really is, WHAT it does, etc. Here's some stuff I found on a blog by Lyle McDonald (I haven't looked around his site, so don't know what he's about or what all is there, but here's some of the fat info.)

What is it?

The more technical term for body fat is adipose tissue, with individual cells being called adipocytes (adipo = fat ; cyte = cell). In humans, the primary type of fat cell is called white adipose tissue, or WAT, so named because of its color (it’s actually sort of a milky yellow). While there is another type of fat, called brown adipose tissue or BAT (which is actually reddish/orangeish), it’s generally been thought that humans didn’t have much BAT and hence it could be ignored. As I’ll discuss later, this has been brought into question by recent research. I’ll come back to BAT in the next chapter.

In humans, there may be anywhere from XXX to YYY billion fat cells, which range in diameter from 70 to 120 µm (micro-meters, that’s one millionth of a meter). WAT in humans is composed primarily (anywhere from 80 to 95%) of lipid. By lipid, I mean stored triglycerides (TG) which is simply a glycerol molecule bound to three free fatty acid (FFA) chains.

The remaining part of the fat cell is comprised of a little bit of water as well as all of the cellular machinery needed to produce the various enzymes, proteins, and products that fat cells need to do their duty. As it’s turning out, fat cells produce quite a bit of stuff, some good, some bad, that affects your overall metabolism.

GingerAnn · 04-04-2012, 06:26 PM

Powerful image. I think that whole thing is sitting in my belly area. Joking

DD80 · 04-05-2012, 08:15 AM

Thank you for sharing this. I've seen those 5 lb things before, but sometimes I need a reminder!

Screamer · 04-05-2012, 08:21 AM

I have learned that we all have fat cells. When we gain weight there is more fat in those cells. When we lose fat we have the same number of fat cells just smaller cells. I'm going to go to that sight and read up on this.

Great discussion.

sungoddess · 04-05-2012, 08:32 AM

Visuals like this are great!!I used to build myself a fat loss monument. Every pound lost, I would use an empty carton from a pound of butter to stack up. I had friends and relatives saving them for me. When I reached 60 pounds, I stopped. But the impact is powerful. Now I think of each 1/4 pound, 1/2 pound etc as sticks of butter. So even small amounts of weight look big when I think of them as sticks of butter. I do not think of butter as evil. I love it and eat it. It is just a good way for me to "see it"in my mind.

Majella · 04-05-2012, 08:44 AM

Thats Sophie it's just what I needed to see today as I'm getting annoyed at my slow losses!! I usually think of a bag of sugar when I loose a pound, think it has something to do with all my LC attempts lol

Hazelsmrf · 04-05-2012, 08:55 AM

This one is pretty good too!

What Does 5 pounds of Fat Look Like? - YouTube

Yam-Yam · 04-05-2012, 08:56 AM

That was enlightening!!! Hard to picture what my 36 pounds gone would look like, but this is very motivating. So, I think I'll keep JUDDing!! Thanks for the link.

vanilla_latte · 04-05-2012, 10:10 AM

I'm terrible with words and visuals. What I got is that we got WAT fat and BAT fat.

Sorry, I'm on meds so I'm a little ditzy.

sophiethecat · 04-05-2012, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hazelsmrf

This one is pretty good too!

What Does 5 pounds of Fat Look Like? - YouTube

Thanks for this, Hazel - I loved it!

When I think I lost SEVEN of those "infant-sized" hunks of fat off my body... wowee.

KeirasMom · 04-05-2012, 12:22 PM

I've been envisioning mine as bags of dog food. How weird am I?! I've lost one very large bag of dog food. We buy our dog food in 50 lb bags. I think of how hard it is to wrestle that bag out of my trunk and take it in the house and out to the garage every time I buy one. Now I think, I've been lugging all that around with me and now it's GONE! I have one more 50 lb bag of dog food to get rid of! Woohoo!

Luna Loca · 04-05-2012, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sophiethecat

Thanks for this, Hazel - I loved it!

