The mathematics of weight loss | Ruben Meerman

Many people want to lose weight, but what are the best ways to do it? There's a lot of advice out there, telling you to eat less (and what not to eat or what you should eat), and to exercise more (but don't overdo it). But what does the science say?

Ruben Meerman mostly known as The Surfing Scientist is a Scientist, Australian Television Science Presenter and Public Speaker also commonly performing science demonstrations for school kids.

Ruben is a proud supporter of free education of literacy, numeracy and science for all, he was educated on the free Australian public education himself.He is currently working on research on the science of weight loss and researching where does the fat go when you lose weight.

When you lose weight where does the fat go?

Most of the people thinks it turns into energy. Impossible. The correct answer is that 84% of a fat molecule's mass becomes carbon dioxide* and the rest becomes crystal clear water. So eat less and move more !

*carbon dioxide - ( CO2 ) is a naturally occurring colorless gas with a density about 60% higher than that of air that is odorless at normally encountered concentrations. CO2 can be collected over water. Is slightly soluble in water and denser than air, so another way to collect it is in a dry, upright gas jar.

CO2 is the waste gas that is produced when carbon is combined with oxygen as part of the body's energy-making processes. The lungs and respiratory system allow oxygen in the air to be taken into the body, while also enabling the body to get rid of carbon dioxide in the air breathed out.

The CO2 is dissolved in the blood, carried to the lungs by the circulation, and breathed out. Every living cell of our body carries out the energy-releasing process of respiration, where glucose (a simple sugar) is slowly "burnt" (oxidised) to give off carbon dioxide (excreted through the lungs) and water.

Breathe easy. The average human exhales about 2.3 pounds (1.04326 kg) of CO2 on an average day. (The exact quantity depends on your activity level—a person engaged in vigorous exercise produces up to eight times as much CO2 as his sedentary brethren.)

Why do we have to get rid of carbon dioxide? Excess CO2 must be removed from the body to stop it reaching toxic levels. As the blood flows through the lungs, excess carbon dioxide passes out of the blood and into the alveoli by diffusion. It is then removed from the lungs when we exhale (breathe out).