New paper published in the British Medical Journal thoroughly explains the metabolic process of losing weight

Dec 17, 2014 12:06 GMT  ·  By

It just so happens that, contrary to what some believe, losing weight is not some magical, wondrous life experience that can only come to happen with the blessing of the almighty gods of all dieters, the gym and the salad bar.

Thus, scientists say that losing weight boils down to breathing out fat. No, not fat as in the thing bacon is made of. Long story short, folks who decide to go on a diet or who unwillingly lose weight breathe out fat in the form of carbon dioxide.

Mind you, investigations carried out over the years have shown that your average guy's or gal's fat deposits are not just exhaled out. Simply put, the human body also disposes of them in the form of water. Pretty cool, right?

Folks are utterly clueless about how fat is lost

In a paper in the British Medical Journal, University of New South Wales specialist Andrew Brown and fellow researcher Ruben Meerman explain that, too often, it is said that, when people lose weight, fat is converted into energy or heat.

Although this is somewhat true, the fact of the matter is that fat is not really lost simply by being turned into energy or heat. Interestingly enough, it appears that many dieticians, personal trainers and even doctors are convinced that this is what happens.

“This violates the Law of Conservation of Mass,” says researcher Ruben Meerman. “We suspect this misconception is caused by the energy in/energy out mantra surrounding weight loss,” the physicist and Australian TV science presenter goes on to explain.

How losing weight actually means breathing out fat

Andrew Brown and Ruben Meerman say that, as surprising as this may sound, fat lost through diet and exercise is not really converted into heat and energy. It is actually turned into carbon dioxide, which is breathed out, and water, which is eliminated through sweat, urine and even tears.

“The correct answer is that most of the mass is breathed out as carbon dioxide. It goes into thin air,” says Ruben Meerman. “None of this is obvious to people because the carbon dioxide gas we exhale is invisible,” the specialist further details.

What this means is that, of the atoms that comprise, say, 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of fat, an impressive 8.4 kilograms (18.5 pounds) leave the body in the form of carbon dioxide. The remaining 1.6 kilograms (3.5 pounds), on the other hand, are eliminated in the form of water.

Seeing how popular diets and exercise routines have come to be in this day and age, specialists Ruben Meerman and Andrew Brown argue that it is quite a shame that people don't really know what exactly happens inside their body when they start losing weight.

Study explains how people lose weight (5 Images)

Scientists explain what happens when people lose weight
Obesity is a major health threat in this day and ageWhen losing weight, fat leaves the body as carbon dioxide
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