One pound of body fat is equal to 3,500 calories. By cutting back 500 calories a day through dietary and exercise modifications, you can lose about a pound a week. If you only need to maintain your current weight, shaving 100 calories a day is enough to avoid the extra 1-2 pounds of fat most adults gain each year. A fat cell is called an adipocyte.

Diet Rx for better fat control management
This natural appetite suppressant works without stimulants. Diet Rx has no added caffeine, ephedra, ephedrine alkaloids, synephrine, hormones such as 7-Keto-DHEA, guarana, ginseng, or stimulating amino acids. It does have hoodia extract and green tea extract.

Benefits of Diet Rx
All natural appetite suppressant, decreases appetite so you eat less
Helps you maintain healthy blood sugar levels
Helps you maintain healthy cholesterol and lipid levels
Provides a variety of antioxidant from two dozen herbs and nutrients
Provides healthy fiber
Improves energy
Balances mood
Improves mental concentration and focus
Improves will power and choice of food selection

Diet Rx is available for sale. You can also find out the ingredients in this product, and see a list of hundreds of high quality natural supplements

Does eating fat make you fat?
There is a debate in the medical community regarding the role of eating foods high in fat and weight gain or loss. The popular Atkins diet promotes high fat intake and some people do lose weight, at least initially. There are different viewpoints on this topic.

The presence of fat in the small intestine slows the passage of food through the stomach, stimulates the release of many gastrointestinal hormones, and suppresses appetite and energy intake as a result of the digestion of fats into free fatty acids. Given these effects of fat, it is paradoxical that high dietary fat intakes have been linked to increased energy intake and body weight and are considered to play a significant role in the cause of obesity. However, one possibility is that chronic increase in dietary fat intake is associated with an attenuation of the feedback signals arising from the small intestine induced by fat, with a consequent relative acceleration of gastric emptying.

Current scientific evidence indicates that dietary fat plays a role in weight loss and maintenance. Meta-analyses of intervention trials find that fat-reduced diets cause a 3-4-kg larger weight loss than normal-fat diets. A 10% reduction in dietary fat can cause a 4-5-kg weight loss in individuals with initial body mass index of 30 kg m (-2). Short-term trials show that nonfat dietary components are equally important. Sugar-sweetened beverages promote weight gain, and replacement of energy from fat by sugar-sweetened beverages is counterproductive in diets aimed at weight loss. Protein has been shown to be more satiating than carbohydrate, and fat-reduced diets with a high protein content (20-25% of energy) may increase weight loss significantly. There is little evidence that low-glycemic index foods facilitate weight control. Evidence linking certain fatty acids to body fatness is weak. Monounsaturated fatty acids may even be more fattening than polyunsaturated and saturated fats. No ad libitum dietary intervention study has shown that a normal-fat, high-monounsaturated fatty acid diet is comparable to a low-fat diet in preventing weight gain. Current evidence indicates that the best diet for prevention of weight gain, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease is low in fat and sugar-rich beverages and high in carbohydrates, fiber, grains, and protein.

Where's the fat?
Being fat increases the risk of heart disease and where the fat is stored is important. Abdominal fat is a strong independent risk factor for heart disease and the so-called waist-hip ratio is a better predictor of heart disease than waist circumference or body mass index (BMI). A big waist with comparably big hips does not appear to raise heart disease risk as a big waist with small hips."

Fat Cells and Hormones
Until recently, the adipocyte has been considered only a passive tissue for the storage of excess energy in the form of fat. However, there is now compelling evidence that adipose tissue acts as an endocrine and secretory organ. It has been shown that several hormones, growth factors and cytokines are actually expressed in white adipose tissue. In a dynamic view of the adipocyte a wide range of signals emanates from white adipose tissue such as tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and their respective soluble receptors. White adipose tissue also secretes important regulators of lipoprotein metabolism like lipoprotein lipase (LPL), apolipoprotein E (apoE) and cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP). The increasing number of products secreted by adipocytes also includes leptin, estrogen, resistin, angiotensinogen, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), tissue factor and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) and adiponectin. Nitric oxide synthase (NOS) has been also reported to be expressed in white adipose tissue. Acylation stimulating protein (ASP), adipophilin, adipoQ, adipsin, monobutyrin, agouti protein and factors related to pro-inflammatory and immune processes have also been shown to be released by white adipocytes. Since blood vessels express receptors for most of the adipocyte-derived factors, adipose tissue seems to play a key role in cardiovascular physiology through the existence of a network of local and systemic signals.

Does fat intake influence breast cancer?
Total dietary fat intake may not influence breast cancer risk, but the type of fat consumed may. A Swedish study involved 44,569 women of normal weight at enrollment, at which time their fat intake was assessed. During an average follow up of 13 years, 974 women developed breast cancer. Women reporting the highest monounsaturated fat MUFA and polyunsaturated fat intake had a markedly reduced risk of breast cancer after age 50 years compared to women with the lowest MUFA and PUFA intake. British Journal of Cancer, November 27, 2007.

