Where does excess fat go?

[whatjelly]

Originally Posted by ab1ht

Fat is constantly being created and broken down. We digest it all (break it down). What we don't need gets dumped, but it doesn't get stored as fat since there is such a small amount of insulin in the blood.

Did I get it?

I don't quite get that. Fat is constantly being created AND broken down? How do we create fat and not store it? Why would the body want to do that anyway?

And so it does get passed as waste?

I want to understand this, but I'm not sure if I 'can'. I think I'll just blindly stick to LC-ing "just because I know it works" and leave it at that.

[Southern-Dahlin]

Originally Posted by oobladee

This is where many die-hard Atkins and I split ways. There is a tipping point where when you eat more calories than your body needs, whether fat, protein or carb your body stores it as fat. Calories still count.

Period.

Yes and I am one of them

[Margot 65]

fat cells are like a lake:

a river going in and a river going out... it is a constant.

If there is more water going in than going out, the lake gets bigger and we get fat.

When there is an imbalance of flow in and flow out, our weight changes... either up or down.

Fat cells are living cells, they also need fuel to function properly.. and the wrong types of fuel and excessive insulin will affect those cells and make them not work properly. Nicotine has been shown to disrupt the 'flow' and causes our fat cells to shrink (I can't remember which, but I think it speeds up the flow OUT of the fat cells) so that is why people tend to gain weight when they quit smoking..


So, if there is a bigger river flowing out of the lake (because we are feeding our cells properly), and less water coming into the lake (less insulin, ei: carbs, will help with that).. we will lose weight. The stuff coming out of our cells will be used for fuel in some form.. and the excess we do not use for cellular growth and repair, maintaining our temperatures or just working it off.. is released through our breath, sweat and urine. There is a lot more to it that that but I am not scientifically inclined enough to do more than tell you to read Good Calories, Bad Calories where Gary Taubes explains it much better LOL

[SashimiMark]

Yes, it is almost impossible to overeat fat, unless you are adding carbs to it. When you are restricting your carbs, your body will tell you when you've had enough fat. You only need to listen to it. But when you eat fat with carbs, the carbs mask the fat and allow you to eat much more of it. Your body can easily tell you when it has had enough fat or protein. Unfortunately, when it comes to carbs, your body doesn't know jack.

[whatjelly]

Originally Posted by Prozak

read Good Calories, Bad Calories where Gary Taubes explains it much better LOL

Prozak; I liked your explanation... I am about half way through GCBC, and honestly I haven't picked it up in a couple weeks. As you know, it's not the easiest read.

For the most part, I kinda feel like he is saying to stay away from sugar and grains, and proving why. Really, that's all I need to know. Stay away from sugar and grains, and I'll be fine...

Honestly most of this is over my head. But I do know enough about what to do and why... Just not scientifically why...

[SashimiMark]

I really want to finish GCBC, and I'm sure I eventually will. But a much easier read is Barry Grove's Natural Health & Weight Loss.

[Margot 65]

Reading Barry Groves was like eating a chocolate donut, it made me want more! LOL

My life is forever changed because of those 3 men, Dr. A, Barry Groves and Gary Taubes.

I am considering a rendezvous with Dr. M. Eades as well... but I am still relishing in the afterglow of Gary Taubes

Know Your Fats is another one (Mary Enig).. on my wish list.

[SashimiMark]

Mary Enig is definitely on my short list of authors to read.

[Margot 65]

I can only find her on ebay.... amazon.ca doesn't have it

[SashimiMark]

Prozak, I just went to Amazon.ca and searched for Mary Enig and found her books Eat Fat Lose Fat and Know Your Fats, and the cookbook she did with Sally Fallon and Pat Connolly.

[lisabinil]

Be prepared for a lot of coconut products in her menu plans. lol I like coconut but not at every meal. And in "Eat Fat Lose Fat" they also state high fat with a moderate calorie reduction will cause a person to drop weight. They state that overeating even in a high fat low carb WOE will not let you drop weight.

