Ok we exercise then how exactly is the fat going away? Is it literally melting during exercise? and then what, we pee/sweat it out? Just curious, thought someone around here might know.
That's a pretty good dagum question! Do they really just shrink? So all these little anorexic chic's walking around have little molecule sized fat cells someplace? LOL!
When you consume fewer calories than your body needs, your body turns to fat for energy. Body fat is broken down through a series of complex metabolic processes. Your body uses the energy produced by these processes. The waste products from these processes are water and carbon dioxide. You excrete water primarily through urine and sweat, and carbon dioxide by exhaling.
By taking in less cals your body will burn [U]stored fat[/U], one of the best things you can do while excersing is to drink heaps of water to help flush the wastes out. If for one minute I thought I would lose weight by just losing water, and keep it off, I would sit in a sauna all day LOL
MaryL
Last edited by MaryL; 10-12-2007 at 05:32 PM.
Reason: adding bits
When you consume fewer calories than your body needs, your body turns to fat for energy. Body fat is broken down through a series of complex metabolic processes. Your body uses the energy produced by these processes. The waste products from these processes are water and carbon dioxide. You excrete water primarily through urine and sweat, and carbon dioxide by exhaling.
Thanks for the answer I've long wondered that myself. I had concluded that the times I have to visit the bathroom more fequently is when I lose most. I have to get up once or twice during the night now whereas when not dieting I sleep through.
The answer makes perfect sense, given that our bodies are designed to store fat in case of a famine. If famine did strike, our fat would keep our body going until we found more food.
Thanks for the link! The other piece to keep in mind is that these "complex metabolic processes" can take time... one reason that eating less than you burn on day 1 doesn't equal immediate weight loss on day 2.
And I'm not sure how much extra water is excreted from fat. Most of the time we're losing slowly, it's excreted from urine, sweat and carbon dioxide... it may not be enough of a difference for us to notice...
While i'm sure that water and co2 are waste products of fat being metabolised, when some thing is used as energy, that is where it goes isn't it? It becomes energy?
I really sound like a knowitall don't I? Im not trying too. I'm just thinking back to all the bio classes i took in college.
there is the whole Krebs cycle that explains the breakdown of sugar into ATP (adenosine tri-phophate) which is used by the body as energy.
I could look it up if anyone is really interested in a whole science lesson. ...In fact, now I am curious, maybe i will look it up.
Kaebea - thats where the extra energy goes. Energy, though, is stored in the bonds between atoms, which have a VERY small amount of weight (almost negligible). So the WEIGHT lost is actually the water and CO2, which are released because the ENERGY, stored in the chemical bonds in your cells, is used up.
Mass is ALWAYS conserved...no weight can be "burned up" and gone forever. It has to be exhaled or excreted.
Last edited by mandalinn82; 10-13-2007 at 04:11 AM.
Where exactly does the fat go?
Great question
@ Finn!!!
