How Do You Lose Fat?
“Life exists in the universe only because the carbon atom possesses certain exceptional properties.”
Key Takeaways
The food we eat and the body fat we store are both composed of carbon chains.
When you consume calories you take in carbon, and when you exhale CO2 you expel carbon.
The key to weight loss is to burn more carbon than you consume.
To lose fat, you must create sustainable habits that allow you to maintain adherence to your plan.
Understanding the basic physiology behind fat loss will help you find the optimal strategies to reach your goals.
Full Story
I have a question for you, and I already know that you don’t know the answer. How do you lose fat?
Not in the sense of “eat less, move more” to create a caloric deficit, but rather on a physiological and chemical level. Physically, where does the fat go? Are you stumped?
I would bet that while many of you have tried to manipulate your weight over the years, only a handful have considered this intriguing question. Do the fat cells simply shrink? Do we sweat it out? Does fat leave the body through urine and feces? Maybe it just transforms into muscle or magically vanishes from the body into thin air?
Who knows? Oh, right. I do.
Take A Breath
It turns out that fat loss occurs through…drum roll pleaseee… breathing!
That’s right - during fat loss, the constituents of fat leave your body with every exhale that you take. The food we consume – protein, fat, and carbs- are all made of chains of carbon molecules. We take in oxygen with every inhale, and we expel CO2 with every exhale.
The oxygen, or “O2” part of the CO2 comes from the atmosphere through our breath, but what about the carbon, or “C” part? You see, the carbon comes from the body fat that came from the protein, fat, and carbs, or carbon chains, we had consumed.
To lose fat, all we need to do is consume less carbon than we breathe out. Now, does this mean you simply hang out on the recliner and hyperventilate for a little while to lose fat? Let’s dig a little deeper.
Digging Deeper
To create energy and power physiological processes, such as existing and exercising, the body breaks a carbon molecule off of the body fat carbon chain and allows the one carbon molecule to freely float around in the body. The body doesn’t let the solo carbon hand aground for too long, though, and gets it out of the body through the process of breathing.
As we breathe in oxygen (O2), it combines with that solo carbon (C), and as we breathe out we expel the “old body fat” carbon and the oxygen as CO2. Over time, our body fat stores get smaller and smaller as this cycle repeats itself. To lose fat, we either need to take in less carbon (by consuming fewer calories) or increase the rate at which the body gets rid of it (by moving more and creating a larger demand).
Enough Nerd Talk - The Practical Takeaways
How can you practically apply this information to lose more fat? In order to burn more carbon and consume fewer carbon, you must create sustainable habits that allow you to maintain adherence to your plan.
Whether your plan includes a resistance training routine, going for frequent walks, HIIT cardio, etc. on the “burn more carbon” end, or intermittent fasting, macro counting, the Paleo diet, etc. on the “consume less carbon” end, the specifics of the plan are specific to you. Understanding the basic physiology behind fat loss will help you find the optimal strategies to reach your goals.
And if not, it’s still a cool fun fact to share at parties.
Wrap Up
I first learned the answer to “how do you lose fat?” from the popular sport performance professor Dr. Andy Galpin and I had never before thought about the question on that level. I found his explanation to be eye-opening and his simplified approach helpful in tackling other physiological principles.
They say a real expert is able to break down complex concepts into layman’s terms, and I have not found many better at doing this than Dr. Galpin. His videos provide a wealth of information in a very digestible manner. If you’re interested in learning more about this topic or would just enjoy hearing this information from a PhD, check out the following videos:
