Where does the fat go that you lost?

Tami113
Tami113 Posts: 117 Member
edited November 12 in Motivation and Support
ok this may be disgusting so forgive me in advance. When you lose weight where does it go? Do you poop it out? Do you sweat it out? This may sound dumb but i would imagine that someone losing weight does not poo out 50 lbs 100 lbs of stuff. The theory is that you can neither create nor destroy matter so every week that i have been losing 2 lbs where is it going? I don't "go" any more than usual and yet i have lost 9 lbs. 9lbs isn't a lot compared to some of you but in mass, as a physical, tangible thing, 10 lbs is alot of stuff.
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Replies

  • LesliePierceRN
    LesliePierceRN Posts: 860 Member
    It is being chemically changed into energy. It's burned for fuel. You've seen wood broken down by fire into ashes? Well, the heat generated is the energy. The ashes are the byproduct. The byproducts of fat metabolism are metabolites that are carried away through the kidneys and expelled in urine.
  • blytheandbonnie
    blytheandbonnie Posts: 3,275 Member
    It is being chemically changed into energy. It's burned for fuel. You've seen wood broken down by fire into ashes? Well, the heat generated is the energy. The ashes are the byproduct. The byproducts of fat metabolism are metabolites that are carried away through the kidneys and expelled in urine.
    And then you poo and pee it out. Let me clarify..then you poo and pee what's left out. I think that is where the water comes into play.
  • jineat
    jineat Posts: 25 Member
    I couldn't have explained it better myself. You are so right about the fat is burned down as fuel and processed through your liver and kidneys and then yes, pooped and urinated out.
  • Tami113
    Tami113 Posts: 117 Member
    Interesting. Never thought of using wood burning as a metaphor but it fits. But in both wood burning and fat loss it still boggles me that the mass before and after are so different. The "ashes" being expelled weighs less than the "wood" being burned. So all of it can't be pooped and peed out? As a science major you would think i would understand but it still confuses me.
  • blytheandbonnie
    blytheandbonnie Posts: 3,275 Member
    Interesting. Never thought of using wood burning as a metaphor but it fits. But in both wood burning and fat loss it still boggles me that the mass before and after are so different. The "ashes" being expelled weighs less than the "wood" being burned. So all of it can't be pooped and peed out? As a science major you would think i would understand but it still confuses me.
    Life confuses me, but I still do it. :/
  • TDGee
    TDGee Posts: 2,209 Member
    That information is classified by the federal government. You do not have proper clearance for that information.










    Actually, it's MAGIC! TaDaaa!!!
  • BlytheW, I love that saying! Did you make it up or what?:smile:
  • blytheandbonnie
    blytheandbonnie Posts: 3,275 Member
    BlytheW, I love that saying! Did you make it up or what?:smile:
    Which? What? Thank you.
    Life confuses me, but I still do it. ? Yes. I'm so proud! (process of elimination) That is all mine. Thank you.
  • snookumss
    snookumss Posts: 1,451 Member
    That information is classified by the federal government. You do not have proper clearance for that information.


    Actually, it's MAGIC! TaDaaa!!!

    Awesome!
  • Evelyn_Gorfram
    Evelyn_Gorfram Posts: 706 Member
    In wood burning, the ashes left weigh less than the wood that burned; but if you could capture all the smoke from the fire and weigh all the tiny particulates and steam and other components of the smoke, their mass would add up to the difference between the mass of the wood and the mass of the ashes. Combustion scientists have actually done this experiment, and the mass really does balance out.

    Okay, I know a lot less about the physiology of weight loss than I know about combustion science, and I just told you most of what I know about combustion science. But don't think I'm going to let that stop me. :)

    Let's say you lost a little over 2 pounds this week, and that exactly 2 pounds of the fat you lost was water, was converted to water in the fat-burning process, or became dissolved in water. Forgive me for going all math-geek on you, but:

    Water weighs 8.33 lbs per gallon, so 2 lbs/(8.33 lbs.gal) = 0.24 gal

    There are 128 ounces in a gallon, so (0.24 gal)*(128 oz/gal) = 31 oz
    (Doncha just love the English system? :huh: )

    And seven days in a week 31 oz/week/(7 days/week) = 4.3 oz

    Now, if you're drinking eight 8-oz glasses of water a day, you had better be peeing out at least 64 ozs per day. 4.3 oz/64 oz = 0.067 = approx 7%.

    Are you really going to notice a 7% increase in the volume of your pee? IDK, but I'd guess that normal non-fat-losing pee volume may vary more than that from day to day anyway.
  • munchkinhugs
    munchkinhugs Posts: 278 Member
    That information is classified by the federal government. You do not have proper clearance for that information.


