how long does it take fat to be removed from your body?

ElkeKNJ

Here's an explantion from "How Stuff Works":

Hormones regulating our blood sugar levels activate an enzyme in the blood vessels of fat tissue called lipase. Lipase ignites fat cells to release macromolecules called triglycerides, which are what make fat cells fat. Triglycerides are made of glycerol and three fatty acid chains. When they receive the signal from lipase to exit the fat cells, the triglycerides break up into their respective components and enter the bloodstream for use. The liver snatches up the glycerol to break it down for energy, and some of the fatty acids move to the muscles that can farm them for energy as well.

This action of breaking down triglycerides into usable energy is called lipolysis. Once inside the mitochrondia, or power source, or muscle or liver cells, the components of the glycerol and fatty acids are shuffled and reshuffled to harness their energy potential, producing heat, water, carbon dioxide and adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP hauls potential energy in its molecular bonds for use when we exercise like cellular carb loading. The water exits our bodies as sweat and urine, and we exhale the carbon dioxide.

Waw, I still don't understand everything of this, but maybe I should take better care of my body and stick to the healthy eating this time around. It does sound like a very intricate and therefore sensitive machine, and I better not feed it too much garbage anymore.

AvonBell

Fats are hydrocarbons, molecules of hydrogen and carbon atoms. When your body needs to dip in to its energy reserve your muscles and liver metabolize the fat and break its molecular bonds which releases energy. This is the energy your body uses.

What you're left with is loose hydrogen and carbon atoms. The hydrogen atoms combine with the oxygen in your body to create water. The water is used by your body and excreted in the usual ways (i.e. sweat or urine). The carbon atoms also combine with oxygen to create carbon dioxide. You exhale carbon dioxide. Of course, all of this oxygen comes from the air you breath.

That's what happens to fat.


How long does it take? Well, it's a constant process. You are always shedding water and exhaling. Not all the water and carbon dioxide in your body come from the metabolization of fat. But if you are at a calorie deficit and your body needs energy some of it will come from fat.

dpwellman

how long does it take for that .25 pound worth of calories to be removed?
when you exercise does the fat just disappear from your body? or is it broken down into metabolic waste but you'll still weight the

Fat doesn't disappear, it just gets smaller.

AvonBell

It's the molecules inside the fat cells that are lost causing the cells to shrink.