Where does all the lonely fat go?

I love to complain. Not just because its easy, but because I am generally really good at it. At the gym, ( most days) I do what I need to without too much whining. Although, sometimes my crabby attitude gets the best of me. Recently, I ve been reaching maximum annoyance while "Feeling the burn". If you work out hard enough or have ever participated in middle school sports in spring you know the burn well. Its the feeling you get that hurts so good. You want to scream, but usually it just manifests itself as weird faces and grunting. This morning, I took a 5 am boot class and was feeling the burn as they say. It hurt, like it always does but while I was in pain and counting the seconds until the next move, I got to thinking... Where does all the fat go? Feeling the burn means you are working hard. Working hard and feeling the burn means weight loss. People lose weight all the time, but where does all that fat end up? it doesnt just disappear, or does it? I had to do some research for this one. I looked up and read a few articles and it seems as though its fairly straightforward. Here is what I learned.

My homegirl Katherine from the Mayo Clinic breaks weight loss down for us.

Question

Body fat: What happens to lost fat?

When you lose weight, where does the lost body fat go?

Answer

from Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.

Body fat breaks down during a series of complex metabolic processes.

When you burn more calories than you consume, your body uses fat (triglycerides) for energy. This causes your fat cells to shrink. In turn, triglycerides are broken down into two different substances — glycerol and fatty acids — which are absorbed into your liver, kidneys and muscle tissue. From there, the glycerol and fatty acids are further broken down by chemical processes that ultimately produce energy for your body.

These activities generate heat, which helps maintain your body temperature. The resulting waste products — water and carbon dioxide — are excreted in urine and sweat or exhaled from your lungs.

Did you know?


√ It would take you 5 hours of yoga to burn off one whopper ( without cheese!)


√ It would take 9 miles of running to burn off one Cinnabon


√ to cut a pound of fat, you need to cut 3,500 calories from your caloric intake.


Next time I feel compelled to eat at 5 Guys, or make a huge sundae after a crappy day at work, I will think twice. But then again, whats the point of eating if you cant enjoy eating what you love? :)