    ^^ this :D
  • Tempe729
    Tempe729 Posts: 270 Member
    As long as I'm losing the fat and weight I'm happy! haha! although it is an interesting question =) never really thought about it either.
  • IrishMinx32
    IrishMinx32 Posts: 77 Member
    OH WOW!!! Thats all I can say after that response. :)
  • BlueInkDot
    BlueInkDot Posts: 702 Member
    aaaaaaaaah That was so interesting! There are geeks here! Awesome! XD

    I guess the lesson here is you can't lose weight unless you drink all sorts of water to facilitate urination so you can actually expel it!

    SCIENTIFIC PROOF YOU GOTTA DRINK UR WATER Y'ALL.. I love it. :D
  • LemonDiva
    LemonDiva Posts: 61
    We also express fat as oils in our skin, hair etc... we lose moisture through expiration and perspiration... small amounts but still important to remember.

    We need fats for brain function (depression has been linked to reduction in fat cells in the brain - sorry don't have a reference for that) and to absorb certain vital vitamins... e.g. vit k is fat soluble and aids clotting mechanism.

    So as well as converting and burning the fat the body uses fat in these ways... and eliminating those byproducts

    I've also been told that fat stores various toxins, heavy metals and hormones etc in minute quantities but it sometimes accounts for mood changes and feeling under the weather sometimes and again why drinking the water, to flush those things out, is so important.
  • JadeRabbit08
    JadeRabbit08 Posts: 551 Member
    ok this may be disgusting so forgive me in advance. When you lose weight where does it go? Do you poop it out? Do you sweat it out? This may sound dumb but i would imagine that someone losing weight does not poo out 50 lbs 100 lbs of stuff. The theory is that you can neither create nor destroy matter so every week that i have been losing 2 lbs where is it going? I don't "go" any more than usual and yet i have lost 9 lbs. 9lbs isn't a lot compared to some of you but in mass, as a physical, tangible thing, 10 lbs is alot of stuff.

    When you lose weight it magically appears on my bum. My bum is like a lost fat magnet.
    Nothing to do with the cupcakes I may eat.
  • blytheandbonnie
    blytheandbonnie Posts: 3,275 Member
    In wood burning, the ashes left weigh less than the wood that burned; but if you could capture all the smoke from the fire and weigh all the tiny particulates and steam and other components of the smoke, their mass would add up to the difference between the mass of the wood and the mass of the ashes. Combustion scientists have actually done this experiment, and the mass really does balance out.

    Okay, I know a lot less about the physiology of weight loss than I know about combustion science, and I just told you most of what I know about combustion science. But don't think I'm going to let that stop me. :)

    Let's say you lost a little over 2 pounds this week, and that exactly 2 pounds of the fat you lost was water, was converted to water in the fat-burning process, or became dissolved in water. Forgive me for going all math-geek on you, but:

    Water weighs 8.33 lbs per gallon, so 2 lbs/(8.33 lbs.gal) = 0.24 gal

    There are 128 ounces in a gallon, so (0.24 gal)*(128 oz/gal) = 31 oz
    (Doncha just love the English system? :huh: )

    And seven days in a week 31 oz/week/(7 days/week) = 4.3 oz

    Now, if you're drinking eight 8-oz glasses of water a day, you had better be peeing out at least 64 ozs per day. 4.3 oz/64 oz = 0.067 = approx 7%.

    Are you really going to notice a 7% increase in the volume of your pee? IDK, but I'd guess that normal non-fat-losing pee volume may vary more than that from day to day anyway.

    You are so cool! I love people who understand what is really going on! Brains are so SEXY! OMG!
  • blytheandbonnie
    blytheandbonnie Posts: 3,275 Member
    In wood burning, the ashes left weigh less than the wood that burned; but if you could capture all the smoke from the fire and weigh all the tiny particulates and steam and other components of the smoke, their mass would add up to the difference between the mass of the wood and the mass of the ashes. Combustion scientists have actually done this experiment, and the mass really does balance out.

    Okay, I know a lot less about the physiology of weight loss than I know about combustion science, and I just told you most of what I know about combustion science. But don't think I'm going to let that stop me. :)

    Let's say you lost a little over 2 pounds this week, and that exactly 2 pounds of the fat you lost was water, was converted to water in the fat-burning process, or became dissolved in water. Forgive me for going all math-geek on you, but:

    Water weighs 8.33 lbs per gallon, so 2 lbs/(8.33 lbs.gal) = 0.24 gal

    There are 128 ounces in a gallon, so (0.24 gal)*(128 oz/gal) = 31 oz
    (Doncha just love the English system? :huh: )

    And seven days in a week 31 oz/week/(7 days/week) = 4.3 oz

    Now, if you're drinking eight 8-oz glasses of water a day, you had better be peeing out at least 64 ozs per day. 4.3 oz/64 oz = 0.067 = approx 7%.