When I think I lost SEVEN of those "infant-sized" hunks of fat off my body... wowee.

Good point. I've lost 120 pounds, so that's what, sixty babies? That's quite the image there...

Quote:

Originally Posted by KeirasMom

I've been envisioning mine as bags of dog food. How weird am I?! I've lost one very large bag of dog food. We buy our dog food in 50 lb bags. I think of how hard it is to wrestle that bag out of my trunk and take it in the house and out to the garage every time I buy one. Now I think, I've been lugging all that around with me and now it's GONE! I have one more 50 lb bag of dog food to get rid of! Woohoo!

Congrats on surpassing the 50 pound mark! You must've had a whoosh, you were at 49 pounds I think just yesterday. Woot!

KeirasMom · 04-05-2012, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luna Loca

Congrats on surpassing the 50 pound mark! You must've had a whoosh, you were at 49 pounds I think just yesterday. Woot!

I had the exact same weigh-in five days running, then 0.8 lost and then another 1.0 lost back to back! Woohoo! I'm claiming them too.

Luna Loca · 04-05-2012, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luna Loca

Good point. I've lost 120 pounds, so that's what, sixty babies? That's quite the image there...

Wow, I really can't do math. Thank god I'm an artist, not a mathematician. That would be twenty-four babies.

Now I know that none of you read my posts. At least not for accuracy.

KeirasMom · 04-05-2012, 03:12 PM

There's a reason I majored in English!!!

04-04-2012, 06:04 PM	#1
sophiethecat Blabbermouth!!! Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Maintain Lane Posts: 5,202 Gallery: sophiethecat Stats: 170+/135-138/145 5'6 39y pcos/IR/metformin WOE: WL=LC then JUDDD/IF; Maintenance=IF/75%+ "healthy" Start Date: LC 6/11; JUDDD 10/11; Maintenance 11/11	The Fat You're Losing Guys, thought this was a great post on the ML: The Problem with Surface Area The visual really makes it hit home. Maybe we can get some more info here in one place about WHAT fat really is, WHAT it does, etc. Here's some stuff I found on a blog by Lyle McDonald (I haven't looked around his site, so don't know what he's about or what all is there, but here's some of the fat info.) What is it? The more technical term for body fat is adipose tissue, with individual cells being called adipocytes (adipo = fat ; cyte = cell). In humans, the primary type of fat cell is called white adipose tissue, or WAT, so named because of its color (it’s actually sort of a milky yellow). While there is another type of fat, called brown adipose tissue or BAT (which is actually reddish/orangeish), it’s generally been thought that humans didn’t have much BAT and hence it could be ignored. As I’ll discuss later, this has been brought into question by recent research. I’ll come back to BAT in the next chapter. In humans, there may be anywhere from XXX to YYY billion fat cells, which range in diameter from 70 to 120 µm (micro-meters, that’s one millionth of a meter). WAT in humans is composed primarily (anywhere from 80 to 95%) of lipid. By lipid, I mean stored triglycerides (TG) which is simply a glycerol molecule bound to three free fatty acid (FFA) chains. The remaining part of the fat cell is comprised of a little bit of water as well as all of the cellular machinery needed to produce the various enzymes, proteins, and products that fat cells need to do their duty. As it’s turning out, fat cells produce quite a bit of stuff, some good, some bad, that affects your overall metabolism. __________________ Started JUDDD 10/12/11 after LC. MAINTENANCE since 11/12/11, & have lost more weight. I shake things up all the time with my version of Pirate Jenny's MUDDD, my "Fast 5" & other IF. ...low-moderate fat....and eating "healthy" foods 75+% of the time which lets me have real life and indulgences too I've reached my goals, improved my health & appearance, and enjoy my lifetime woe! Last edited by sophiethecat; 04-04-2012 at 06:17 PM..

