So, Where Does It Go??

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craftylatvian
craftylatvian Posts: 599 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
This may be a strange question, but where does the weight go when you lose it (fat or muscle weight)? Does it just shrink? Melt? I guess I never thought about this before.

Replies

  • BigBoneSista
    BigBoneSista Posts: 2,389 Member
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    The fat cells are still there they just shrink.
  • allison7922
    allison7922 Posts: 276 Member
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    Great question! I'm curious to know too and I have NEVER thought about where it goes!
  • Heather75
    Heather75 Posts: 3,386 Member
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    I'm pretty sure it all goes to my butt. You're welcome, everyone.
  • new_me_9_67
    new_me_9_67 Posts: 369 Member
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    I'm pretty sure it all goes to my butt. You're welcome, everyone.

    LMAO!

    Thank you Heather that was great.
  • CaseyBee
    CaseyBee Posts: 163 Member
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    Well, there's a fat monster (akin to the sock monster in the dryer) who comes and steals the fat away when we're sleeping. :)

    I think the fat cells just shrink... but wouldn't a fat monster be more fun? :)
  • RunHardBeStrong
    RunHardBeStrong Posts: 33,069 Member
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    The fat cells are still there they just shrink.

    ^ this....unfortunately they don't actually go away :(
  • KeyMasterOfGozer
    KeyMasterOfGozer Posts: 229 Member
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    This may be a strange question, but where does the weight go when you lose it (fat or muscle weight)? Does it just shrink? Melt? I guess I never thought about this before.
    Exhalation. You breath in O2, and exhale CO2. Those extra carbons are former portions of sugars and fats. Much like the CO2 coming from your car's tail pipe is from burned hydrocarbons. Similar process.

    Edit: Actually, sugars and fats ARE hydrocarbons, like gasoline and alcohol. The structure is a little different, but it works essentially the same way. Oxygen is used to chemically strip off carbon from the fuel, and the results are carbon di oxide, extra energy and other waste material.

    So every time you breath out, you are getting rid of mass in your body. Of course, also you have other waste processes, and water evaporates from your body everywhere.
  • nezeray
    nezeray Posts: 34
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    I believe that it's burned to fuel your activities, and whatever waste is left over is flushed "out" of your body. :)
  • RunHardBeStrong
    RunHardBeStrong Posts: 33,069 Member
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    I'm pretty sure it all goes to my butt. You're welcome, everyone.

    LMAO!! Here I thought it was just mine they went to....
  • anzura
    anzura Posts: 171
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    It's consumed by your body I would guess. Used as fuel instead of storing it up.

    On the fat cell thing: As an adult we don't gain more fat cells, they just get smaller or larger. But children actually gain fat cells and if they are getting fat as kids, they are going to have a much much harder time losing weight as an adult because they will have so many more fat cells to keep small. Does that make sense? Please keep your kids thin!!! One of my pet peeves!
  • vwfrog
    vwfrog Posts: 57 Member
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    your body heats up to 'burn' a calorie. the body uses the stored fat as energy. the 'heat' that you give off when you exercise is the weight leaving your body.... in not so technical terms, anyway... haha
  • BamBam1113
    BamBam1113 Posts: 542 Member
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    You have a certain amount of fat cells. You will always have those fat cells. What happens is when you gain weight they get bigger, and subsequently when you lose weight they get smaller. The only time you can lose those cells is with liposuction, however, the remaining cells can still get you as big as you used to be.
  • WarmDontBurn
    WarmDontBurn Posts: 1,253 Member
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    Well, there's a fat monster (akin to the sock monster in the dryer) who comes and steals the fat away when we're sleeping. :)

    I think the fat cells just shrink... but wouldn't a fat monster be more fun? :)

    :laugh: Fat monster.....If I sleep now will you send him over? He must have missed me at night :wink:
  • rigby_89
    rigby_89 Posts: 3 Member
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    Your body uses it up as fuel to make up for the deficit you've created by reducing your net calorie intake :) If you eat more than your body needs then you'll get all of your fuel from food and any excess will be stored as fat, so when you eat less than you need you get the extra fuel needed from your stored reserves.
  • JPRobocker
    JPRobocker Posts: 74 Member
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    Fat is just a form of stored energy. One "calorie" is the amount of energy it takes to heat 1 mililiter of water by 1 degree celcius and the "Calories" in food are actually kilocalories. This means that one food Calorie, is equal to 1000 "calories" (notice the big and little "c"). I won't get too sciency on you, but your body "burns" the fat for energy. Much like a power plant burns coal. When you work out, all your muscles need energy. It also takes energy for your body to think, digest, move at all, even to breath. Anything left over from fat that has been burned leaves your body through urine or fecal matter. The whole idea of dieting is eatting less fuel than your body needs every day. This forces the body to take it's energy out of storage and use it to keep the body working. Hence, losing the fat you have stored up.
  • Sarahr73
    Sarahr73 Posts: 454 Member
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    The fat cells are still there they just shrink.

    This is what happens and why it is so easy to gain weight again if you aer not careful. Once your body has produced fat cells, they are there forever and ready to expand again.
  • LORR79
    LORR79 Posts: 55
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    I tend to find when I lose it someone else close to me "catches" it a bit like the flu :laugh:

    Sadly this also works in reverse,like if my sister goes on a diet and loses it,I will gain :noway:

    Obviously I'm kidding but does anyone else find this?
  • JPod279
    JPod279 Posts: 722 Member
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    This may be a strange question, but where does the weight go when you lose it (fat or muscle weight)? Does it just shrink? Melt? I guess I never thought about this before.

    The First Law of Thermodynamics, commonly known as the Law of Conservation of Matter, states that matter/energy cannot be created nor can it be destroyed. The quantity of matter/energy remains the same. It can change from solid to liquid to gas to plasma and back again, but the total amount of matter/energy in the universe remains constant.

    In other words, when you "lose weight" someone else gains it. So keep working out! :bigsmile:
  • olyrose
    olyrose Posts: 569 Member
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    Well, there's a fat monster (akin to the sock monster in the dryer) who comes and steals the fat away when we're sleeping. :)

    I think the fat cells just shrink... but wouldn't a fat monster be more fun? :)

    hahaha love the idea of a fat monster!
  • appleofmyeye
    appleofmyeye Posts: 94
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    I'm pretty sure it all goes to my butt. You're welcome, everyone.

    :tongue:

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