| Never get fat in the first place! |
Researchers have discovered by counting the number of carbon-14 atoms (radioactive carbon atoms) among fat cells in a persons body, and then counting them again years later, that the number of atoms remains the same, even if a person has lost weight. What this means is that fat cells are not going away, even in situations where there was weight loss.
Why is that?
It appears that although the body can create fat cells when there is a need to store extra energy, there is actually no mechanism in the body to remove fat cells. When a fat cell gives up its energy, for instance when a person is dieting, the cell itself still remains, deflated, so to speak. Then, at a later time when there is an abundance of energy in the body, the fat cell will fill back up to store that energy again.
It may not be a surprise to anybody that fat cells store extra energy when they
over-eat, but what might come as a surprise to them is that it takes less energy (in other
words, not much over-eating) in order for their body to start putting on weight if they've
already been overweight at some previous point in their life. The reason being is
that:
- when there is an abundance of energy to store in a person who has less fat cells, the
body has to first use some of that energy to create a new fat cell before it can fill that
fat cell, thus less energy (fat) is stored.
- but, when there is an abundance of energy to store in a person who has more fat cells,
the body can simply re-fill the cells that already exist with all of the extra energy,
resulting in more energy (fat) being stored.
So, the bottom line of this story is that one of the secrets to not getting fat and remaining thin, is to never get fat in the first place! By doing so, you are setting yourself up for an uphill battle for, possibly, the remainder of your life.
This message isn't meant to discourage anyone from dieting to remain thin (because some might think that if it's going to be an uphill challenge their whole life, then maybe they'll just not try that hard, or at all), but it's meant to inform them that the caveat of having the mentality that they can always diet later if they put on some weight is that they're setting themselves up for failure if they do so, and that they should start a healthy lifestyle of eating habits even before they become adults.
This message also applies to parents who might think that it's ok if their child puts on a little weight because they could always work it off later. This isn't true. Don't set up your child for a lifetime of weight struggles!
But there is some GOOD news: They also found out that about 10% of fat cells in your body die every year, and (normally) are replaced. However, IF, you were overweight but you stayed on track on a healthy diet for the next ten years, in theory all of your fat cells would eventually disappear. So there is some hope to stopping the downward spiral, even if you screwed up by putting on a mountain of fat cells earlier in your life.
So, chew on that for a while...
Good luck and happy managing!