04-05-2012, 08:32 AM	#5
sungoddess Very Gabby LCF Member!!! Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 3,172 Gallery: sungoddess WOE: Perfect Health Diet/JUDDD Start Date: LC;HCG; 1/19/12/JUDDD; 1/13/13 PHD/JUDDD	Visuals like this are great!!I used to build myself a fat loss monument. Every pound lost, I would use an empty carton from a pound of butter to stack up. I had friends and relatives saving them for me. When I reached 60 pounds, I stopped. But the impact is powerful. Now I think of each 1/4 pound, 1/2 pound etc as sticks of butter. So even small amounts of weight look big when I think of them as sticks of butter. I do not think of butter as evil. I love it and eat it. It is just a good way for me to "see it"in my mind. __________________ Good broth resurrects the dead. ~ South American Proverb

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04-04-2012, 06:26 PM	#2
GingerAnn Junior LCF Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 33 Gallery: GingerAnn	Powerful image. I think that whole thing is sitting in my belly area. Joking

04-05-2012, 08:15 AM	#3
DD80 Major LCF Poster! Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Desert Southwest Posts: 1,162 Gallery: DD80 Stats: 188/165.0/145 5'10" WOE: Zoneish, Organic, GrassFed Start Date: 1/10/12 Medi, 2/9/12 First UD, 1/1/13 New Plan	Thank you for sharing this. I've seen those 5 lb things before, but sometimes I need a reminder!

04-05-2012, 08:21 AM	#4
Screamer Blabbermouth!!! Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: In the MMA cage Posts: 5,976 Gallery: Screamer Stats: :) WOE: jab jab jab cross hook Start Date: 8/7/00	I have learned that we all have fat cells. When we gain weight there is more fat in those cells. When we lose fat we have the same number of fat cells just smaller cells. I'm going to go to that sight and read up on this. Great discussion.

04-05-2012, 08:44 AM	#6
Majella Senior LCF Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Cork, Ireland Posts: 616 Gallery: Majella Stats: 182/180/132 WOE: JUDDD Start Date: Feb 2013	Thats Sophie it's just what I needed to see today as I'm getting annoyed at my slow losses!! I usually think of a bag of sugar when I loose a pound, think it has something to do with all my LC attempts lol

04-05-2012, 08:56 AM	#8
Yam-Yam Very Gabby LCF Member!!! Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Northern California Posts: 4,047 Gallery: Yam-Yam Stats: 230/191/183 @5'9"tall and 58 yrs. alive WOE: Dukan 8/1/11 and now JUDD (12/22/11) Start Date: 8/1/11	That was enlightening!!! Hard to picture what my 36 pounds gone would look like, but this is very motivating. So, I think I'll keep JUDDing!! Thanks for the link.

04-05-2012, 10:10 AM	#9
vanilla_latte Major LCF Poster! Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: In my happy place! Posts: 1,567 Gallery: vanilla_latte Stats: Weigh/Too/Much! WOE: JUDDD Start Date: Oh, ya know..every morning!	I'm terrible with words and visuals. What I got is that we got WAT fat and BAT fat. Sorry, I'm on meds so I'm a little ditzy.

04-05-2012, 12:22 PM	#11
KeirasMom Blabbermouth!!! Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Fresno, CA Posts: 7,308 Gallery: KeirasMom Stats: 277.6/155-159/165, 5'9", 40 y.o., Hypothyroid WOE: In Place of a Roadmap Start Date: Maintenance 1/23/13	I've been envisioning mine as bags of dog food. How weird am I?! I've lost one very large bag of dog food. We buy our dog food in 50 lb bags. I think of how hard it is to wrestle that bag out of my trunk and take it in the house and out to the garage every time I buy one. Now I think, I've been lugging all that around with me and now it's GONE! I have one more 50 lb bag of dog food to get rid of! Woohoo!

04-05-2012, 03:12 PM	#15
KeirasMom Blabbermouth!!! Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Fresno, CA Posts: 7,308 Gallery: KeirasMom Stats: 277.6/155-159/165, 5'9", 40 y.o., Hypothyroid WOE: In Place of a Roadmap Start Date: Maintenance 1/23/13	There's a reason I majored in English!!!