What Happens To Fat Cells When You Lose Weight?

This scanning electron micrograph image shows part of a lobule of adipose tissue (body fat).

 Adipose tissue is specialised connective tissue that functions as the major storage site for fat. Its main role is to store energy, although it also protects and insulates. Fat cells by David Gregory & Debbie Marshall / Wellcome Images is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 UK: England & Wales License.

So...now that I find myself losing weight, I kept searching the web to find out what happens to the fat we are losing,are they destroyed or emptied?

Sadly, they are emptied.

That's one of the reasons people lose weight only to gain it quickly.... the fat cells are still there, waiting to be filled... unlike a thin person, someone who's been overweight has a LOT more fat cells. Sigh.

From the web.... When you "lose" body fat, the fat cell (also called an adipocyte) does not go anywhere or "move into the muscle cell to be burned. The fat cell itself, (unfortunately) stays right where it was - under the skin in your thighs, stomach, hips, arms, etc., and on top of the muscles - which is why you can't see muscle "definition" when your body fat is high. Fat is stored inside the fat cell in the form of triaglycerol. The fat is not burned right there in the fat cell, it must be liberated from the fat cell through somewhat complex hormonal/enzymatic pathways. When stimulated to do so, the fat cell simply releases its contents (triaglycerol) into the bloodstream as free fatty acids (FFA's), and they are transported through the blood to the tissues where the energy is needed. More ( very interesting reading )