    Are you really going to notice a 7% increase in the volume of your pee? IDK, but I'd guess that normal non-fat-losing pee volume may vary more than that from day to day anyway.

    You are so cool! I love people who understand what is really going on! Brains are so SEXY! OMG!

    So, wait, this is why I'm peeing more than I am drinking?
  • SueD66
    SueD66 Posts: 405 Member
    What a great bunch of smarties we have.. I found this question and answers very interesting
  • mtgordon1908
    mtgordon1908 Posts: 25 Member
    Awesome information everyone! Even had a LOL moment.
  • AirCircleI
    AirCircleI Posts: 334 Member
    This sounds weird, but my boyfriend and I keep having a fight about this, as a result of this youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lL2e0rWvjKI&list=UUHnyfMqiRRG1u-2MsSQLbXA&index=3&feature=plcp

    which seems to suggest that you only lose fat by pooing, peeing, or sweating it out - but what happens to the fat? Does it turn into the same weight of water?

    I am confused!!
  • weightloss12345678
    weightloss12345678 Posts: 377 Member
    interesting question
  • eschwab855
    eschwab855 Posts: 258 Member
    Body fat: What happens to lost fat?
    When you lose weight, where does the lost body fat go?

    Answer
    from Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.

    Body fat breaks down during a series of complex metabolic processes.

    When you burn more calories than you consume, your body uses fat (triglycerides) for energy. This causes your fat cells to shrink. In turn, triglycerides are broken down into two different substances — glycerol and fatty acids — which are absorbed into your liver, kidneys and muscle tissue. From there, the glycerol and fatty acids are further broken down by chemical processes that ultimately produce energy for your body.

    These activities generate heat, which helps maintain your body temperature. The resulting waste products — water and carbon dioxide — are excreted in urine and sweat or exhaled from your lungs....From the Mayo clinic web site and it is loaded with weight loss info...http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/weight-loss/MY00432/TAB=expertanswers....Copy & paste
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
    Mostly it turns into CO2, which you breathe out.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    Mostly it turns into CO2, which you breathe out.

    Yep, it turns into CO2 and water, producing energy at the same time.
  • westdove
    westdove Posts: 174
    Wow, this was def some good reading this morning! Thanks for the question and interesting responses...
  • eschwab855
    eschwab855 Posts: 258 Member
    Wow, this was def some good reading this morning! Thanks for the question and interesting responses...
    did you go to the mayo-clinic site love that site so much great info
  • Tami113
    Tami113 Posts: 117 Member
    That information is classified by the federal government. You do not have proper clearance for that information.





    LOVE IT!




    Actually, it's MAGIC! TaDaaa!!!
  • Tami113
    Tami113 Posts: 117 Member
    In wood burning, the ashes left weigh less than the wood that burned; but if you could capture all the smoke from the fire and weigh all the tiny particulates and steam and other components of the smoke, their mass would add up to the difference between the mass of the wood and the mass of the ashes. Combustion scientists have actually done this experiment, and the mass really does balance out.

    Okay, I know a lot less about the physiology of weight loss than I know about combustion science, and I just told you most of what I know about combustion science. But don't think I'm going to let that stop me. :)

    Let's say you lost a little over 2 pounds this week, and that exactly 2 pounds of the fat you lost was water, was converted to water in the fat-burning process, or became dissolved in water. Forgive me for going all math-geek on you, but:

    Water weighs 8.33 lbs per gallon, so 2 lbs/(8.33 lbs.gal) = 0.24 gal

    There are 128 ounces in a gallon, so (0.24 gal)*(128 oz/gal) = 31 oz
    (Doncha just love the English system? :huh: )

    And seven days in a week 31 oz/week/(7 days/week) = 4.3 oz

    Now, if you're drinking eight 8-oz glasses of water a day, you had better be peeing out at least 64 ozs per day. 4.3 oz/64 oz = 0.067 = approx 7%.

    Are you really going to notice a 7% increase in the volume of your pee? IDK, but I'd guess that normal non-fat-losing pee volume may vary more than that from day to day anyway.


    This is exactly the answer i was looking for!!! Thank you so much. As a science major inlike tangible, visual information and this definitely does it.
  • kbmnurse
    kbmnurse Posts: 2,484 Member
    Hopefully out the window never to return. LOL
This discussion has been closed.