HEAT
When we lose weight, where does it go?
21–30 of 131 posts
Re: When we lose weight, where does it go?
#22I was taught that it was expelled as CO2 via breathing.
It looks like I wasn’t told about the water component.
Re: When we lose weight, where does it go?
#23> 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.
[deleted]
Re: When we lose weight, where does it go?
#24> Even the 150 doctors, dietitians and personal trainers we surveyed shared this surprising gap in their health literacy. 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. For reference, if losing 10 pounds of body weight corresponded meant it was converted to energy complete…
> This is an oversimplification
It's perhaps the most pernicious misunderstanding of calories on the internet.
All calories are not created equal. Even just taking the same ingredient (say, an apple) and preparing it (say, by sticking the apple in a Blendtec Blender vs eating it whole) changes the amount of calories available for absorption.
Re: When we lose weight, where does it go?
#25Water 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).
I'd say water and CO2 and urea. Protein is roughly 16% Nitrogen by weight.
Re: When we lose weight, where does it go?
#26> 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.
> By that logic sugar and gasoline don't get converted to energy either.
They do not!
Some of the energy that was trapped in chemical bonds get released. Sugar and gasoline 'don't get converted to energy'. They CAN be used to create work (including electricity).
Re: When we lose weight, where does it go?
#27> 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.
In what way is it not true? When a reaction does convert mass to energy we call it a nuclear reaction
This is kind of pedantic, but to my understanding, even normal exothermic chemical reactions do convert mass to energy. It’s just that the amount of mass lost is extremely negligible. Conservation of mass is an oversimplification that is close enough to match any real world measurement you’d care about.
Nuclear reactions are when you start getting into doing mass-energy conversion at scale.
Re: When we lose weight, where does it go?
#28There is a nice Ted talk about the same topic. Something I often link to people saying "I can eat everything I want in this diet..."
The mathematics of weight loss | Ruben Meerman | TEDxQUT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuIlsN32WaE
My personal weight-loss (and now sports) is largely based on understanding how the human body works with metabolism.. carbs, fat, protein.. nice and geeky
Re: When we lose weight, where does it go?
#29> Even the 150 doctors, dietitians and personal trainers we surveyed shared this surprising gap in their health literacy. 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. For reference, if losing 10 pounds of body weight corresponded meant it was converted to energy complete…
> This is an oversimplification It's perhaps the most pernicious misunderstanding of calories on the internet. All calories are not created equal. Even just taking the same ingredient (say, an apple) and preparing it (say, by sticking the apple in a Blendtec Blender vs eating it whole) changes the amount of calories available for absorption.
Right. Fiber is a debatable source of calories since their precise metabolism can change based on gut flora. As someone who lost 100lbs through calorie counting and exercise, just that subject alone was a long and interesting study. Some nutrition labels will assign them 0 calories, a seemingly benign 10 calories, or the same calories as other carbohydrates.
https://www.verywellfit.com/why-are-there-calories-in-solubl...
https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ask-the-macro-manager-does-...
Re: When we lose weight, where does it go?
#30> Even the 150 doctors, dietitians and personal trainers we surveyed shared this surprising gap in their health literacy. 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. For reference, if losing 10 pounds of body weight corresponded meant it was converted to energy complete…
> This is an oversimplification It's perhaps the most pernicious misunderstanding of calories on the internet. All calories are not created equal. Even just taking the same ingredient (say, an apple) and preparing it (say, by sticking the apple in a Blendtec Blender vs eating it whole) changes the amount of calories available for absorption.
Is it safe to say that taking an apple and manipulating it without adding anything to it could never INCREASE the calories available?
So is the reason that the calorie content in the apple changes in blending due to how difficult (or not difficult) it is to digest?