Q. When we Burn Fat where does it go?
A. Its a common misconception that when we burn fat, we burn it off as energy or heat. The truth is we breathe most of it out as Carbon Dioxide.
When we burn 10kg of Fat, about 8.4kg is breathed out in the form of Carbon Dioxide. The other 1.6kg is converted into water and comes out in the form of sweat, urine etc.…
Q. Does this mean if you make a conscious effort to breathe more, you will burn more fat? (The way a lot of news papers described it)
A. No, that’s called Hyperventilating and will make you feel dizzy, potentially cause heart palpitations and possibly cause you to pass out.
On a daily basis our body is utilizing fat as energy, when we exercise we dramatically increase this demand for energy, not only during but after as a result of Post Exercise Oxygen Consumption (Replenishing the oxygen you used up during the exercise). Both this and the fact that the growth and repair of muscle tissue requires energy means regular exercise will result in fat loss (When accompanied with a diet that does not completely outweigh the exercise done).