I’m know I’m oversimplifying this, but here’s the basic gist of how you get fat:

You eat carbs. Your body breaks down the carbs for glucose, a source of energy for your body. The glucose is absorbed into your blood stream. Insulin is secreted by your pancreas to “carry” the glucose into your cells as a source of energy for both cell functions and physical activity.  With muscle cells, some of the glucose is stored as glycogen to power muscle contractions. After everything has had their “fill”, excess glucose is stored in your liver as glycogen, but your liver has a limited capacity. If there’s still leftover glucose, your liver instead converts it into fat that gets stored in your body.

Here are some questions I can’t find answers to:

1. How long does it take the body to put glucose into your bloodstream after you’ve eaten?  I know that there are high-glycemic and low-glycemic foods, meaning the high ones are easily broken down and converted to glucose, and the low ones take some time, but there’s nothing specific about the times.
2. How long does it take before the glucose in your blood is considered “extra”? Do you have 1 hour to try and use it up? 3 hours? 24?
3. Insulin is necesssary for your cells to take in the glucose.  When insulin is released (because blood glucose level is up), the insulin helps carry the glucose molecules into your cells, including fat cells.  What percentage goes into fat cells as opposed to other cells?  What order? Does the body try to give the glucose to brain, heart, lung, etc. cells first and then go on to fat cells, or what?

Right now, I’m thinking that in order for your body rid itself of existing fat you must force the body to use the fat for energy, and this will only happen if there’s no glucose for it to use.  What leads to no glucose?

• Not having it in your system in the first place by not eating carbs.
• Burning through it by doing intense exercise.
• Increasing your insulin level to get the glucose

Ugh, I’m so confused. The more I read, the more contradictory things there are out there. I just read an article that unless you’re doing intense exercise, the body’s primary source of fuel is FAT, not glucose. What?

I need a break.

1. Taylor Says:
   October 15th, 2008 at 5:38 pm

   Fat is the body’s primary source of fuel? I always thought it was glucose. Glucose is constantly running through your bloodstream/body to be used as a main energy source, as it is a lot more handy and easy to break down into ATP than breaking down a fat molecule would be.. That is why if you don’t eat for a good day or two you start feeling sluggish. After about 3 days the body uses up it’s handy glucose reserves and must start kestosis, which means that fat will be burned for fuel.
   At least thats how I always thought it was!
   I did a two-week-long fast a few months ago, and boy, that loss of gluose in the first 2 days was horrid lol!

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