[SashimiMark]

Yes, but it is nearly impossible to overeat doing high fat, moderate protein, low carb. Your body has a very natural way of telling you "Enough!" when it has had enough of both fat and protein.

[lisabinil]

Originally Posted by SashimiMark

Yes, but it is nearly impossible to overeat doing high fat, moderate protein, low carb. Your body has a very natural way of telling you "Enough!" when it has had enough of both fat and protein.

Again Mark this is not true for all of us-especially those with medical issues. I can easily eat 3000 cals a day on a high fat WOE and I don't drop weight this way-like Dr. A stated in DANDR calories do count for some.

[SashimiMark]

But I wasn't suggesting eating 3000 calories a day, either. I know I certainly don't. I eat when I'm hungry. And eating high fat has meant that I don't get hungry all the time. I'm not grazing all day. I eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I might have a snack once or twice a week. But that's about it.

[SashimiMark]

You're certainly right, Lisa. We are all different. And I count myself lucky that I don't have the issues that you seem to have. But then, I also weigh 100 lbs more than you.

[lisabinil]

Originally Posted by SashimiMark

You're certainly right, Lisa. We are all different. And I count myself lucky that I don't have the issues that you seem to have. But then, I also weigh 100 lbs more than you.

Your losses are fabulous Mark! I keep hanging in there but getting the 30 off now is proving harder than when I dropped 127 lbs. You guys keep me encouraged by your losses.

[SashimiMark]

As I've said in other threads, I have no doubt my weight loss is going to slow as I get closer to 200 lbs. And when it does, I'll adjust. I've already accepted I'm never getting my 20's back even if I do get thin. This will just be one more thing for me to learn to accept.

[ab1ht]

Originally Posted by Prozak

fat cells are like a lake:

a river going in and a river going out... it is a constant.

If there is more water going in than going out, the lake gets bigger and we get fat.

When there is an imbalance of flow in and flow out, our weight changes... either up or down.

Nice analogy.

It's raining where I am now. Does this mean I'll get fat?

[SashimiMark]

How do you like this storm we're having, Paul? I feel like I'm back home in NC. I don't remember ever having so many thunderstorms in MA.

[Margot 65]

Originally Posted by ab1ht

Nice analogy.

It's raining where I am now. Does this mean I'll get fat?

The analogy credit goes to Gary Taubes

I am better with analogies than scientific facts LOL maybe because I am right brained?

[whatjelly]

Bring on more analogies! Those are working for me...

[Margot 65]

OK! Here is one I thought of the other night:

Take a car (they are my favorite to anlogize with LOL)

If a car runs out of gas, let's say that it can somehow utilize your washer fluid, brake fluid, antifreeze and oil to also burn as fuel to get you to where you want to go.

By the time you get to where you want to be... your brakes are shot, your pistons are blown, your windshield is filthy and your car overheats.. but you are there.

This is like our bodies, only they CAN actually utilize things that are not a 'preferred' source of fuel.. like muscles (our body cannot tell the difference between protein in our diet and the protein in our muscles). So if we run out of fuel.. our bodies can MAYBE get to where we want to be (weight wise) but like that imaginary car, there is a WHOLE LOT OF EXPENSES involved and losses in LBM and other essential fatty acids that our bodies need to maintain itself.

What we see on the outside of that imaginary car, does not do any justice to what can be going in under the hood of that car.. no matter how shiny or clean or sexy as it might be.

This is why Gary Taubes says that most overweight people are like that car... cellular starvation: because it does not have the right fuel amounts OR types to get it from point A to point B without damage to the rest of the parts. This is where lethargy steps in and takes over (what some may call LAZY) and eating more of the wrong foods because we are also always showing 'low fuel' and we feel the need to top it up (with carbs).

Same thing for putting diesel in a gas engine.. it may start, but it won't get very far. In fact, it appears that the car runs out of gas! But our bodies just keep plugging along with the wrong fuel types and the damage it is doing to us on the inside is unfathomable.

