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When we lose weight, where does that fat actually go? Do we sweat it out, pee it out, or does it just melt away into energy? In this episode, I keep it light and simple as I walk you through what fat really is (spoiler: it's just carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen), how it comes into our bodies, and how sugar and flour can quietly end up in our body's savings account. Then we get to the main event: how fat actually leaves. I share the surprising research from physicist Ruben Meerman and researcher Andrew Brown, who found that about 84 percent of the fat we lose leaves through our lungs as carbon dioxide. Yes, my dears, we literally breathe it out! Along the way, I talk about life without a gallbladder, share a fun fact about why warmth makes us feel so good, and bust a few common fat myths. So the next time you're huffing and puffing on a walk, smile, because that's progress leaving the building, one breath at a time.

Quote of the Week:

“The only reason I would take up jogging is so that I could hear heavy breathing again.”

“In two decades I've lost a total of 789 pounds. I should be hanging from a charm bracelet.”

— Erma Bombeck

Citations

• Meerman, R. & Brown, A. J., “When somebody loses weight, where does the fat go?” BMJ, Christmas issue (2014), University of New South Wales

• Rifai, T., MD, in Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials, “Where Does Fat Disappear to When You Lose Weight?” (2025), health.clevelandclinic.org

• Cleveland Clinic Health Library, “Adipose Tissue (Body Fat)”, my.clevelandclinic.org

• Raison, C. et al. (research on whole-body warming and mood/serotonin), JAMA Psychiatry (2016)

• Spalding, K. et al., “Dynamics of fat cell turnover in humans,” Nature (2008)

• NPR, “When You Burn Off That Fat, Where Does It Go?” (2014); Live Science, “Exhaled Pounds: How Fat Leaves the Body” (2014)

• Bombeck, E. (quotes of the week)

Connect With Me

Website: projectweightloss.org

Instagram: @fina.projectweightloss

Let’s go, let’s get it done.

Get more information at: http://projectweightloss.org

Send us Fan Mail

When you feel lost in grief, fear, or chaos, sometimes the only thing to do is act.

But not just any action.

This week I share a walk by the bay and one simple question to guide us through the season ahead: What would love do? With a little help from the research on behavioral activation, positive emotions, and values-based living, plus a few lighthearted Halloween-through-Christmas test runs.

Follow along on Instagram @fina.projectweightloss and find every episode at projectweightloss.org.

Quote of the Week

"Love is patient and is kind. Love doesn't envy. Love doesn't brag, is not proud, doesn't behave itself inappropriately, doesn't seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil; doesn't rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails."

That's from 1 Corinthians, chapter 13.

Sources

• Lewinsohn, P. (early research on behavioral activation and depression, 1970s); Martell, C., Addis, M. & Jacobson, N., Depression in Context: Strategies for Guided Action

• Fredrickson, B. (broaden-and-build theory, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill); Fredrickson, B., Love 2.0: How Our Supreme Emotion Affects Everything We Feel, Think, Do, and Become

• Hayes, S. (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy); Hayes, S., A Liberated Mind

• 1 Corinthians 13:4–8, World English Bible (public domain)

Let’s go, let’s get it done.

Get more information at: http://projectweightloss.org

Send us Fan Mail

Gas is up. Groceries are up. And if your stomach does a little flip every time you open your banking app, friend, this one's for you.

Last time we talked about money, we talked about the two levers. This week I'm going to what happens inside us when money gets tight… and, believe it or not, what happens when we suddenly get more of it.

I'm also sharing what the research says actually helps us stay steady, a few offerings you can start using this week, and some very real, very practical places to turn if you're in the thick of it right now.

Not a perfect life. A comfortable one. Come plant a tree with me. 🌳

"Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago." — Warren Buffett

"A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in." — Proverb, often attributed to the Greeks

I'm a life coach, not a doctor, therapist, or financial advisor. This episode is for information and inspiration. Please talk with a qualified professional about your own health and financial situation.

• American Psychological Association, Stress in America: Paying With Our Health (2015)

• Swaffield, J. (Vancouver Island University / University of Alberta), research on stress and eating; Richardson, T. et al. (University of Southampton), International Journal of Eating Disorders (2015)

• Mullainathan, S. & Shafir, E., Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much

• Hankins, S., Hoekstra, M. & Skiba, P. M., "The Ticket to Easy Street? The Financial Consequences of Winning the Lottery," Review of Economics and Statistics (2011)

• Federal Reserve community development research, "The Benefits Cliff, Explained" (fedcommunities.org)

• Hendricks, G., The Big Leap

• Ashraf, N., Karlan, D. & Yin, W., commitment savings study, Quarterly Journal of Economics (2006); Thaler, R. & Benartzi, S., Save More Tomorrow (2004)

• Gjertson, L., "Emergency Saving and Household Hardship," Journal of Family and Economic Issues (2016); Ruberton, P., Gladstone, J. & Lyubomirsky, S., Emotion (2016)

• Ameriks, J., Caplin, A. & Leahy, J., "Wealth Accumulation and the Propensity to Plan," Quarterly Journal of Economics (2003)

• Buffett, W., Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meetings (2020, 2022) and 2013 shareholder letter

• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, financial well-being framework (consumerfinance.gov)

• Mitchell, J., Mueller, A. et al., group CBT for compulsive buying, Journal of Clinical Psychiatry (2008)

• Gollwitzer, P. & Sheeran, P., implementation intentions meta-analysis (2006)

• Soman, D. & Cheema, A., earmarking study, Journal of Marketing Research (2011)

• Hershfield, H. et al., "Increasing Saving Behavior Through Age-Progressed Renderings of the Future Self," Journal of Marketing Research (2011)

• HUD Housing Counseling (hud.gov); IRS VITA free tax help; 211.org

• AAA gas price data, September 2026

Let’s go, let’s get it done.

Get more information at: http://projectweightloss.org