Depression risk
Dr. Lynda H. Powell of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago has found that depressive symptoms are related to deposits of visceral fat, which is the type of fat involved in cardiovascular disease. In the study of 409 middle-aged women, Dr. Lynda Powell found a strong association between depression and belly fat, as seen on a CT scan, especially among overweight and obese women. Women with high scores on a commonly used depression scale had 24 percent more visceral fat than women with lower scores on the depression scale. The results were the same in African American and White women. No association was noted wtih depressive symptoms and the more visible subcutaneous fat. Depression may trigger the accumulation of belly fat by boosting production of the stress hormone cortisol and certain inflammatory compounds in the body. Psychosomatic Medicine, May 2009.
   Is it possible that belly fat could release hormones that could lower mood?

Fit and fat - is it possible to be both healthy and fat?
 It may be possible to be both fat and healthy. At least half of overweight adults, and close to a third of obese men and women, have normal blood pressure, cholesterol and other measures of heart health. Being lean does not necessarily protect people. Close to a quarter of normal-weight U.S. adults in one study had risk factors for heart disease or diabetes.

Fat Intake and Obesity
In animals, increasing dietary fat increases body fat, and it is unlikely that humans escape this important biological rule. In epidemiological studies, increasing dietary fat is associated with increased prevalence of obesity probably by increasing the intake of energy dense foods. In the National Weight Loss Registry, three things were associated with weight loss: continued monitoring of food intake, lowering dietary fat intake, and increased exercise. The relation of dietary fat is most evident when physical activity is low. The speed of adaptation to dietary fat is increased by exercise. When dietary fat is reduced, weight is lost, but weight loss eventually plateaus. The rate of weight loss during the initial phase is about 1.6 g/day for each 1% decrease in fat intake. When dietary fat is replaced with olestra to reduce fat intake from 33% to 25% in obese men, weight loss continues for about 9 months reaching a maximum of nearly 6% of body weight and a loss of 18% of initial body fat. In the control group with a 25% reduced-fat diet, weight loss stopped after 3 months and was regained over the next 6 months, indicating the difficulty of adhering to a conventional low-fat diet. Thus, dietary fat is an important contributor to obesity in some people.

Supplements that Can Help Lose Fat or Control Appetite:
5-HTP converts into the neurotransmitter serotonin, which is involved in appetite control.
Acetylcarnitine is a mind booster but can, in some people, help control appetite.

Natural Fat Blockers
There are a few natural supplements promoted as fat blockers. I have not seen good research yet regarding their effectiveness:
Chitosan fat blocker. Chitosan supplements are sold without a prescription.
Kinospherine fat blocker

Fat Blocking Drugs
Xenical, also known as orlistat, helps prevent fat from being absorbed by the body, but can cause excess gas and oily discharge. In 1999, the FDA approved orlistat for sale as a prescription drug. Now, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare seeks to sell an over-the-counter version of the pill. That proposed version, called Alli (pronounced ``ally''), would contain half the dose of the prescription capsule. When taken with meals, the drug blocks the absorption of about one-quarter of any fat consumed. That fat is passed out of the body in stools, which can be loose or oily as a result. Other side effects include gas, fecal incontinence and oily spotting. About half of patients in trials experienced such side effectsd. In six-month clinical trials, obese people who took orlistat lost on average 5.3 pounds to 6.2 pounds more than did those who were given dummy pills, according to FDA documents. The primary concern of FDA reviewers was the drug's potential to create vitamin deficiencies, since its use also blocks absorption of fat-soluble vitamins like D, E, K and beta-carotene. The company has recommended patients take multivitamins when using the drug. However, many people who take orlistat may not remember to take a vitamin supplement.

Low fat diet
For a list of healthy foods with a low fat content and low trans fats, see diet.

High fat meal and inflammation
Bacterial endotoxin is a potently inflammatory antigen that is abundant in the human gut. Endotoxin circulates at low concentrations in the blood of all healthy individuals. A high-fat and sugar meal increases plasma endotoxin concentrations which could increase the risk of atherosclerosis.

Exercise for Fat Loss
A daily walk for 30 minutes can do wonders for a fat belly and body fat reduction. It is difficult to lose fat without engaging in daily physical activity. Exercise may be especially helpful in reducing the size of fat cells around the waistline -- more so than diet alone. That's important, because fat specifically in the abdomen has been linked to the risk of heart disease and diabetes.

