How and when does fat leave the body

I read somewhere that if you burn 3500 calories you burn 1 lb of fat. Does it come off through sweat? When you go to use the facilities? As you exercise? Magically in your sleep? If you woke up, ate breakfast, went to go do some mega work out for a couple hours and managed to burn 3500 calories plus those of your lunch (I know it'a not that simple to burn 3500 calories, but bear with me) came home, ate dinner and went to sleep when would that pound go away?

i wondered this after watching the Doctor Who episode with the Adipose pills which caused your fat to literally walk away (teehee)
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Replies

  • sunlover89
    sunlover89 Posts: 436 Member
    Breath, sweat, pee, poop, and it's metabolised by the body as energy.
  • glovepuppet
    glovepuppet Posts: 1,710 Member
    water (sweat, pee, etc) & CO2 when you exhale.

    respiration_equation-600x124.jpg
    Insulin is a protein itself. When your body needs to raid your fat cells for glucose stores, insulin regulates how much fat is converted to fatty acids and then transports these fatty acids around your body to your cells. Once it reaches your cells, the insulin releases the fatty acids, which are then converted into glucose in another biochemical reaction that also releases energy.
  • quirkytizzy
    quirkytizzy Posts: 4,052 Member
    I think your body kind of cannibalizes the fat.

    I could be wrong, though.

    (I loved that episode.)
  • glovepuppet
    glovepuppet Posts: 1,710 Member
    what do you get if you cross dr who with an adipose?

    time lard.
  • water (sweat, pee, etc) & CO2 when you exhale.

    respiration_equation-600x124.jpg
    Insulin is a protein itself. When your body needs to raid your fat cells for glucose stores, insulin regulates how much fat is converted to fatty acids and then transports these fatty acids around your body to your cells. Once it reaches your cells, the insulin releases the fatty acids, which are then converted into glucose in another biochemical reaction that also releases energy.

    So can you breath in calories too?
  • quirkytizzy
    quirkytizzy Posts: 4,052 Member
    what do you get if you cross dr who with an adipose?

    time lard.

    :love:
  • glovepuppet
    glovepuppet Posts: 1,710 Member
    ha! no. no breathing calories in for us, but trees do. plants absorb CO2, bind it with water using sunlight, & create sugars, spewing out the oxygen as a waste product. it's a chemical way of storing solar energy. we just reverse the process.
  • Ke11o
    Ke11o Posts: 26 Member
    Even though you my convert the fat to energy at the point of use (your work out) you will not see the change until you rest or sleep, so burning 3500 cal. and then stepping on the scale my be a little disappointing.

    PS. I love Dr. Who and that episode!!!! although the weeping angels and the gas mask kid still freak me the crap out!!!!
  • lobo_a_gogo
    lobo_a_gogo Posts: 265 Member
    I just want to say I am happy this is Doctor Who related. And adiposes are adorable.
  • Kristinemomof3
    Kristinemomof3 Posts: 636 Member
    Fat only shrinks, it doesn't "leave" your body.
  • glovepuppet
    glovepuppet Posts: 1,710 Member
    Fat only shrinks, it doesn't "leave" your body.
    oh dear *sigh*
  • CristinaL1983
    CristinaL1983 Posts: 1,119 Member
    Basically, (and this is a very stripped down version because there are entire books written on the biological processes) when your body is in a calorie deficit, it removes the stored energy from the fat cells. It provides this energy to the rest of your system in various ways. Waste is discarded through your GI tract as with all other waste. The cells themselves don't go away, they just deflate. Everyone has a set number of fat cells in their bodies.

