What causes body fat gain?

stevencloser

Pollywog_la wrote: »

thorsmom01 wrote: »

Pollywog_la wrote: »

If you did a lot pf carbs while doing cardio, I would cut back. They raise insulin more than protein or fat, and one of insulin's main jobs is storing glucose as fat.

I've eaten @ 190 g of carbs per day during my entire weight loss process and have had no problems at all. Unless someone has a medical condition, there's no reason to fear carbs. You've stated previously that you have a medical condition that warrants you to restrict carbs and that's fine. But there's no reason for a healthy person to be afraid of eating carbs.

That is true, but not every person, even those with no signs yet of metabolic syndrome (when insulin resistance is detected via high blood sugar, the damage has already been done) can handle carbs the same way. 190g is not low carb, but that is lower than the SAD. ( Last I read, the govt RECOMMENDS 300g carbs a day).
The question was belly fat, which can be very different and a bigger issue than general weight gain.
I mentioned lowering carbs because many athletes carb load, and this can be an issue if carbs are still high when exercise diminishes.
Here are some pointers to reduce belly fat (with links to studies....but we can find studies to support anything we wnat is we search)
http://authoritynutrition.com/6-proven-ways-to-lose-belly-fat/

There is preciously little you can do to make you lose belly fat. A calorie deficit is the one thing that makes you lose fat. And there's research on some stuff that blocks some receptors which makes fat loss more evenly distributed over the body, but specifically targetting the belly fat OVER anything else, ain't gonna happen.

cwolfman13

understand that a calorie is a unit of energy. our bodies are machines and like any machine it requires a certain amount of energy to function optimally and maintain the status quot. there are numerous variable that go into what that requirement is.

when you consistently consume more energy (calories) than your machine requires to run optimally and maintain the status quot then that surplus of energy is stored in a backup generator...your fat stores for later use. when you consistently consume inadequate amounts of energy required to function optimally and maintain the status quot, that backup generator kicks on and you burn fat to make up for that energy deficiency.

rankinsect

hstylesishot wrote: »

So can one day of excess cause fat gain? or is it just from multiple days?

Technically you gain and lose fat over the course of each day as well.

For a little while after a meal, surplus calories from that meal are stored as fat. In between meals, this fat is consumed for your daily life. So fat is like an energy bank account that you deposit into and withdraw from. In this sense, fat isn't something to fear, but a necessary part of living.

What makes you gain too much fat is a regular pattern of depositing more than you withdraw into this "bank account".

AnvilHead

Pollywog_la wrote: »

Here are some pointers to reduce belly fat (with links to studies....but we can find studies to support anything we wnat is we search)
http://authoritynutrition.com/6-proven-ways-to-lose-belly-fat/

My curiosity got the better of me and I actually clicked the link. Thought I'd stumbled onto the set of a Dr. Oz show. There is precious little there that's worth paying any attention to - it's the typical "sugar is da debil, carbz is da debil" garbage.

Pollywog_la

AnvilHead wrote: »

Pollywog_la wrote: »

Here are some pointers to reduce belly fat (with links to studies....but we can find studies to support anything we wnat is we search)
http://authoritynutrition.com/6-proven-ways-to-lose-belly-fat/

My curiosity got the better of me and I actually clicked the link. Thought I'd stumbled onto the set of a Dr. Oz show. There is precious little there that's worth paying any attention to - it's the typical "sugar is da debil, carbz is da debil" garbage.

Not garbage to me, and definitely not remotely similar to Dr. Oz , Mercola or Natural News.
I guess my weight loss, improved lipids and normal BG are all in my head.

FunkyTobias

Pollywog_la wrote: »

AnvilHead wrote: »

Pollywog_la wrote: »

Here are some pointers to reduce belly fat (with links to studies....but we can find studies to support anything we wnat is we search)
http://authoritynutrition.com/6-proven-ways-to-lose-belly-fat/

My curiosity got the better of me and I actually clicked the link. Thought I'd stumbled onto the set of a Dr. Oz show. There is precious little there that's worth paying any attention to - it's the typical "sugar is da debil, carbz is da debil" garbage.

Not garbage to me, and definitely not remotely similar to Dr. Oz , Mercola or Natural News.
I guess my weight loss, improved lipids and normal BG are all in my head.

Nope. Those were caused by a caloric deficit.

The underlying cause is what's all in your head.

but02

Fat is storage for unused energy, so food with high energy amount cause fat

EvgeniZyntx

but02 wrote: »

Fat is storage for unused energy, so food with high energy amount cause fat

Not quite, it is your total food consumption not just ONE food. Overall diet. Not that time square of chocolate.

yarwell

rankinsect wrote: »

hstylesishot wrote: »

So can one day of excess cause fat gain? or is it just from multiple days?

Technically you gain and lose fat over the course of each day as well.

For a little while after a meal, surplus calories from that meal are stored as fat.

Typically surplus fat is stored as fat and surplus carbs are stored as glycogen. Oxidation of fat is reduced by eating carbs making more of the fat surplus.

MyLifeMyCreation

A calorie is an unit of energy. A calorie is a calorie, just like a dollar bill is a dollar bill. All calories are equal.

Think about it in terms of money. Our body is an INCREDIBLE fiscally-responsible adult. Our body receives a daily income (calories from food) and it pays off its daily expenses (energy demands) using that money. On the days that it receives more money then it needs, it stores that extra money in the bank (fat tissue) as a rainy-day fund. On the days that its daily income is NOT enough to pay off its daily expenses, it takes money out of the bank to make up for the difference. THE DAILY EXPENSES HAVE TO BE PAID, THIS IS NON-NEGOTIABLE.
A person can lose weight by either decreasing their daily income (by eating less calories) or by increasing their daily expenses (by being more active). Either way the body is forced to drain money from the bank in order to make up the difference.

So, just like a dollar bill is a dollar bill, a calorie is a calorie.

BUT it is really important to understand that skinny and healthy are NOT the same thing. Foods have other nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and fiber that our body desperately needs. So while a calorie is a calorie, not all foods are created equal in terms of nutrients. Foods like fruits and vegetables are low in calories but LOADED with nutrients. So incorporate more of these foods into your diet

senecarr

Pollywog_la wrote: »

If you did a lot pf carbs while doing cardio, I would cut back. They raise insulin more than protein or fat, and one of insulin's main jobs is storing glucose as fat.

You can't store glucose as fast. That's like saying your favorite Chevy is a Prius. Insulin does signal taking fatty acids up into the cell membrane, mainly because glucose is necessary for converting fatty acids into triglycerides, but even then, you're no longer storing glucose, you're storing triglycerides - which are a fat, not glucose. Your body usually turns glucose into glycogen for storage, regardless.
Plus, neither of these things can happen overall in a calorie deficit. You can't save money you don't have, and you can't store more fat than you lose when you're in a calorie deficit.

Yi5hedr3

Cut calories ...cut carbs