Fat Supplement and Athletic Performance
Pre-exercise fat ingestion (i.e., long chain triacylglycerol ingestion 1 to 4 h before exercise), medium-chain triacylglycerols, fish oil, and conjugated linoleic acid have been suggested to alter metabolism to achieve weight loss, alter lipid profiles, or improve performance. However, studies have demonstrated that ingestion of meals with long-chain triacylglycerols before exercise has little or no effect on metabolism and does not alter subsequent exercise performance. Also, medium-chain triacylglycerol supplementation before or during exercise has not been shown to be ergogenic, although this could be related to the small amounts of medium-chain triacylglycerol that can be ingested before gastrointestinal discomfort occurs. Fish oil may improve red blood cell deformability, but these effects are likely to be small and do not seem to influence maximum oxygen delivery or exercise performance. Conjugated linoleic acid - CLA - has been implicated in weight loss, but based on the results of human studies it must be concluded that the effects of conjugated linoleic acid on body weight loss are far less clear than those observed in animal studies. Most studies have not found any evidence for a beneficial effect of conjugated linoleic acid.

Saturated Fat and HDL Cholesterol
Eating one meal high in saturated fat can impair the ability of high-density lipoproteins (HDLs), the "good" cholesterol, to ward off inflammation of the blood vessels, which is thought to be a key event in vascular disease. A meal high in saturated fat can also impair the ability of blood vessels to react normally to stress. By contrast, consumption of a meal high in polyunsaturated fat "does not perturb these measures of vascular health

Body fat percentage
The amount of body fat you carry, your body fat percentage, makes a difference to your body shape and your health. Compared with people of European ancestry, those of Chinese and South Asian ancestry tend to have relatively more inner abdominal fat, which puts them at a higher risk of developing weight-related illnesses like heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.

Trans Fats
Trans fats, unsaturated fatty acids with at least one double bond in the trans configuration, are formed during the partial hydrogenation of vegetable oils, a process that converts vegetable oils into semisolid fats for use in margarines, commercial cooking, and manufacturing processes. From the perspective of the food industry, partially hydrogenated vegetable oils are attractive because of their long shelf life, their stability during deep-frying, and their semisolidity, which can be customized to enhance the palatability of baked goods and sweets.

Fat in Fast Foods
The chicken nuggets and French fries sold at a McDonald's in USA are unhealthier than those sold in Europe.
In the large nuggets and fries meal, the amount of trans fat varied from less than 1 gram in Denmark to more than 10 grams in New York City. Denmark's levels were low because the country has passed a law that limits the trans fat content of any food product to no more than 2 percent. In 2006, The U.S. Food and Drug Administration  began requiring food makers to list trans fat levels on their labels. In February, 2006 McDonald's announced that it had understated the amount of fat and calories in its french fries. It had originally said its large serving of fries had 6 grams of trans fat. The company said the correct number was now 8.

Fat Children
Parents who are strict disciplinarians are far more likely to wind up with children who are fat by age six, perhaps because the youngsters over-eat as a reaction to stress.  Overweight children are more likely than their normal-weight peers to suffer fractures, muscle and bone pain and other orthopedic complications.

Abdominal Fat
Adults who carry much of their fat around the middle may be at increased risk of colon cancer. Researchers found that among nearly 370,000 adults from nine European countries, men and women with large waistlines were more likely to develop colon cancer than those who were trimmer around the middle. Waist size and waist-to-hip ratio, which are both indicators of abdominal obesity, appeared more important in colon cancer risk than does overall weight. In fact, the study found that body mass index (BMI) -- a measure of weight in relation to height -- was unrelated to colon cancer risk among the women. The findings, reported in July issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, suggest that abdominal fat holds a particular influence over colon cancer risk.

Fat Gene
A gene called PRDM16 is present in brown fat but not in white fat -- the type of fat found all over the bodies of most adult humans. Brown fat is found in mice and in human infants, where it keeps them warm by dissipating food energy as heat, rather than storing it as white fat. In humans brown fat disappears by adulthood.

Questions about Fat
Q. How is fat burned?
   A. To get your body to burn fat, there is no other way than to perform some sort of physical activity. In the long run, it really does not matter too much whether your physical activity is low intensity with long duration or high intensity with short duration. In fact, it probably is better to mix the two forms.

Q. Can you tell me about foods that burn fat?
   A. All foods have a certain amount of calories. And calories, no matter what the source, can convert in the body eventually to fat. Hence, the question does not really make sense.

Q. I have a fat stomach. How do I get rid of my fat stomach?
   A. To make improvements in a fat stomach, take daily walks at least an hour, do situps, and eat fewer calories.

Q. Can you tell me about the fat flush program?
   A. I am not familiar with the fat flush program. To lose fat, just exercise more and eat less foods that are dense with calories.

Q. Is Orlistat effective for losing fat?
   A. I have not studied orlistat in much detail to know for sure the benefits versus the risks.