    http://sciencemags.blogspot.com/2010/01/life-and-death-of-fat-cell.html
  • glovepuppet
    glovepuppet Posts: 1,710 Member
    The cells themselves don't go away, they just deflate. Everyone has a set number of fat cells in their bodies.
    yup, it's like emptying grocery bags. the groceries are gone but the bags are still there.
    the fat leaves the body but the cells it was stored in remains.
  • nwg74
    nwg74 Posts: 360 Member
    The fat cells shrink. I still have the same number of cells as when I was 200 pounds heavier but they are much smaller. The only way to remove them is by surgery.
  • MsPudding
    MsPudding Posts: 562 Member
    I don't care what science says. My fat is carried away in teenie little buckets by little elves whilst I'm asleep.
  • brit49
    brit49 Posts: 461 Member
    Like!!!
  • sunlover89
    sunlover89 Posts: 436 Member
    The cells themselves don't go away, they just deflate. Everyone has a set number of fat cells in their bodies.
    yup, it's like emptying grocery bags. the groceries are gone but the bags are still there.
    the fat leaves the body but the cells it was stored in remains.

    But surely we create new fat cells? Otherwise how do people who have had loads of lipo get fat again?
  • glovepuppet
    glovepuppet Posts: 1,710 Member
    The cells themselves don't go away, they just deflate. Everyone has a set number of fat cells in their bodies.
    yup, it's like emptying grocery bags. the groceries are gone but the bags are still there.
    the fat leaves the body but the cells it was stored in remains.

    But surely we create new fat cells? Otherwise how do people who have had loads of lipo get fat again?
    yup, we can grow new fat cells.
  • Kristinemomof3
    Kristinemomof3 Posts: 636 Member
    Fat only shrinks, it doesn't "leave" your body.
    oh dear *sigh*

    I meant the cells shrink, good grief, I had just woken up.
  • SueGremlin
    SueGremlin Posts: 1,066 Member
    Heat. "Calorie" is a measure of temperature.
  • SueGremlin
    SueGremlin Posts: 1,066 Member
    I don't care what science says. My fat is carried away in teenie little buckets by little elves whilst I'm asleep.
    Or this.
  • chadewey2000
    chadewey2000 Posts: 57 Member
    I think my fat cells are going to have stretch marks when they all shrink! haha
  • And I thought calories were the little b...ds that live in your wardrobe and stitch your clothes smaller and tighter in the night!
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    Heat. "Calorie" is a measure of temperature.

    I was hoping someone was going to mention heat. :)
  • craftylatvian
    craftylatvian Posts: 599 Member
    I don't care what science says. My fat is carried away in teenie little buckets by little elves whilst I'm asleep.

    :love: :laugh:
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    Heat. "Calorie" is a measure of temperature.

    No, it is a measure of energy. We just happen to set it as the amount of energy required to raise one cubic centimeter of water one degree celsius.

    That energy does not have to be used as heat.

    That being said, when your body temperature rises while you are working out? Some of that energy is becoming heat. Some of it is making your muscles twitch.
  • SlimSumday
    SlimSumday Posts: 379 Member
    Fat only shrinks, it doesn't "leave" your body.
    oh dear *sigh*

    I meant the cells shrink, good grief, I had just woken up.
    lol!
  • No_Finish_Line
    No_Finish_Line Posts: 3,661 Member
    water (sweat, pee, etc) & CO2 when you exhale.

    respiration_equation-600x124.jpg
    Insulin is a protein itself. When your body needs to raid your fat cells for glucose stores, insulin regulates how much fat is converted to fatty acids and then transports these fatty acids around your body to your cells. Once it reaches your cells, the insulin releases the fatty acids, which are then converted into glucose in another biochemical reaction that also releases energy.

    i was just going to say you pee it out but it guess this is a lot more accurate lol.

    actually it might be more accurate to say that fat is 'removed' during cellular respiration... and then the biproducts are excreated in the above manner.
  • glovepuppet
    glovepuppet Posts: 1,710 Member
    Heat. "Calorie" is a measure of temperature.

    No, it is a measure of energy. We just happen to set it as the amount of energy required to raise one cubic centimeter of water one degree celsius.

    That energy does not have to be used as heat.

    That being said, when your body temperature rises while you are working out? Some of that energy is becoming heat. Some of it is making your muscles twitch.
    indeed! it's just over 4 joules of the stuff.

    all the closet science geeks are massing in this thread.