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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)

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Website: projectweightloss.org

Instagram: @fina.projectweightloss

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