When Do Unused Calories Become Fat?  Have you ever overeaten one day, whether is was during the entire day or one hefty meal, and the next day you swear you gained weight?  The truth is, you aren't wrong.  It takes only 4-8 hours for unused calories to become fat!  While this might shock you into swearing off food, this isn't news to run away from (no pun intended).  It's news to be taken as a reminder to be mindful of what and how much you eat.  This knowledge can mean conquering the last few pounds, managing weight once your goal is reached, or help gain control over a poor eating habit.  

Not all calories are created equally.  The type depends on where and how it's converted and stored for energy use.   Every time you eat a little too much here and little too much there, your body converts the unused calories into fatty acids to be stored and used later.  You may not gain a pound overnight--we hope--but each bit will add up to a pound in a week or a month, depending on your actions.  For example, you may have added more exercise to lose the last 5 pounds, but sabotaged those burned calories in one meal over the weekend or daily, by eating a bit more of something you didn't before.  Often, we aren't aware of what we did since it could've been more than one moment or something forgotten. 

According to Livestrong.com, the first 1,000 calories are stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles.  This is the energy you burn in HIIT (high-intensity interval training) exercises such as in our Boot Camp, BoxFIT, and PoleFIT classes.  When glycogen is depleted, the body then burns the triglycerides in fat cells for energy.  So the fat loss begins after those workouts.  Stored fat is also necessary for endurance activities like day hikes, marathons, and long distance cycling.  Healthy dietary fats are needed in your diet regardless of your body fat composition, but especially if you endurance train and have a low body fat percentage.  Without the fat for energy  (usable by 6 hours of consuming), your body will take what it needs from the muscles, leaving you emaciated, fatigued, and--ironically--unhealthy.      

The fat you burn leaves your body in the form of metabolic waste: carbon dioxide, sweat, urine, and body heat.  You are not burning off fat cells.  The number you have remains constant even though they have a life cycle.   Let's say your body is 30% fat, you don't necessarily have more cells than someone whose percentage is 20.  Your cells are storing more fat than the other person.  Excess body fat (over 33%) can lead to many diseases (heart disease, diabetes, cancer, etc.) and accelerate the aging process.  A healthy percentage is beneficial, aiding in immune and endocrine function, protecting against infection and injury, and releasing and regulating many hormones and their functions.   Getting or staying in a healthy range doesn't need to be complicated, nor do you need to fear food.  We have "diet" tweaking advice in the article below, "Easy Ways To Cut Calories". 

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