Like a lot of people–including most in the health and fitness industry–I used to believe you could replace body with with lean muscle mass.

But the latest research suggests that’s not the case.

According to a 2008 study, you don’t actually lose fat cells while you’re losing weight.

Instead, our fat cells are simply shrinking in size.

Fat cells can die when they get “old,” but they’re replaced at the same rate they die off, so the number of fat cells in your body still doesn’t decrease.

What’s more, some people naturally have more fat cells than others.

This can be partly attributed to genetics, but how we eat and our lifestyle in our childhood and teenage years also plays a role.

Interestingly, though the amount of fat cells in your body, while it doesn’t decrease, it can increase.

Much of the increase occurs through childhood and adolescence, then stabilizes in adulthood.

Even bariatric surgery patients don’t see a decrease in the number of fat cells–again, the cells just shrink in size.

People who are obese do tend to have more fat cells than people who aren’t obese, and multiple studies find an increase in the number of fat cells when someone regains weight following their weight loss.

In other words, each time you lose your weight and gain it back, you may be increasing the number of fat cells present in your body.

This may partially explain why it’s so easy to gain all your weight back.

Look, a certain amount of fat in and on your body is okay. It protects your vital organs, and it helps your body with hormones and nutrient absorption. Half your brain is made of fat! And fat’s also a great source of energy, via ketosis (i.e. a state in which your body burns ketones for fuel instead of glucose).

But too much fat wreaks havoc on your joints, which are carrying more weight than they can handle; plus it stores hormones and toxins from, and as a result of, the food you eat.

For me, this research makes it very clear that if you want to lose your weight and keep it off, it’s crucial to stop yo-yoing and commit to something sustainable, like the Code Red Lifestyle™, to lose your weight once and for all, and learn how to keep it off.

Otherwise, you’re gonna find it harder and harder to get and keep your weight off.

Don’t let that cause you to believe it’s too late for you, because it’s not!

If there’s one thing I’ve learned after 25 years in the weight loss and fitness industry, it’s that it’s NEVER too late!