how exactly are calories burned?

When you consume fewer calories than you burn, your body takes its energy from either fat or muscle from your body (usually a combination of both). Calories are just a measure of energy, so when you consume fewer calories than your body requires, your body then turns to burning fat and muscle for energy.

I actually just read something the other day (cannot remember what or where at this point) that said when you lose weight it is mostly expelled through breathing. Which makes sense.

The 'calorie' is a unit of measure for energy. Many of the processes our body does automatically require energy, just as purposeful exercise does.

The foods we eat, as well as our fat and muscle, contain potential energy, which can be measured in calories. For example, one pound of fat=3500 calories of potential energy. We can use energy from food to do the work our body needs to do each day, and if we don't eat enough to fuel our basic processes, we can use our fat or muscle for energy. This will cause weight loss. The molecules from fat or muscle are oxidized, and we can use the energy to make ATP, producing heat and excreting CO2.

Basically, if you take in fewer calories than your body needs to function, fat and/or muscle is used to make up the calorie (energy) deficit.

Aurpr

rsm193 wrote: »

I guess my silly question would be....where do the calories go? Lol into the air? I have always been confused on weight loss and how exactly the whole burning calories work? And how are body becomes smaller losing weight.

Surprisingly yes! I've read some awesome informative articles that say that with eating healthy and staying under a certain calorie limit, you literally breathe the fat away. I'll try to find the articles to link them here

rsm193 wrote: »

I use to think calories were burned by the sweat you produce but i guess i am wrong according to another thread i was reading....so how exactly how calories burn and how do you lose weight burning those calories?

You "burn" calories 24/7...you burn a *kitten* ton of calories by merely existing.

A calorie is just a unit of energy. Your body requires so much energy to function optimally and maintain the status quot. I huge chunk of this energy requisite is you simply existing...these are your BMR calorie requisites. Beyond that, if you're not in a coma you do all kinds of stuff during the day...all that stuff from brushing your teeth to driving your car to typing on your keyboard burns calories. This is called your NEAT (Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis.

In most cases, outside of being an athlete, your BMR + your NEAT is going to make up the bulk of your energy (calorie) requisites. After that you have exercise...and in most cases, energy requisites for exercise pale in comparison to your BMR and NEAT.

So, when you consume more energy than your body requires, that energy is stored as body fat...your energy reserves. When you consume less energy than your body requires, that difference is made up by burning stored energy (body fat). When you consume a balance of energy you maintain the status quo.

SergeantSausage wrote: »

rsm193 wrote: »

I guess my silly question would be....where do the calories go? Lol into the air? I have always been confused on weight loss and how exactly the whole burning calories work? And how are body becomes smaller losing weight.

No "lol" about it. You are (kind of) correct.

They *really do* go into the air... metabolized into water, and the CO2 that we all expire when we breathe out.

This might help (...or it might not)

FYI, though - calories aren't really a thing to go anywhere, they are just a unit of measurement of energy ... your question is kinda like asking "where do the inches go when I cut this string", right?

THIS^.

The key part of the process is called:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citric_acid_cycle

Energy is used in all the biological processes - from moving (muscle contraction) to breathing to making protein to being warm. Everything uses a little energy. Just sitting there reading this uses energy.