If matter can only change form through physical and chemical changes, where does all the matter we get rid of when losing weight end up in?
In: 65
Believe it or not your body primarily loses weight by breathing it out. The CO2 + water vapour breathed out is heavier than the O2 taken in. CO2 + water are by products of the respiration chemical reaction that occurs in your cells to provide energy.
The primary way we get rid of excess weight is actually breathing. As we breath out, CO2 is produced. So when we burn more calories than we take in, your body gets rid of the excess carbon in the form of exhaling. Of course other methods of “elimination” in the rest room count too, but the main source of permanent weight loss is still breathing
You pee, poop, sweat, and breathe it out. That’s what happens to everything you consume that doesn’t get stored, and everything stored that you use up.
Usually, a chemical change is involved.
Fat is made of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, in the same compound.
When we use that as fuel (because we have already spent everything we ate), we break down that compound into some energy, plus CO2 and H2O.
We mostly exhale that CO2. Water, some of it is exhaled, some may go down the drain.
From what others have written. I feel like the energy that were used by our body to perform the motions when we’re exercising is still considered energy use. Like. Is it not basically chemical energy turning into kinetic energy?
This is just a guess though. I’m not exactly a scientist myself lol.
You breathe, sweat, pee, and poop it out. Mostly, though, breathing. You’re using oxygen (breathe in) to break up carbon-based materials (like carbohydrates), and producing water (you pee and sweat) and carbon dioxide (you breathe out).
You breathe it out and you work it off…
When you do physical activity your muscles burn energy, literally “burn”… your body temperature rises, you start to sweat and evaporation takes that heat away…
Warm blooded creatures are literally slow burners, you take in fuel, convert it to long chain molecules which your cells can use as energy (ATP) and they burn it to function
Similar thing happen when you burn fat or your own muscle mass when you starve
As others have said exhaling CO2 removes a lot of mass, but we also lose mass by converting it to body heat.
Not sure if it’s truly ELI5 but this has to be linked:
The mathematics of weight loss. Some formulas, experiments etc that answer your question.
Just as a technicality matter(mass) can also convert to energy. This is not relevant for the process you describing, but very much means that matter doesn’t just change from one form to another.
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