The process of intentionally trying to lose body fat makes absolutely no sense if we think about it from an evolutionary perspective. Human beings naturally have a mechanism to store energy for later use just in case food runs out. This elegant wonder of human physiology comes in the form of the accumulation of body fat if we happen to consume more calories than we need. This fat then can sit on our bodies until we go through a period where food is scarce (winter, famine). At this point we can tap into this “reserve” energy source to make up the difference between the energy we need and what we have available for consumption – a miraculous piece of biological engineering indeed!

It makes absolutely no sense, therefore, that human beings would ever intentionally try to get rid of this stored body fat. Humans are not from this world, however. We are aliens to it. The human body is meant to be in an environment where food is scarce and to procure it one must expend significant energy. Our ancestors hunted for their food. They foraged and gathered what they needed from the land. The food they consumed was natural. In this world the system of fat storage and then usage played out beautifully across a human’s lifetime. There were times of plenty and there were times of scarcity.

This is no longer the world. Today we live with constant and plentiful consumption. This is due to the industrialization of our world. This has happened at near light speed in proportion to all human history. You see the world has changed but our bodies have not. We still have the same primitive bodies that want to conserve all the excess energy possible just in case it is needed sometime down the line. And wow, are our bodies good at conserving that energy! Over half of the current U.S. population is storing an unhealthy amount of body fat.

That brings me back to the original point that trying to intentionally lose this fat is unnatural. To the human body, losing body fat means that you have run out of food and are starving. It does not know that you may intentionally be trying to keep your calories low. Make no mistake – your body will do all that it can to try to hang on to this body fat. It does not want to give up its last survival defense. This is the main reason losing weight (and more importantly losing fat) can be so difficult. When you intentionally try to lower your calories, carbs, fats, etc. your body revolts. Cravings accelerate. Your body works to conserve fat. In some cases, certain physiological conditions can slow or shut down completely.

Fortunately, we do have a solid understanding of this process and because weight loss is big business we have a number of ways to make this process easier. In our Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky weight loss centers we use dietary changes that best fit the individual as well as powerful natural supplements to speed up fat loss or curb cravings.

Intentional fat loss is certainly unnatural but that does not mean that it is impossible.