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This is quite fascinating and probably not many people know that:
The most common misconception by far, was that fat is converted to energy.
Some people think that fat turns into muscle, which is impossible, and others assumed it escapes via the colon.
So if not energy, muscles or the loo, where does fat go?
The truth is that fat is converted to carbon dioxide and water. You exhale the carbon dioxide and the water mixes into your circulation until it’s lost as urine or sweat.
If you lose 10lb of fat, precisely 8.4lb comes out through your lungs and the remaining 1.6lb turns into water. In other words, nearly all the weight we lose is exhaled.
This surprises just about everyone, but actually, almost everything we eat comes back out via the lungs.
Protein shares the same fate, except for the small part that turns into urea and other solids, which you excrete as urine.
That is fascinating. What would be interesting also is what happens to fat when a person gains weight, specifically gains the fat back.
What I understand is the fat cells shrink (most likely using the process you described) but then inflate when the fat is gained back.
It would be equally interesting to learn the process both ways.
???? When you burn wood, it's turned into co2 + h2o + HEAT (energy). The oxidation of fat is EXACTLY the same thing, only the oxidation (burning) is done step-wise in an assembly line process that makes the energy available for the other activities of metabolism & living.
True, the matter is not converted to pure energy as in E = mc^2...
...and the converse of the fat catabolism is Helmont's famous experiment where he weighed the dirt and tree sapling in a barrel and let it grow for several years, then re- weighed it. The tree increased it's weight by 200 lb but the dirt only lost a couple ounces of weight...The extra mass came from the air (co2 & h20[rain], not the dirt as the tree used photsynthesis to make glucose, then cellulose....
...and BTW-- Watch out. Your epidermis is showing.
"Shivering Triggers Brown Fat to Produce Heat and Burn Calories"
My comment: I believe fat is burned and converted to energy and carbon dioxide is simply a byproduct of the burning process.
What do they say about cars that burn gasoline? They add to carbon dioxide pollution. Yes, but something has to first be burned in order to produce carbon dioxide.
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