Number of fat cells - affect loss rate?
 

I just posted this in the intro section in response to a person noting that their second time around they are losing more slowly. It seems to be a familiar song.

This is a quote from the Nov 2001 SHAPE magazine. - It's just a filler - there wasn't a whole article

FAT FACT: You develop most of your fat early in life.

The average person is born with 5-6 billion fat cells and research suggests that you acquire most of your fat cells before the age of 20. The average adult has 30-40 billion fat cells, but can add more anytime a significant amount ofweight (at least 20-30 pounds of fat) is gained.

And of course, it is also a fact, that once we have those new fat cells, they never go away - we have them for life. IMO I think this is the reason for slower weight loss in repeat gainers. If repeat gains increases the number of fat cells, it is logical that loss would be slower? Wouldn't it?

If so, that in itself is a real motivator to keep it off.

Hear, hear!

I remember reading once about how women's bodies, especially, change composition over time EVEN IF THEY REMAIN AT THE SAME WEIGHT THEIR ENTIRE ADULT LIFE. I.E. they will convert what used to be lean muscle mass into fat mass and that is what we call middle-age spread so that clothes don't fit the same way they used to even though the scale keeps giving the same number.

The ONLY way to prevent this from happening is exercise--specifically weight training to maintain strength, prevent loss of bone density AND that lean muscle mass which in turn controls how much fat is metabolized in the body.

being a yo-yo dieter ALL my life, this explains my problems with the slooooooow weight loss. Its taken me three months to loose 2 pounds. Geez, this is enougth to make me think before guzzling the carbs down. I don't want any more fat cells!