One of the most frustrating aspects of being what mainstream society calls overweight (I like to call it OVERFAT) is the your body becomes more inclined to convert the carbohydrate calories that you eat, into fat; and then stores that fat in your fat cells. Thus, the fatter we become the easier it is to gain even more weight; and harder to lose it. To understand this, we must first understand the role of the hormone, insulin in the body.

Insulin is a hormone secreted by the pancreas. It helps the body utilize blood glucose (blood sugar). Think of insulin as a key. Every cell has a 'lock' (receptor) on it that opens a door that allows glucose to pass from the bloodstream into the cell. Once the glucose has entered the cell, it is used for energy. Glucose can be stored for future use by the liver or muscles in the form of glycogen.

The muscles and liver are the main storehouses of glycogen. Talk about efficiency of design. The very mechanicals that motivate us are also storage units! The power source is located right where the muscle needs it. Low-latency power on-demand! Which is great, but the most important thing to remember here is that once the muscle storage units and liver are full of glycogen; the remaining glucose in the bloodstream that is not being used by the brain or other vital organs usually gets stored as fat.

As a person gains body fat, the cells of their body become less sensitive to insulin. Insulin resistance occurs when the normal amount of insulin secreted by the pancreas is unable to 'unlock' the doorway of the cells. As a result, the pancreas must secrete higher and higher levels of insulin in order to overcome this widespread insulin resistance as it tries to maintain normal blood glucose levels. High levels of insulin signal the liver to convert carbohydrates into fat, following a meal or snack containing carbohydrates. In turn, these fats are shipped to your fat cells, contributing to weight gain and increased body fat.

What can cause the body to become insulin resistant? Genetics can obviously play a role, but I believe it has a LOT to do with the typical American's poor diet consisting of mainly mid-to-high glycemic carbs, irregularly spaced feedings and lack of regular exercise that are mainly to blame. So it really becomes a Catch-22 situation for a mostly sedentary overweight person. Popular low-fat diets alone don't get results because your body is conditioned to convert carbohydrates into fat, due to high levels of circulating insulin. The other negative effect increased fat storage and no exercise is the increasingly lower BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) that occurs because of this lifestyle. And that's a death sentence for the typically weak and half-stepping fat-loss efforts; A.K.A. "diet" that most sedentary types try.

But the really sad thing is that these folks won't exercise or exercise correctly even it they do. You hear them talking like diet is the only part of the equation, but that type of thinking doesn't apply here. Remember it was not just the diet, but also the lack of exercise that got them into this state.

And it's going to take both diet AND exercise to get them out of it... ==================================================================

Wise Mighty is a freelance writer and journalist.

You can learn more about obesity and fat loss at http://www.martialarts3000.com

==================================================================

About the Author

Wise Mighty is a freelance writer and journalist.