Confused about fat cells! Help!

MadDogTannen22

I am very confused about some recent info from a friend...
She recently lost about 50 pounds doing the adkins diet, and then stopped losing weight, although she still wanted to lose another 20-30 pounds. (Yes, I have suggested MFP to her, but what are you gonna do...). She had liposuction last week on her stomach and she was saying she needed to do it because of fat cells. She says that when you lose weight through counting calories/exercise, fat cells only shrink, but never go away, and make you crave fatty foods. She believes that the fat cells had to be removed through the procedure.
I am so confused by this! I mean, she still has fat cells on other parts of her body..so..?? Is it true they only shrink and never go away? is it true they make you crave fatty foods? This is all news to me! Help!

aochoa123

I have also heard that the fat cells only shrink and never go away. Not sure how true this is would be interesting to see what others post.

Hoppymom

True; fat cells shrink but stay with you. I'm not sure how they make you crave fatty foods ???? Removing the fat cells through liposuction works by removing the fat cells. But if you put weight on again it will go on areas that you haven't had lipo done on. So your shoulders, back , arms etc will get fat if you've had lipo on your tummy and hips.

p1xelate

I am not sure about the fat cells shrinking - although I have heard this and think it is likely. However, I do not believe that our cells make us crave fatty foods. I am pretty sure fatty foods make us crave fatty foods. Our desire for foods that are easy, yummy and absolutely not nutritious has everything to do with our brain wanting it. Willpower for the win!

Jemmuno

Yes your body naturally has a certain number of fat cells on it, and they can shrink and get larger depending on your diet, but that's not why your friend wasn't losing anymore weight she just needed to switch something up in her diet. Now that she has gotten rid of some of those fat cells which for women are mostly in our breast stomach, but and thighs, her body will have to find another place to put fat if she changes her diet back to an healthy eating lifestyle, this means, depending on where she got the lipo, her body would start storing fat in her calves, arms, neck, and back, really funky places to be storing fat. Hope this makes sense and helps answer your question.

Cfkearney

I have also heard that fat cells do not go away they just shrink. Fat cells craving fatty foods is just a load of silliness as far as I'm concerned. They're cells. They serve a function. That function is to store fat for energy for when we need it. Our brains crave fat because we know its tastes good. That's it. Definitely would NOT do lipo to get rid of "fat cells" and definitely would not follow any diet that told me to get rid of vital parts of the food pyramid. Hello? Who ever got fat from eating too many fruits and vegetables? People can talk about sugars all they want but seriously? I ate too many fruits and vegetables as a child that's why I'm fat. I don't think so! LOL I'm glad your friend has had some success, but I do not know that it will stick around. Any time you do a fad diet you eventually return to eating "normal" foods. My advice? Stick to what you are doing. Eat good foods. Burn more than you consume. When you lose weight and keep it off and your friend continues to yo-yo, maybe she'll be more open to MFP.

zenchild

Yes, they shrink and never go away. Make you crave fatty food, not so much.

alucard835

Fat is nothing but stored energy. When your body utilizes fat, it's energy that it's not getting from sugars (glucose). Your body turns to glucose first, fat second, muscle third.

Your friend probably got liposuction for no reason. Getting fat off is just simple calorie counting. 1lb of fat is 3500 calories. Create a deficit of that much per week for your body and you'll lose a pound a week.

"Fat cells" have nothing to do with it. If there is even such a thing...

LabRat529

I am very confused about some recent info from a friend...
She recently lost about 50 pounds doing the adkins diet, and then stopped losing weight, although she still wanted to lose another 20-30 pounds. (Yes, I have suggested MFP to her, but what are you gonna do...). She had liposuction last week on her stomach and she was saying she needed to do it because of fat cells. She says that when you lose weight through counting calories/exercise, fat cells only shrink, but never go away, and make you crave fatty foods. She believes that the fat cells had to be removed through the procedure.
I am so confused by this! I mean, she still has fat cells on other parts of her body..so..?? Is it true they only shrink and never go away? is it true they make you crave fatty foods? This is all news to me! Help!

Bleh... this is why pseudoscience is... well pseudoscience.

Your friend is partly right.. fat cells don't go away. They do shrink. And in an OBESE person, fat cells can become necrotic and can release cytokines and other signaling molecules that can induce inflammation and decrease insulin sensitivity, which leads to long-term chronic problems like diabetes II. It's debatable whether fat cells are releasing signaling molecules that make you crave fatty foods. They do release signals, which communicate with your liver and help regulate glycogen/lipid storage... but usually, if I'm remembering everything right, the signals do the opposite of what your friend is saying they do. The signals basically say to your liver, "I've got an energy surplus here, so go ahead and burn the glycogen you've got stored. I can replenish it". I suppose long-term obesity can mess with that signal... but I doubt liposuction is the way to fix that.

Regardless, she's on the Adkin's diet, isn't she? Which means, according to that diet plan, she can eat all the FATTY foods she wants... it's carbs she's got to count.

MadDogTannen22

What fantastic answers! Thank you all! I am so grateful for such a knowledgeable and caring community as MFP! I love my friend dearly, but when we compare weight loss advice, I feel like I am taking crazy pills sometimes, and turn to the community to remind me of what is real science!