Too bad we didn't also have engine lights and those small diesel tank openings that will not allow one to place a gas nozzle into...

[fawn]

Originally Posted by Prozak

Reading Barry Groves was like eating a chocolate donut, it made me want more! LOL

My life is forever changed because of those 3 men, Dr. A, Barry Groves and Gary Taubes.

I am considering a rendezvous with Dr. M. Eades as well... but I am still relishing in the afterglow of Gary Taubes

Know Your Fats is another one (Mary Enig).. on my wish list.

low carb hussy

Hey Mark.....how's that skinny guy in your avi?

[SashimiMark]

That not-so-skinny guy is doing pretty well, thanks. Yourself?

[whatjelly]

Mark! I see YOU changed your avi... Lookin good!

[metqa]

Originally Posted by whatjelly

Bring on more analogies! Those are working for me...

Oh, you asked for it. I'll be posting a few of mine . . .after I get back from work.

[SashimiMark]

Thanks Shelley

[ab1ht]

Originally Posted by SashimiMark

How do you like this storm we're having, Paul? I feel like I'm back home in NC. I don't remember ever having so many thunderstorms in MA.

My basement has water. Spent around $2000 for a specialist to come in and waterproof the basement... and the damn rain is coming in through a window

And what happened to your hair? You've got less than I do now!

[Purple Crayon]

I was looking up ketogenic diet, found this and thought of all y'all.

The web address is www dot site dot matthewsfriends dot org
It's for kids with epilepsy.
In the section called The Diet under the title Classical and MCT Keto diet I found this explanation,

"A ‘Normal’ diet!
There are 3 main food groups from which the body is nourished:
Fats – e.g. oil, butter, cream, mayonnaise and margarine.
Protein – e.g. meat, fish, poultry, eggs, cheese and milk.
Carbohydrates – e.g. bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, fruit, vegetables and sugar.

We get our energy (or calories) from eating these foods and most of us eat a lot of carbohydrate – if you are anything like me then quite a bit of it will be in the form of sugar! Some of us try to reduce our fat intake as fat contains more calories than carbohydrates and protein and as we all know there is the continuous „healthy eating campaign‟ going on where we are all encouraged to eat as many fruit and vegetables as possible but must at least have „5 a day‟.

Carbohydrate when broken down (metabolised) in the body produces glucose and it is this glucose that gives the brain its energy to function. The body will use glucose as its „fuel‟ before anything else. Carbohydrates are metabolised by the body quickly and usually carbohydrates will be used within a few hours of eating, which is why we eat them so frequently.

By contrast, the role of fats are to store energy. If there is not enough glucose available to energise the body then instead of the body storing the intake of fat as it would try to do normally, the body will use the fat as its energy source. It will use the fat from the food we eat first and foremost but if the body still doesn‟t get enough energy from that, then it will start to use any fat stores we have on/in our body. Metabolising fat to use as energy takes a lot longer than breaking down carbohydrate, which is why we feel a lot fuller for a lot longer after eating a high fat meal as opposed to eating a bucket load of lettuce (to feel „full‟ on lettuce, you would probably have to eat the entire crop of Cornwall, if you didn‟t pass out with the boredom first!)

Proteins main function is to build up the body and maintain/replenish growth with any excess being metabolised into glucose as well.

With a “normal” diet, we would eat larger amounts of carbohydrate and protein than we would fat. The Ketogenic diet however turns this idea on its head by introducing a much, much higher level of fat than carbohydrate and protein. You also have to restrict how much food is taken in to „mimic‟ starvation in the body by reducing its chance to produce its primary energy source - glucose.

The body then has to metabolise the fat to use for its energy instead of carbohydrates, fats are broken down to what is called „free fatty acids‟, but these cannot pass into the brain to be used as an energy source, however, another product of fat metabolism, ketone bodies, can pass into the brain and these become the primary brain energy source in the absence of glucose."

[SashimiMark]

Paul, my hair has been receding since I was in my 20's. It was not a look I cared to carry over into my 40's.