The fat paradox of the human body: Why does dieting make you fatter?
Reasons why the human body values fat
During human evolution, body fat no longer simply serves to maintain body temperature and store energy; it has a wider range of functions.
Its most important function is the synthesis of hormones.
Hormones are mainly composed of lipids and act as "messengers" that transmit signals throughout the body.
Because hormones can pass through all cells, they can easily act on the whole body even in small amounts.
In addition, human lipid specificity tests show that when the specificity is below a certain level, certain physiological functions will stop operating, thereby reducing the body's ability to consume energy.
Therefore, body fat percentage is a standard for measuring whether the body is in a state of starvation.
When the body fat level falls below a certain level, physiological disorders will occur, and if one remains in a "low-fat" state for a long period of time, it may lead to infertility.
Therefore, humans have long valued fat.
By studying the order in which energy is consumed in the human body, it can be found that glucose is consumed first, followed by protein, and finally fat.
Of course, the protein that can be used as energy mentioned here refers to the portion that is not utilized by the human body.
Conversely, if one recovers from a state of fasting or malnutrition to a normal state, the various nutrients that enter the body through food will first be converted into fat and stored.
In order to maintain the stability of the internal environment, fat is often stored in the places where fat is consumed first.
Fat is like the most important component of the human body, and the body is constantly working to store fat.
Since the dawn of humanity, for a long period of time, we have struggled with hunger, and it was common to experience periods of hunger followed by periods of plenty.
People in the past didn't have the concept of "a meal," which explains why the first thing our parents' generation said when they woke up in the morning was "Have you eaten yet?"
This is why the human genetic code needs a reservoir that can be stored as much as possible when there is food, and can be used when there is none.
Fat is this storage depot.
Because human fat reserves are often insufficient, the body has gradually evolved to tend to accumulate and store as much fat as possible in one area; for this reason, the body is very stingy when it comes to excreting and consuming fat.
The high-calorie fat stored under the skin can meet the body's needs and play a role when appropriate, which has led the human body to gradually evolve into a constitution that actively stores this type of fat.
Therefore, the human body has gradually evolved to be more inclined to absorb fat rather than excrete it, and can convert glucose into fat and store it. In addition, when blood sugar is high, the human body will quickly convert blood sugar into fat and store it. This evolution can not only regulate blood sugar but also store fat, which can be said to be a win-win situation.
However, because human genes do not have enough time to adapt to obesity, when body fat is stored to a certain extent, there will be nutritional excess, leading to sudden weight gain.
Obesity is the root cause of all adult diseases, and the syndrome caused by obesity is called metabolic syndrome.
Hunger can lead to weight loss failure.
The human body has an almost obsessive capacity for storing fat, so dieting does not provide any real help in weight loss.
Repeatedly using starvation therapy to lose weight not only fails to reduce fat, but also causes a significant increase in body fat due to rebound.
When the body is on a diet, glucose is broken down first, followed by protein, and fat is broken down last. This means that the more glucose and protein remaining in the body, the less fat will be broken down. Therefore, to break down fat, the degree of hunger must be increased.
Stopping dieting while your body is breaking down protein means the fat you've burned will be immediately replenished, and even worse, you'll store more fat after you start eating again.
Regenerating lost muscle not only takes more time but also slows down bodily responses.
Furthermore, if you want to build up the same amount of muscle as before, it will not only take more time, but it will also cause your body to react more slowly in the process.
Repeating this process three or four times can lead to a decrease in muscle mass and an increase in fat. Even if there is no change in weight, it is easy to become "thin on the outside but fat on the inside".
Regardless of whether the recently popular intermittent diet is effective, from the perspective of weight loss and long-term health, people who adhere to intermittent dieting for a long time are very likely to develop a body type that is thin on the outside but fat on the inside.
Dieting may actually lead to an increase in body fat.
After dieting, the body feels threatened (the supply of nutrients is suddenly and completely cut off), and in order to combat the possibility of future hunger, it has to be more eager to accumulate fat.
Some people, even after experiencing the above-mentioned situations, remain stubborn and treat their bodies even worse, which only leads to their bodies becoming more obsessed with accumulating fat than before.
Intermittent fasting may be popular for a few years and then disappear, but the health status of people who have undergone intermittent fasting ten or twenty years later is unknown.
I believe that people who diet to lose weight, which ultimately leads to a greater craving for food or even binge eating, as well as those who have tried to lose weight multiple times, are well aware of the consequences of dieting and whether their weight has stopped increasing or rebounded after dieting.
Please remember that a day or two of dieting may not be enough to allow your disordered body to rest.
If you simply diet constantly in order to lose weight, your body will become more exhausted, and you may even develop a body type that is prone to accumulating fat.