The majority of people want to lose weight and reduce body fat. However, most are unaware of how fat loss works at the molecular level. During the energy conversion process, fat leaves the body in different ways. But did you know that you also exhale fat through carbon dioxide?
When you lose fat through dieting, it does not melt away, and very little of it passes through your waste. The majority of the fat you lose is actually exhaled.
What are the Different Kinds of Body Fat?
There are two types of body fat, or adipose tissue, in the human body. When fuel is scarce, white adipose tissue is primarily responsible for energy storage and the release of fatty acids. This fat is mainly found in your body and stored beneath the skin and around the organs. Visceral fat builds up around the organs, causing weight gain in the midsection.
Adipocytes are individual cells that makeup fat. The human body contains billions of fat cells of various sizes. White fat cells have one large fat droplet that is surrounded by water, salts, and protein. The fat droplet is mostly made up of triglycerides, these are molecules of glycerol and three fatty acids.
Triglyceride levels in the blood have been linked to an increased risk of heart disease and stroke. Brown adipose tissue is considered good fat because it aids in temperature regulation. It’s derived from muscle tissue and works to keep you warm by burning calories. Brown fat also has more capillaries than white fat, which helps to transport nutrients and oxygen throughout the body.
Brown fat cells have multiple fat droplets as well as significantly more water, salt, and protein. These cells also have mitochondria, which are in charge of the chemical reaction that burns calories to generate heat in your body.
The fat measured during a body fat assessment is white adipose tissue. Unless you are overweight, white fat accounts for about 20% of total body weight in men and 25% in women. (Source: Very Well Fit)
How to Get Rid of Fat?
Fat metabolism includes an important respiratory component. Contrary to popular belief, the lungs are the primary organ responsible for fat removal in the body. Body fat does not convert to muscle or leave the body via the colon. Fat leaves the body as carbon dioxide during exhalations or as H20 through urine, sweat, and exhalations during the energy conversion process.
The body converts fat into usable energy during the fat-burning process, causing the fat cell to shrink in size. The stored fatty acids are degraded, releasing energy and converting them to carbon dioxide and water. This metabolic energy conversion also produces heat, which aids in temperature regulation.
According to Meerman’s research, it takes several enzymes and biochemical steps to completely degrade a single triglyceride molecule. Some of the fat can be converted into usable energy. Carbon dioxide and water are waste products of the fat-burning process, and most of the fat is expelled from the body as carbon dioxide. (Source: Very Well Fit)
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