Where does weight go?

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Seriousaboutchange
Seriousaboutchange Posts: 16
in Health and Weight Loss
Am I the only one who's curious? Like how does it leave? Sweat? Going to the restroom? What?
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Replies

  • jmcreynolds91
    jmcreynolds91 Posts: 777 Member
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    Bump, I'm interested as I often wonder this too!
  • schondell
    schondell Posts: 556 Member
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    I heard it goes out in sweat but does that mean some people sweat out 100 lbs??
  • uncharted01
    uncharted01 Posts: 105 Member
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    good article:
    http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/human-biology/lost-weight.htm

    :)
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    Energy. Like gas in your car, your muscles burn it off.
  • LumpySpacePrincess1
    LumpySpacePrincess1 Posts: 388 Member
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    Body turns it into energy through various metabolic reactions, fat cells shrink.
    Little bits of fat are also lost in urine and sweat, but the great majority is turned into energy.
  • ShannonMpls
    ShannonMpls Posts: 1,936 Member
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    The same place gas from your car goes: conversion to energy.
  • besaro
    besaro Posts: 1,858 Member
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    i think my neighbor got some of my pounds...oh, and a relative got the rest. super sorry.
  • jmcreynolds91
    jmcreynolds91 Posts: 777 Member
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    ahhh, makes sense.
  • jrosedavis
    jrosedavis Posts: 10 Member
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    This is a great question; I used to wonder this myself. Thank you for the article link uncharted01; it really helps to answer this question well!
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    there is a far away land called weightonya and all the weight gets stored there..so when you gain it comes from there, and then you lose it goes back ....kind of keeps the universe in balance..
  • gabbygirl78
    gabbygirl78 Posts: 936 Member
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    Bump... this is a great question and I'm interested in the feedback but gotta get it later.
  • dakotababy
    dakotababy Posts: 2,406 Member
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    I remember there was a thread exactly like this. Someone described it like this...

    Fat is like fire wood. When it is on fire, it deteriorates into ashes. Soooo the burning is the energy using your fat...which then your fat cells shrink to "ashes" then the ashes I believe are removed by urine.
  • kaseysospacey
    kaseysospacey Posts: 499 Member
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    converted to energy which you expend. Like when you move. you're using energy. Fat stores are energy stores, meant for lean times.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    I remember there was a thread exactly like this. Someone described it like this...

    Fat is like fire wood. When it is on fire, it deteriorates into ashes. Soooo the burning is the energy using your fat...which then your fat cells shrink to "ashes" then the ashes I believe are removed by urine.

    Just to be clear... it's is pretty rare for someone to gain or lose actual fat cells (it takes fairly severe/extreme conditions). Your fat cells get bigger or smaller depending, but the actual number of fat cells don't change for most of us.
  • sullykat
    sullykat Posts: 461 Member
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    The weight doesn't "go", it gets used. The old adage, "calories in vs. calories out", explains it all. If you eat in excess, your body stores the excess as fat (it gets converted to fat through different bodily functions). When you eat at a deficit, your body is burning the food/energy you consume throughout the day, plus some of the excess fat being stored. It is used throughout your body, for every single function - every muscle movement, including your heart pumping, breathing, eye movement, etc…; brain processes; DNA reproduction; etc…

    If you really want to get into it, you know that theory that Albert Einstein came up with? For every action there is a equal and opposite reaction? So, if the fat is being converted to energy for your body to use, there must still be the equal amount of energy in your body, still, right? Your body expels the energy through breathing, sweating, and other more complicated functions.
  • RHSheetz
    RHSheetz Posts: 268 Member
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    Body turns it into energy through various metabolic reactions, fat cells shrink.
    Little bits of fat are also lost in urine and sweat, but the great majority is turned into energy.

    This... One of the "waste" products of creating this energy from fat is water, which is also why it is important to drink water. Also, sometimes, you can create pockets in your fat where some cells give up the stored energy, which will fill with water.
  • RevolutionLifestyles
    RevolutionLifestyles Posts: 8
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    The fate of energy from food we consume is:

    Energy storage
    Energy transfer
    Excretion

    It is processed and absorbed - where it is either used directly as energy or stored (as liver glycogen, muscle glycogen or as fat) as energy to be used at a later date.

    About 90-99% of the energy from food we consume is digested and absorbed to be stored/used.

    We are very, very efficient at extracting nutrition from food (which I guess, in the modern world some may see as a bad thing).
  • dakotababy
    dakotababy Posts: 2,406 Member
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    I remember there was a thread exactly like this. Someone described it like this...

    Fat is like fire wood. When it is on fire, it deteriorates into ashes. Soooo the burning is the energy using your fat...which then your fat cells shrink to "ashes" then the ashes I believe are removed by urine.

    Just to be clear... it's is pretty rare for someone to gain or lose actual fat cells (it takes fairly severe/extreme conditions). Your fat cells get bigger or smaller depending, but the actual number of fat cells don't change for most of us.

    Yes, actually I recall something about this being said as well....Its like the cells shrink but never go away - I dont know lol I am trying to help.
  • Roseyuk63
    Roseyuk63 Posts: 1 Member
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    What happens if you don't exercise or have a lazy day doing nothing? . Is this when food is stored and weight doesn't move? Although people still lose weight with lower calorie intake and no exercise, so I guess the smaller amount lost goes through your waterworks?


    That's probably talking about myself....I've been lucky enough to get into the calorie counting zone, that 'click' in the mind that makes you stick to it when you've been wanting to for so long, but I am still waiting for the 'click' to get me moving. I know all the positive things about exercise, the feel good, glowing, confident feelings that boost you know end, but I'm still waiting for that 'click' :\
  • RevolutionLifestyles
    RevolutionLifestyles Posts: 8
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    Your body is in a constant flux of storage and release. You have to look at the calorie deficit as part of the bigger picture - over 24h, 72h or even a week.

    I like to look at exercise more as a tool which optimises your hormones and makes better use of the food we eat. I like to think of nutrition as a tool which supplies adequate nutrients and defines the calorie deficit/surplus.

    The body is a complex system. But in short, if you are not losing the weight you are not creating a big enough deficit - either through not enough exercise or eating too many calories over a longer period of time.

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