There is energy from the food that we just ate, and then there is energy from the fat reserves. I was wondering, how much time would I have left to get rid of the calories of a meal I just ate, before it becomes fat. I’m guessing that this transition most probably isn’t as simple as that, but I believe I have made the idea clear. Also, how is this transformation done?
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Mitochondria in each cell are what eventually create usable energy in the form of ATP. For the most part, mitochondria will use glucose (from carbs) or fatty acids (from dietary or stored fat) to do this.
Your body will generally use up available glucose before tapping into ingested or stored fat.
When ingesting carbs, your body sends the glucose into your bloodstream, where it is transported all over and absorbed by all your body’s cells.
Your blood and cells can only store so much glucose. Excess glucose is converted into glycogen for short term storage (~12 hrs) in the muscles and liver. When glucose levels drop, this glycogen is once again broken down into glucose for energy.
Your body can only store so much glycogen. When glycogen stores are filled up, any additional glucose is converted into fat. And again, this fat will only be burned when glucose/glycogen stores are used up.
In terms of calories/energy, this fat converted from glucose is no different from fat ingested or fat already stored in adipose tissue.
To touch on the third macronutrient, protein can be broken down into glucose if need be, but typically is used for other more important things.
Keep in mind this is a simplified explanation and reality isn’t this clear cut.
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