Fat Cell Reduction

by Laura S. Garrett, R.D.

Are fat cells necessary? Well, they are the storage bins for extra energy (digested food) that the body did not use. It is important to have that stored energy as back up when we go through periods of stress to our bodies such as during long bouts of exercise. But, we do find the appearance of enlarged fat cells undesirable. If your fat cells have gotten larger than you like, here are some suggestions to help reduce their size.

Your muscles always burn a combination of sugar (in the form of glucose) and fat. To get the body to use the stored fat, do some form of aerobic exercise. This includes walking, running, jumping rope, swimming, stepping, etc. The form of energy most used when performing exercise is fat. The great thing is not only does aerobic exercise burn fat during the exercise session, regular aerobic exercise trains your body to rely more on fat even while doing nothing.

The second thing you can do to tame those fat cells? Do not overeat! It is counterproductive - for obvious reasons, but also because overeating actually causes a decrease in the amount of fat that is released during exercise. It has to do with a hormone called adenosine.

Adenosine´s function is to tell the cells to hold onto the stored fat. Another hormone, adrenaline, which is released during exercise tells the cells to release fat. However, eating too much decreases the ability of the cells to ignore adenosine while exercising. Thus, the fat stays in the cells and no reduction occurs.

So, the two best things you can do to help yourself lose fat? Aerobic exercise and not overeating. This is probably not new news to any of you. But, at least now you have been shown another reason why this works!

Author Profile: Laura S. Garrett, RD is a Registered Dietitian Fitness Trainer and Owner of www.NutrActive.com

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