Ever Wondered Where All The Fat Goes When You Lose Weight?

“What’s the best diet for weight loss?”

“How do I lose fat, not muscle?”

“What is water weight?”

With more than two in three adults in the U.S. overweight or obese — and about 50 percent of those folks actively trying to lose weight — it’s more important than ever to make sure you’re getting the most accurate information about weight loss.

The foundation, of course, is a healthy, balanced diet with consistent, challenging workouts.

But have you ever wondered where all that fat that you’re working so hard to lose actually goes?

 Related: Golden Rules Of Fat Loss Explained By An Expert

Where Does Fat Go When You Lose Weight?

While burning more energy than you take in is the root of weight loss, when fat is burned, the vast majority of it is exhaled as carbon dioxide into thin air. (mind=blown).

According to Australian researcher and physicist Ruben Meerman, Ph.D. and colleagues, 84 percent, or 8.4 of every 10 pounds of fat burned, is exhaled as carbon dioxide.

The remaining 16 percent leaves the body as water through urine, sweat, tears, breath, and other bodily fluids. And no, before you ask, you can’t lose weight simply by breathing more.

Where Does Fat Go When You Lose It?

This may seem like a silly question, but it's one we've all pondered at least a few times along our weight-loss journeys. Where does the fat go when we lose weight? Do the fat cells burst and flush out? Do we expel it during bathroom breaks? Do little fairies fly in at night and swipe away all that unwanted jiggle? Let's get into the science, dispel some myths, and answer some (fat-)burning questions.

First of all, there is a difference between weight loss and fat loss. Weight loss is an overall decrease in the number on the scale. This could be from water loss, muscle loss, fat loss, or even getting a drastic haircut (and no, we're not referencing your fringe in school). Fat loss, however, is the amount of body fat we lose, and this is done when the body burns off more calories than it consumes in a given day.