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When we lose weight, where does it go?

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Re: When we lose weight, where does it go?

#2
Water and CO2? (And, of course, some other byproducts, but by and large.) I mean, I think this is a well-known answer, no?

Sorry I don't mean to sound facetious, I haven't opened the article, so I may be surprised, but I thought this was standard knowledge (at least, it was taught in middle school and high school, even though that's been a while ago for me).

Re: When we lose weight, where does it go?

#4
> The most common misconception by far, was that fat is converted to energy. The problem with this theory is that it violates the law of conservation of matter, which all chemical reactions obey.

I mean what they're getting at must be true, we are obviously not converting 1kg of rest mass into energy but that sentence is very much not true.

Re: When we lose weight, where does it go?

#5
https://www.bmj.com/content/349/bmj.g7257

Meerman, R., & Brown, A. J. (2014). When somebody loses weight, where does the fat go? BMJ, 349(dec16 13), g7257–g7257. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.g7257

>Our calculations show that the lungs are the primary excretory organ for fat.

Re: When we lose weight, where does it go?

#6

> The most common misconception by far, was that fat is converted to energy. The problem with this theory is that it violates the law of conservation of matter, which all chemical reactions obey. I mean what they're getting at must be true, we are obviously not converting 1kg of rest mass into energy but that sentence is very much not true.

Agreed. It's the most pedantic claim I've seen on the internet all of 2020. By that logic sugar and gasoline don't get converted to energy either.

Edit: actually, this is the worst article I've read on the internet in all of 2020.

Re: When we lose weight, where does it go?

#7
post #2

Water and CO2? (And, of course, some other byproducts, but by and large.) I mean, I think this is a well-known answer, no? Sorry I don't mean to sound facetious, I haven't opened the article, so I may be surprised, but I thought this was standard knowledge (at least, it was taught in middle school and high school, even though that's been a while ago for me).

Not that well known in some circles. I decided this year to lose some weight and only worked out the mechanics of it after researching throughly. It never factored into my education or general knowledge. It was demotivating to be honest knowing how much of me I had to breathe out.

I will say that it was one of the best changes I ever made to my life.

Re: When we lose weight, where does it go?

#8
post #2

Water and CO2? (And, of course, some other byproducts, but by and large.) I mean, I think this is a well-known answer, no? Sorry I don't mean to sound facetious, I haven't opened the article, so I may be surprised, but I thought this was standard knowledge (at least, it was taught in middle school and high school, even though that's been a while ago for me).

Our school did not taught that.

Re: When we lose weight, where does it go?

#9
post #6

> The most common misconception by far, was that fat is converted to energy. The problem with this theory is that it violates the law of conservation of matter, which all chemical reactions obey. I mean what they're getting at must be true, we are obviously not converting 1kg of rest mass into energy but that sentence is very much not true.

Agreed. It's the most pedantic claim I've seen on the internet all of 2020. By that logic sugar and gasoline don't get converted to energy either. Edit: actually, this is the worst article I've read on the internet in all of 2020.

Well, they don't.

Re: When we lose weight, where does it go?

#10
post #6

> The most common misconception by far, was that fat is converted to energy. The problem with this theory is that it violates the law of conservation of matter, which all chemical reactions obey. I mean what they're getting at must be true, we are obviously not converting 1kg of rest mass into energy but that sentence is very much not true.

Agreed. It's the most pedantic claim I've seen on the internet all of 2020. By that logic sugar and gasoline don't get converted to energy either. Edit: actually, this is the worst article I've read on the internet in all of 2020.

I think it's the opposite of pedantic. They're asking "where" the weight goes. It does not transmutate into motion. The weight has to go somewhere.

Pee, poo, breath, sweat, snot, earwax, hair, nails, spit?

I assumed the CO2 we exhale would be the largest portion, and the article backs that up.

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