Despite everyone trying to lose it, fat is not all negative. In fact, it is actually a very important part of our body that regulates energy to power through our daily routines as well as to maintain bodily functions. However, when accumulated excessively, fats could increase health risks and the extra weight can limit your daily activities.

To help you understand more, we have listed down some important facts about your body fats.

You breathe out fats when you burn it!

Calories from your food intake act like fuel. Your body burns these calories to provide energy for daily activities as well as the bodily processes such as digestion, hair growth and even breathing! Any excess calorie intake will then be stored as body fats.

You can burn those extra pounds of fats with the right amount of physical activities and a healthy diet. Interestingly, burned fat will then be breathed out – well, not literally. When energy is used and your fats are burned, the chemical conversions they go through (called metabolic processes) will basically create a by-product of carbon dioxide and water that you eventually breathe out, urinate or sweat out.

Oil in your stool could be a sign of medical condition

Have you ever experienced oily stool? Oil in your stool actually indicates that it has high fat content, and this condition is called steatorrhea. But is that a good sign of body fat loss – like how some slimming products always claim to help?

Oil in stool is rather alarming. Though it can be caused by something as minor as high-fat and fibre food intake, it can also be a sign of your body’s inability to absorb nutrients, which can be a symptom to more serious medical conditions such as malabsorption disorder, enzyme deficiency, gastrointestinal disease and more. So next time when you decide to take slimming supplements, think twice of the possible side effects.

 Belly fat is medically more dangerous than other areas

Having excess fat is bad in general but some areas pose higher risk of chronic diseases than the others. As cute as it looks, having belly fat (also called visceral fat) is more dangerous than you thought it would be. It is metabolically active and has been strongly linked to chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart attacks, stroke and many more.

Losing weight does not mean you are losing fats

If you are looking to get fit and stay healthy, measuring using the scale may not be the best idea. Losing weight does not necessarily mean you are losing fats. You could achieve weight loss simply by skipping your meals but that could also make you lose your muscle mass.

Losing muscle mass is unhealthy and could decrease your strength, reduce your immunity and cause many more side effects. The best way to stay healthy, lose fats and maintain your muscles is to pair the right eating habits with exercises.

Fat cells are with you forever

Everyone has fat cells for fat storage that your body develops through childhood and adolescence, which then stabilizes in adulthood. But did you know that your developed fat cells will stay with you permanently regardless of weight loss? Plus, as you grow more fats, the fat cells are also capable to expand to store more, like a balloon. It is like it is there to haunt you forever! But that being said, this also means fat cells could also be shrunken down with healthy eating and physical activities.

Good thing is, though your body cannot chemically process the breaking down of fat cells, technology nowadays are able to overcome this by physically removing them such as through liposuction or the latest non-invasive technology such as Coolsculpting that freezes and permanently removes fat cells.

Losing fats naturally is no rocket science

If you wish to lose fats in a natural way, there is only one key thing to keep in mind – burn more calories than the amount that you are taking in.

This is why exercising is important to keep active use of calories, and when combined with healthy eating habits and avoiding unnecessary calorie intake, you will lose fats eventually.

Even skinny people can develop cellulite

If you are suffering with the appearance of dimples and bumps in certain areas of the body, that could most likely to be cellulite and it is more likely to happen to women than men. Between 80 and 90 percent of women will probably develop cellulite – and anyone can develop cellulite. Though it appears to be more visible when there are more fats underneath, cellulite is not exclusive to overweight people.

Cellulite is actually the result of interaction between the connective tissue in the dermatological layer that lies below the surface of the skin, and the fat layer underneath it. It can also be caused by a combination of different reasons such as poor blood flow, loss of skin elasticity, damaged collagen fibres and many more. With so many modern and non-invasive technologies nowadays, cellulite can be easily treatable!

 

Body fats can be such an ambiguous topic and we have been receiving so many questions regarding it. Watch The Retreat Clinic’s certified Aesthetic Medicine physician, Dr. Ong Jin Khang, answering them in the below videos!