Running on Fat - Using Fat Cells for Fuel - A Beginners Guide to the "Fat Army"

At some point in time we've all pondered, how can I lose some weight? And if you drop that catch phrase of "weight loss" into a search bar you'll find 10,000+ options. This is not an article to confirm or refute any plan, rather it is a simple physiological understanding of how the body can and does use fat as a fuel source. In its most simple form of sugar, glucose is the body's go to fuel source. Glucose is the metabolic result of numerous metabolic processes in the human body. You eat it or drink it and the body is going to have to break it into glucose to use it for energy.

That brings us to the three macronutrients that the body needs: Carbohydrates, Fat, and Protein. The body needs all three to function and dangerous results can arise from too little or too much of any combination of the three. The scope of this article is the macronutrient of fat and it's elementary understanding.

The body stores excessive calories in adipose (fat) tissue, bloodstream, and muscle tissue throughout the human body. Think of fat storage in adipose tissue as being a reserve Army in civilian clothing. The fat storage in the bloodstream is an Army that is dressed, in formation, and awaiting deployment. Finally, the fat storage in the muscle is an Army that is dressed, standing behind the front lines without ammunition, and awaiting orders. So who is the front line Army? Those would be the glycogen stores in human tissue. Glycogen is how the majority of carbohydrates are stored and is one "order" away from executing an attack. Glycogen is capable of being broken into glucose in simple, quick fashion and as such it is the body's immediate fuel source and path of least resistance when we need to execute an "order" and exert force.

Our bodies are truly masters of energy efficiency by executing under the path of least resistance.

Because of this fact we will routinely use glycogen for the majority of our daily tasks. When you introduce physical demands above normal daily function you need to call on the reserves.

Calling all fat molecules - our reserve Army!