All About White Fat And Brown Fat For Weight Loss

Bulging waistline, love handles and beer bellies all point towards only 1 thing that is high body fat. Body is a very interesting composition of nature. It is made up of fat and fat-free mass. Read on to know all about White Fat And Brown Fat For Weight Loss.

Ever wondered why is it that some people just never seem to lose weight despite all their efforts in workout and diet? Or what this obesity in genetics is all about? You will find a lot of answers to your stubborn fat in this article about White Fat And Brown Fat For Weight Loss.

What is Body Composition?

It is very important to understand your body’s composition so that we can do it justice by eating the right food.  Our body is mainly composed of 2  components, viz. Body Fat and Fat-free mass.

Body fat:

Fat is found in muscle tissue which is either directly under the skin or around organs. The essential fat not only helps to protect internal organs, stores fuel for energy, but also in regulating important body hormones. While the excess fat is stored as unwanted fat.

Fat-free mass:

Fat-free mass is also known as lean mass. It includes bone, water, muscle, organs, and tissues. These tissues are metabolically active and burn calories for energy.

An ideal body has a lower percentage of body fat and a higher percentage of fat-free mass. After 20 years of age, our body increases fat deposition by 1- 3 % every decade.

But have we ever thought fat that is labeled as unwanted can have various other attributes too? There are various kinds of fat that have different functions in the body. Let us now see in details about White Fat And Brown Fat For Weight Loss.

White Fat And Brown Fat For Weight Loss

What are Different Types of body fat?

• Brown Fat and weight loss :

Studies show lean people have more brown fat. It also says when activated, brown fat tends to burn calories and aid in weight loss. Children naturally have more brown fat than adults which makes them maintain their body composition. Right diet and exercise activate brown fat. During exercise white fat is converted into brown fat which in turn helps in increasing metabolism and thus helps reduce weight.

• White Fat and weight loss :

White fat is the subcutaneous fat and is deposited directly under the skin. It not only stores energy but also produces hormones that are secreted in the blood. White fat produces adiponectin that improves insulin sensitivity in the body. This prevents our body from diabetes and cardiac problems.

But excess white fat leads to obesity and it also hampers adiponectin production. Thus, worsening insulin sensitivity. Excess white fat mostly gets deposited around the thigh, abdomen, and hips.

• Beige fat:

It is found under collar bone and spine in very minute amounts.

Where does excess fat gets deposited?

• Subcutaneous Fat: Subcutaneous fat is found directly under the skin. Excess subcutaneous fat is accumulated around the thighs, buttocks, and abdomen. This is white fat.
• Visceral Fat: Visceral fat surrounds the inner organs. Excess visceral fat is deposited around the abdomen region. Extra visceral fat leads to insulin resistance.

How to measure body fat?

There isn’t any known effective and non-invasive way of measuring your brown fat for weight loss. But you can measure your total body fat by using the below-mentioned techniques.

• Bioelectrical Impedance:

It has a scale where a small electrical current passes through your body. It not only determines body fat (subcutaneous and visceral) but also water and lean tissue percentage. Normal body fat for females is 22 – 30 % and for men is 18 – 25 %. This technique has been widely used by most gym and health centers.

• Skinfold Measurement:

Calipers are used to take measurements at different sites on the body. It is used to measure subcutaneous fat.

• Body Fat Calculators:

BMI is one factor that determines body fat. For Indians 21- 23 kg/m2 is the normal range with ideal body fat composition.

• Waist to hip ratio:

Measure the narrowest section of your waist and then divide it with the hip circumference measurement. Reading of 0.8 is normal for men and 0.9 for women.

How does excess fat affect the body?

• Excess body fat naturally leads to obesity and related issues. Metabolic syndrome and polycystic ovarian syndrome cases are increasing in number recently.

Read – Indian diet plan for PCOS  and PCOD 

• High body visceral fat is related to hypertension, elevated blood lipids (fats and cholesterol) and gall bladder disorders.

Read – Indian diet plan for Hypertension 

– Diet plan to lower cholesterol 

• Excess subcutaneous fat increases the risk of diabetes mellitus, respiratory dysfunction all related to obesity.

Read – Indian diet plan for Diabetes 

– Indian diet plan for weight loss 

• Apple-shaped obesity (fat around waistline) is worse than pear-shaped (fat around thighs and hips). The apple-shape pattern is common in men and pear shape in women.

Watch this video on – How to lose belly fat fast?

Role of Brown fat in Weight Loss:

• Burns Calories :

Studies show 2 ounces of brown fat burn up to 300 to 500 calories a day. It is full of energy producing cells. These cells generate heat and in turn use fats for fuel. This is how brown Fat increases body metabolism and aid in weight loss.

• Increases thermogenesis in winter:

Brown fat basically keeps the body warm. In cold temperatures, brown fat behaves like a muscle and burns calories for fuel. Thus during winters, you will observe you tend to lose more weight with exercises.

• Strength Training :

Losing white fat is more important than losing brown fat. But during a weight loss regime, you tend to lose evenly all over the body. Strength training tends to maintain brown fat efficiency.

• Reduces Leptin resistance:

Excess white fat leads to leptin resistance which in turn leads to increased hunger. Hence, you end up increasing your caloric intake. Exercising helps to convert white fat into brown fat. Thus, this helps in reducing leptin resistance.

How to convert White Fat into Brown Fat for weight loss?

• Take up aerobic exercise. It not only helps to modify visceral white fat but also kicks start the brown fat activity. Walking, running or swimming for at least 30 minutes daily will give the desired result.
• Climb stairs. It will burn the accumulated white fat on your thighs as well as tone your leg muscles.
• Go sugar-free. Avoid refined sugar, sweetened drinks, sweets or bakery products. Excess calories from sugar are converted to white fat and stored in visceral areas. Thus, avoiding excess sugar helps in cutting down fat deposition.
• De-stress your mind and body. Stress promotes the accumulation of fat in the abdominal area. Meditation, yoga, taking up hobbies or breathing exercises help relieve stress.
• Follow Intermittent Fasting Diet pattern to burn more fat through food. Read – Intermittent diet plan for weight loss.
• Drink green tea. It’s a great fat burner. And drinking a cup of hot green tea is a good way to calm down when you need it.
• Restrict alcohol as it increases belly fat which may worsen the effect of white fat.
• Sleep for 7 – 8 hours minimum. Sleep revitalizes the body, increases hormone efficiency and improves metabolism. Thus, you tend to experience a healthy fat loss with adequate sleep.
• Eat clean. Consume high fiber, high protein as well as moderate carbohydrates, and fats.

Endnote:

A person is much more than outer beauty. Concentrate on improving body fat composition rather than just losing weight. Aim to increase muscle mass and reduce body fat. Work to increase good fat and reduce bad fat. Hope our article has helped you in understanding All About White Fat And Brown Fat For Weight Loss.