How To Lose Weight – It’s Just a Whole Lot of Hot Air

Finally, your hard work has paid off. Those hours in the gym - the sweat, the soreness, the shortness of breath, the dieting – it’s all come together, you’ve got there. You’ve reached your ideal weight. And it’s been worth it. You’ve made those long-term, healthy life choices with healthy eating and exercise, and it has paid off - shedding those extra pounds has been an achievement, and you look and feel great.

But…where exactly did all that fat go? I mean, you’ve carried this fat around with you forever, and now with just a bit of careful dieting and some exercise, it suddenly ‘disappears’.

Most of us don’t give it a second thought – should we even care? We’ve lost the weight, right, so why should we worry where it all goes?

Well, perhaps we should, as it gives us a good indication of what it takes to lose fat, and if for no other reason than to dispel a few myths and theories that are floating around.

Like the one that says that fat turns to muscle. I remember people saying this when I was growing up. But I also remember my science teacher dispelling this notion very quickly – “muscle and fat are two totally different types of tissue” she said. “Fat cannot turn to muscle. That’s utter nonsense.” Well that one was cleared up pretty quickly.

Or maybe it’s that other one – the one that says our body somehow converts fat to energy or heat and it kind of ‘burns off’. Again this is not correct, but it is slightly closer to the truth. What in fact happens is that we lose it simply through exhaling.

A Breath of ‘Fat’ Air

A recent study published in the British Medical Journal (bmj.com) reports that we although we lose some fat mass through water (excreted via sweat and urine) the vast majority of it is breathed out as carbon dioxide. It literally goes into thin air.

Due to our body’s metabolic process, as we exercise, the large amounts of oxygen we inhale mixes with our blood and is exhaled as respiratory gas. This process has the effect of reducing the size of our fat cells, thus helping us lose weight. (Unfortunately we cannot lose fat cells, only make them smaller. It’s a unavoidable biological fact that once they’re created, they tend to stay put - which is why it’s so easy to put the weight back on. Yes, I know - bummer)

So, if we look at the numbers (ok, so numbers may be boring sometimes, but when you are focusing on how to lose weight, they are important to keep track of…) the report shows that in order for us to lose 10 kilograms of fat, we need to inhale 29 kilograms of oxygen (which is by the way, a shedload of exercise) This is equal to a metabolic process production of 28 kilograms of carbon dioxide and 11 kilograms of water. That’s basically how we lose the fat.

The report also says that it is surprising that even amongst health professionals, this fact about fat loss is not as well-known as it should be – many of them may know a lot about how to lose weight, but not exactly where it all the fat goes when you do lose it….

If it was, perhaps we could use breathing out to more of an advantage. The more active we are the generally fitter we become, and a fit person is able to work at a higher intensity for longer periods.

It sort of leads to a chain reaction:

Working at a high intensity ->
in turn requires a lot of oxygen ->
which ultimately results in more exhaling ->
which then leads to the desired body-fat reduction.
It all works together nicely.

Targeted Fat Loss?

But where on the body is the fat lost? Well, the answer may not be you want to hear. We unfortunately don’t have a choice where we lose the fat as the body tends to use its own “easy-come, easy-go” method for fat loss. Basically with proper lifestyle choices of diet and exercise, using the metabolic process the body tends to shed fat in those areas first that didn’t have much fat to lose in the first place – like the face and neck. The more problematical areas such as the stomach, where greater numbers of fat cells are found, tend to shrink only later on. (Yes I know - bummer #2)

So the importance of using consistent, intense periods of exercise for fat loss is important – dependent of course, on if you are eating correctly too. There is no substitute for that.

I hope you liked what I had briefly had to share with you. I would love to be able to help you further with your health and personal goals. Please download your 25 LifeStyle Choices To Keep You Healthy Fit and Strong report Free here: www.onlymenshealth.com/?p=1219