Bloated Project Files in FCP

Hi,
I've noticed that project files in FCP tend to become bloated, thus significantly slowing down the editing process, especially when autosave is activated.
EXAMPLE:
1. My project file, project.fcp, has reached 150MB.
2. I copied the old sequences from project.fcp to a new file, backup.fcp, and deleted them in project.fcp.
3. Ironically, the resulting backup.fcp is an even bigger 175MB, while project.fcp remains at the same 150MB.
4. I then copied the entire content of project.fcp to a new file - newproject.fcp.
5. newproject.fcp, which has the EXACT same contents as "project.fcp" is only 42MB.

I have an old project that got very large (300+Mb !) This resulted in frequent crashes and very slow operation.
I trimmed the project down but it was still in excess of 200Mb, but I was able to finish.
I have just been required to edit another couple of sequences from the same material. So I did a "save as" and deleted all but the master clips I needed. The project size was still 239 Mb.
I had removed all of the old sequences and there were very few render files, which I deleted.
I then made a new project and tried to drag the master clip folders across. My MBP crashed each time. (17in with 4Gb memory)
I then in a new project cut and pasted the required clips with success.
The project now contains the same clips as previously, but is now only 2.6 Mb.
Can any one explain that?

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