How fat is burned

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How fat is burned Empty How fat is burned

Post by halfwise Wed Dec 17, 2014 4:35 pm

I came across something which makes some things more clear.  We all talk about "burning fat", and it is in fact a rather exact analogy to what happens.  But where does that fat go?  When a fire burns, all that is left is ashes.  Where does the mass go?  Up in smoke and gas.  It turns out you exhale most of the fat you burn, as explained in an article in Yahoo that refers to the medical journal BMJ:

"...for example, to burn 10 kilograms (22 lbs.) of fat, a person needs to inhale 29 kg (64 lbs.) of oxygen. And the chemical process of burning that fat will produce 28 kg (62 lbs.) of carbon dioxide and 11 kg (24 lbs.) of water, the researchers calculated."

As far as I know the fraction of CO2 expelled by breath doesn't change dramatically, so unless you increase your respiration rate, you can't burn extra fat!  This seems to mean that fit people who don't breathe hard don't burn as much fat, but I dunno.  I've also heard that fit people preferentially burn fat over blood sugar, but need to find real attribution for this claim.

Anyway, it seems higher respiration rate (or lower food intake) is necessary to lose weight.  Wonder if just breathing harder will do it? scratch

Halfwise, son of Halfwit. Brother of Nitwit, son of Halfwit. Half brother of Figwit.
Then it gets complicated...
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How fat is burned Empty Re: How fat is burned

Post by Forest Shepherd Wed Dec 17, 2014 6:44 pm

Petty should be alright then, his crabbit attacks usually leave him breathless once he finishes ranting!

The new science, crabbit helps you lose pounds!
(I expect a full-page editorial in the next NotP.)

When I was younger
I would not have believed them
though a hundred had said it
and a thousand tongues had told
that I would sink to these ways
that I would fall on these days--
the days I have fallen on
the ways I have sunk into.

-Instructions and a Warning, The Kalevala
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