Question:
Where do all those pounds of fat go?

Hi! I am just over 8 months post op and have lost 95 pounds. I was just wondering, where did all the fat go? That's a lot of fat!! How does the body process it and how does it leave the body? Just curious. THANKS!!    — Jennifer H. (posted on March 6, 2004)

March 5, 2004
Much gets burned for fuel. The waste products account for going to the bathroom even when eating so little.
   — bob-haller

March 5, 2004
My husband took it off my hands. Poor guy has gained like 40 pounds since my surgery last year. But yes, it is eliminated in the "potty". Also, another good reason for drinking so much water to help flush out your system. Best of luck to you and congratulations on your weightloss. Char
   — Charlene W.

March 6, 2004
It is gross, but you lose the fat from bowel movements, peeing, sweat, blowing your nose, not sure on that one, but that gives you a idea. The previous poster is right, drink alot of water to flush out your system. BTW, good job on losing the 95 lbs. Cindy Smith Open RNY 8-6-03 -112 lbs
   — cindy

March 6, 2004
it is not as simple as pooing it out. simpplified explanation from my collge anatomy and physiology book, fat that is not immediately used as energy is stored in adipose tissue (fat depots) . before the fat molecules can be utilized as energy it mmust be released from the fat depots and split into glycerol and fatty acids. the glycerol and fatty acids are catabolized separately. glycerol through several chemical reactions in the body is converted to glucose,the chief source of energy in cells. the glucose is then broken down thru glycolysis, Kreb cycle and electron transport chain. fatty acids go thru a series of complicated reactions eventually breaking down into ATP which enters the Kreb Cycle (Rmember that from High school biology?)to the best of my understanding a simplified explanation is that the energy from the fat is expended as heat energy , and, water and CO2 are produced. the fat you are seeing in the toilet is from the fat in the meal you recently ingested and is passing thru your intestinal tract with out having been absorbed or stored in your adipose tissue due to the malabsorption factor of the surgery. I would suggest getting a high school or college biology book and reviewing so you can get actual facts rather than made up theories.
   — **willow**

March 6, 2004
Wow, Willow! You sound like my anatomy and physiology professor! You actually remember all that????? Geesh. I remembered it was converted to fatty acids and eventually glucose and burned as fuel ---much simplified from your correct explaination *G* I'm impressed, girl! <br> Folks, Willow is right. Any fat you see in your stool is from food recently ingested, not burned fat. Remember, any food we eat that is not used for fuel is stored after it is converted to fat. To get rid of fat, we have to break it back down and use it up. There is no way for it to get back into our digestive system as fatty stool!
   — Linda S.

March 7, 2004
I must confess... I got out my text book, (being a pack rat has its uses) and looked it up and condensed 10+ pages into a paragraph. I only remembered very loosely a little of it til I reviewed.
   — **willow**

March 12, 2004
The easiest way to explain it is actually quite simple when you think about it (though it still may not be totally understandable). Losing weight is like gassing up a car. You put the gas in and it disappears, right? Where does it go? Heck if I know, but it is used by the car for energy, and thus is broken down and disappears and you have to refuel the car because the gas is gone. Losing weight is the same thing. Food is basically one thing...ENERGY for the body to run on (for the heart to pump, the lungs to breath, the veins and arteries to circulate, the brain to work, the toes to wiggle....and everything else in between). When you are dieting, your body still needs a certain amount to run on and if you aren't taking it in in food, then the body uses the stored fat. Just like gasoline, it is used and broken down by the body and disappears. Hope this helps.
   — Lynette B.