Where does fat go when you lose weight? NZ Herald

Hi,

Oooh, a car analogy. (Alway get drawn in on one of those..)
Though to be fair, cars arn't always using the fuel from the tank at maximum capacity until the engine is up to running temp? So there maybe a little unburt fuel too...? The emission composition will also change as the engine increases temperature. Hence emission tests during an MOT should only be performed whilst the vehicle is at operating temperature & not before...

Enough about cars.. I'll tag in @bulkbiker

So if fat is turned to water and carbon dioxide ,if I drink lots of water and inhale the fuel emissions I should put weight on !!!?
Carol

LittleGreyCat said:

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=12013155

The article states that most people assume when losing weight that fat turns to energy. This is wrong because it turns to carbon dioxide and water. Say what?

To me this is like asking where petrol in the tank of your car goes. Energy? No, it just comes out of the exhaust as carbon dioxide and water.

My take is that it does turn to energy, with carbon dioxide and water as by products of the conversion. Therefore the assumption of the majority is correct.

Am I misreading this article or is this faux/weird science?

Click to expand...

Definitely pseudoscience here. The fat does not magically dissolve into CO2 and H2O. There are two basic fat sumps in the body. Muscle cells and adipose tissue cells, The first stores glucose as glycogen and water, the second stores lipids and glucose / fructose converted to lipids. Weight loss diets normally only empties the muscle cell stores by converting the stored glycogen back to blood glucose and water for use as energy in the brain and muscles instead of dietary supplied glucose, thus the muscles get depleted of stored glucose and it gets burnt off as CO2 and H2O.

The second fat stores in the adipose tissues are not so simple, and these release blood glucose and water by converting the stored lipids back to the acetyl components that the body needs. When these are burnt off yes there is CO2 and H2O too, but also ketones which are excreted through the lungs and bladder. This is missing from the pseudo science since most 'normsl' diets only shift the muscle fat, and do not really tackle the adipose fat at all.

This spiel in the article is a typical dieters blog, and perpetuates the calories in = calories out mythology. It does not advance my understanding a jot or a tittle, and is as bland as the type of diets they support. I wonder how many jots / g they recommend? Or should that be jogs/day?

carty said:

So if fat is turned to water and carbon dioxide ,if I drink lots of water and inhale the fuel emissions I should put weight on !!!?
Carol

Click to expand...

Briefly?

Jaylee said:

Hi,

Oooh, a car analogy. (Alway get drawn in on one of those..)
Though to be fair, cars arn't always using the fuel from the tank at maximum capacity until the engine is up to running temp? So there maybe a little unburt fuel too...? The emission composition will also change as the engine increases temperature. Hence emission tests during an MOT should only be performed whilst the vehicle is at operating temperature & not before...

Enough about cars.. I'll tag in @bulkbiker

Click to expand...

The car analogy does not work for me, Fuel be it food or petrol is stored energy that gets released when the fuel is used. The car would not go far if you had a tank of H2O and CO2 in it, would it? They do not mix very well, and are pretty inert. Petrol however is a good mix of the two and has potential for an explosion, which after all is what happens in the engine. By corollary, a diesel engine will actually work with chip fat so the analogy is not far fetched, This is one instance where reverse engineering falls down.

LittleGreyCat said:

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=12013155

The article states that most people assume when losing weight that fat turns to energy. This is wrong because it turns to carbon dioxide and water. Say what?

To me this is like asking where petrol in the tank of your car goes. Energy? No, it just comes out of the exhaust as carbon dioxide and water.

My take is that it does turn to energy, with carbon dioxide and water as by products of the conversion. Therefore the assumption of the majority is correct.

Am I misreading this article or is this faux/weird science?

Click to expand...

Short of surgery I don't think we can get rid of body fat any way other than breaking it down to produce energy, with as you say, CO2 and H2O as by-products. The energy comes from the chemical bonds in the molecules that are broken down. The following article explains everything that you might want to know about it, possibly a lot more.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK26882/

Your missing the important issue here!

We should all stop dieting and so reduce our co2 output to save the planet.

Every little helps


Says the member with 3, 2 stroke motorcycles all over 20years old.

Mr_Pot said:

Short of surgery I don't think we can get rid of body fat any way other than breaking it down to produce energy, with as you say, CO2 and H2O as by-products. The energy comes from the chemical bonds in the molecules that are broken down. The following article explains everything that you might want to know about it, possibly a lot more.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK26882/

Click to expand...

Just taking this thread in a slight detour...... Recent reports into gastric banding with obese patients show many are left with rather a large muffin flap that has to be tucked in like a shirt. Patients are asking for reconstructive surgery on the NHS and are being refused at the moment. So adipose tissue fat reduction does have a downside after all, Not all is fat, and not all goes away like that

Lets get back on piste.....

Oldvatr said:

Just taking this thread in a slight detour...... Recent reports into gastric banding with obese patients show many are left with rather a large muffin flap that has to be tucked in like a shirt. Patients are asking for reconstructive surgery on the NHS and are being refused at the moment. So adipose tissue fat reduction does have a downside after all, Not all is fat, and not all goes away like that

Lets get back on piste.....

Click to expand...

Just a slight detour, like an "Italian tune up" prior to dropping the motor down the MOT centre?

But I'm loving the discussion..

Fat molecules are very large and contain many carbon atoms bonded predominantly to hydrogen atoms. Enzyme-controlled reactions in the body break the bonds between the atoms to release energy and carbon dioxide and water are produced as by-products. The atoms involved can all be accounted for (conservation of mass) but the total energy of the by-products is less than the original energy in the fat molecules. The energy released fuels body processes and maintains a body temperature of about 37C. Any surplus is dissipated as heat into the atmosphere. In this respect the article is simplistic but it has been written for general consumption. I have read it several times and think that it is correct at a basic level.

Did someone call?

How do you weigh oxygen? What does 600g of oxygen look like and why doesn't it get exhaled along with the other stuff?
Sounds like a load of guff (or maybe puff) to me...

bulkbiker said:

Did someone call?

How do you weight oxygen? What does 600g of oxygen look like and why doesn't it get exhaled along with the other stuff?
Sounds like a load of guff (or maybe puff) to me...

Click to expand...

The oxygen inhaled is used to breakdown the fat molecules and other foodstuffs to release energy, CO2 and H2O by aerobic respiration. How do you weigh oxygen? Carefully!! Actually the figures were probably gained by theoretical calculations based on the proportions needed to carry out the reactions.

Jaylee said:

Just a slight detour, like an "Italian tune up" prior to dropping the motor down the MOT centre?

But I'm loving the discussion..

Click to expand...

But wasn't it the German MOT tune up that actually reduced emissions, aka Volkswagen und Audi?

bulkbiker said:

How do you weigh oxygen? What does 600g of oxygen look like and why doesn't it get exhaled along with the other stuff?

Click to expand...

My oxygen bottle says it's litres per minute, I can get five litres a minute flat out or tune it up / down to three per minute for inhalation.

I am pleased it does not come in grams as it would be hard to inhale lumps of o2.

Dunno where the fat goes, it used to get rendered down for dripping at the last butcher shop I worked at.

I do not care about the mechanics I just want to find the fat to put on my skinny neck and chest ,bony elbows and legs
Carol

carty said:

I do not care about the mechanics I just want to find the fat to put on my skinny neck and chest ,bony elbows and legs
Carol

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But not basted on, surely that does not work......? Too much fun at Xmas perchance?