Ah, the visual joy of weight
loss—your face is more defined, your belly no longer protrudes over the waist
of your pants, and parts that used to jiggle are now toned. On the outside, fat
loss seems like a fairly simple process. However, what happens in your body
during weight loss involves an intricate web of metabolic changes that include
structural transformation of fat cells, the breakdown and use of fat for
energy, as well as changes in hormone production.
Performing Isagenix Cleanse Days—a
combination of intermittent fasting with herbs and vitamins that support
detoxification—is an effective approach for weight loss, especially for
targeting fat loss. In fact, the UIC study using Isagenix products found that
those who follow the Isagenix system had more fat loss and twice as much
visceral fat loss than those who followed a “heart healthy” diet.
How does fat loss occur when you
incorporate Cleanse Days into your routine? To understand, we’ll have to start
with the basics, or Fat 101:
Getting to know fat
Adipose tissue—or body fat—is
comprised of millions of fat cells, also called adipocytes, with the average
adult having around 40 billion. The weight of adipose tissue is about 20
percent of body weight, making it one of the biggest organs in the body.
Fat can be defined by where it’s
found in the body: subcutaneous fat is located just below the surface of the
skin while visceral fat is found in the abdominal cavity, surrounding the
internal organs. Furthermore, there are two types of adipose tissue: white and
brown. White adipose tissue is primarily used as an energy reserve and brown
adipose tissue functions to generate heat.
Adipose tissue is a metabolically
active organ rather than just an inert mass as many may have guessed. In fact,
each depot of the organ even receives its own vascular and nerve supply.
Adipose tissue has been identified
as an endocrine organ because of its production of hormones known as
adipokines. These signaling proteins influence several important functions
including glucose and lipid metabolism, blood coagulation, insulin sensitivity,
blood pressure, and steroid hormone modulation (1). Excessive adipose tissue
has been shown to disrupt the normal endocrine functions of fat cells and can
negatively affect health through insulin resistance, abnormal blood lipids, and
even increased cardiovascular disease risk.
Leptin is an adipokine that
regulates hunger and appetite by telling the brain, “I’m full!” Although
intuition may assume that leptin levels would be low in obese individuals due
to chronically excessive food intake, the opposite is true. Leptin has been
shown to be tightly related to fat cell size: the bigger the adipocyte, the
greater the expression of leptin (2).
This would mean that obese persons
are constantly feeling full, right? Wrong. Obesity is associated with
resistance to the effects of leptin on the brain appetite centers, so they
actually end up having an impaired response that doesn’t indicate fullness.
This exemplifies how complex the relationship is between adipose tissue and the
endocrine system.
Fat cells increase in size, then in
number
When energy balance becomes positive
(meaning there are more calories consumed than burned), the adipose organ
increases, particularly in the amount of white adipose tissue. White adipocytes
undergo hypertrophy (increase in volume) followed by hyperplasia (increase in
number).
It’s been proposed that adipocytes
have a maximum volume, referred to as “critical cell size” that may be
genetically determined (3). This means that fat cells can only get so big. Once
they reach their critical cell size, they trigger production of new adipocytes.
In other words, your existing fat cells are filled until they reach their
capacity (much like a balloon) and then signal the body to make more fat cells.
You are more likely to make
additional fat cells at certain times in your life. Research has shown that the
natural production of fat cells steadily increases during childhood and levels
off in early adulthood (4). Although more research is needed, this could
indicate that children who are obese are more likely to be obese as adults and
experience greater difficulties in trying to achieve weight loss.
How the body burns fat
When energy balance is negative in
the body (meaning there are more calories being burned than consumed), the
hormones that access stored fuel are increased, namely glucagon. In short, the
body flips from an energy-storing state to an energy-burning state.
First, the body will burn stored
carbohydrate, also known as glycogen, which is found mostly in the liver and
muscles. Once the glycogen energy reserve has been exhausted, the body breaks
down fat in a process called lipolysis.
What happens to fat cells during
weight loss?
During negative energy balance such
as on Cleanse Days, the body will use the fat for fuel causing the fat cells to
shrink in size. As fat cells decrease in size, so too does the amount of
signaling molecules produced. Over time, this reestablishment of normal
endocrine function can be immensely beneficial for health including decreasing
the molecules that induce inflammation.
Additionally, fat loss accompanied
by adequate intake of optimal nutrition—such as vitamins (B vitamins,
vitamins C and E), minerals (selenium, zinc, copper), and other bioactive
nutrients including coenzyme Q10 and polyphenols—support the detoxification
systems of the body in the removal of toxins. (Read more in The Basics of Detoxification.)
It is interesting to note that fat
cells have the ability to shrink but rarely decrease in number. However, during
fat loss, cells can decrease as much as 400 percent in size! For many, this
morphological transformation supported by dietary interventions such as Cleanse
Days means more than just a slimmer appearance; it can improve health and even
add years of quality life.
References
1. Rossmeislova L,
Malisova L, Kracmerova J, Stich V. Adaptation of human adipose tissue to
hypocaloric diet. Int J Obes (Lond) 2013;37:640-50. doi: 10.1038/ijo.2012.80
2. Skurk T,
Alberti-Huber C, Herder C, Hauner H. Relationship between adipocyte size and
adipokine expression and secretion. J
Clin Endocrinol Metab 2007;92:1023-33.
3. Cinti S. The adipose
organ at a glance. Dis Model Mech 2012;5:588-94.
4. Spalding KL, Arner
E, Westermark PO et al. Dynamics of fat cell turnover in humans. Nature
2008;453:783-7. doi: 10.1038/nature06902
