How can a person burn more calories per day than consumed? Where did the extra energy come from if food not equivalent to that amount was consumed?
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Your body gets its energy a few different ways:
– Sugars (carbohydrates) get converted into glucose.
– Fats turn into fatty acids and glycerol.
– Proteins turn into amino acids.
These parts then swim around in your blood or other body fluids. Your body treats this like a sushi boat and takes what it needs:
– Cells in your body grab glucose or fatty acids to use as fuel.
– Your liver is like a “sugar battery.” It stores some glucose as a backup. When you need more sugar in your blood, the liver turns this backup into glucose. When there’s extra sugar, the liver stores it again.
– Your fat cells are like a “fat battery.” They convert any excess energy fat, and store that fat into fat cells (adipose tissue). When you need more energy, these cells turn the stored fat back into something your body can use as fuel. Your fat battery is a lot slower than your sugar battery.
– Sometimes, your body can use amino acids from proteins as a backup fuel. It can even turn them into a little bit of sugar or fat if needed.
So, when you’re using more energy than you’re eating, here’s what happens:
– Your body uses the sugar in your blood first.
– Your “sugar battery” in the liver kicks in to keep you going.
– Your “fat battery” starts to slowly give you more energy.
– If needed, your body can use protein as a last-resort fuel.
You can live quite a while just using your “fat battery” for energy.
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