Just something interesting about weight loss...

[Clearwater AL]

An article on CNN Health by Ruben Meerman and Andrew Brown.

(Ruben Meerman is an assistant scientist at the University of New South Wales and author of "Big Fat Myths: When You Lose Weight, Where Does the Fat Go?" Andrew Brown is a professor and head of the School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences at the University.)


Where fat goes when you lose weight?

The most common misconception by far, was that fat is converted to energy. The problem with this theory is that it violates the law of conservation of matter, which all chemical reactions obey.

The correct answer is that fat is converted to carbon dioxide and water. You exhale the carbon dioxide and the water mixes into your circulation until it's lost as urine or sweat.

The only thing in food that makes it to your colon undigested and intact is dietary fiber.

If you lose 10 pounds of fat, precisely 8.4 pounds comes out through your lungs and the remaining 1.6 pounds turns into water. In other words, nearly all the weight we lose is exhaled.

My question…

Those of us with ALS lose weight from muscle loss and swallowing difficulties.
I wonder what relationship this would mean to those with progressive breathing problems.

Interesting… as our physical activities become less and less our ability to burn calories also becomes less and less. Muscle is the primary calorie burner of our body.

Yet… most of us lose weight and mass. Comments?

 

[affected]

As breathing issues increase with ALS weight loss increases unless there is a concerted effort to pile the calories in.

That CO2 and water are however the bi-products of fat being broken down into carbohydrates as I understand it - so they are the waste bit.

 

[Clearwater AL]

Tillie, as you wrote...

"That CO2 and water are however the bi-products of fat being broken down into carbohydrates as I understand it - so they are the waste bit."

Your understanding somewhat disagrees with what these two highly educated authors describe as the real process. Stool is a the smallest component of the process. It's for the most part... it is our lungs and urine that disposes fat is what they determined.

I know you often like to present an opposing view point (often to mine) which is good. It's a forum.

However... I still think it's an interesting question in relationship to ALS and muscle loss. Muscle is the primary calorie burner.

At my last ALS Clinic visit my Neuro told me to work on keeping my weight up as it keeps dropping. I'm doing less and less yet eating more junk food at night than I ever have in my life.

 

[KimT]

Al, I read that article.

It really doesn't matter where it goes because the bottom line is that weight is determined by the balance of taking in calories compared to the balance of expending calories. When I was running, I could consume over 4,000 calories a day and never gain a pound. When I was sitting on my A$$ after I sprained my ankle, eating around 2,500 calories a day I gained 10 pounds.

My metabolism was always extremely fast. When I fell and got the TBI, I went into metabolic overdrive for about six weeks. I lost 5 pounds, which I couldn't spare, even though I was eating everything in sight. I believe a large component of ALS, in some people, is a metabolic shift. However, there are some pretty fat people with ALS.

Last Summer I was in the pool every day and I started walking again (my good ankle healed against all odds) and I lost about 8 pounds. It was mostly fat because it came off my middle and my legs measured about the same.

My biggest mistake was panicking after Mayo told me to gain weight. I was in shock from the diagnosis so I gained 20 pounds before I discovered I was doing it all wrong. Then I fell and put on another 10. When I lost the 10 from swimming and moving more, my breathing improved.

Back to your original idea about fat not being converted to energy. That depends. If you are eating a diet extremely low in carbs, your body starts burning fat instead of carbs for energy. You go into ketosis. There isn't enough glucose for energy so the body turns to fat for energy. The reason people on the Atkins diet lose weight so quickly is that they become dehydrated from the fat-burning process of ketosis and their first loss is water weight. If they keep hydrated and stay in ketosis, they will continue to lose weight from the fat-for-fuel process.

So the easiest way to gain weight is a diet high in carbs as long as it exceeds your caloric need. It's not necessarily the healthiest diet but it works.

 

[Clearwater AL]

I'm glad you went to a rather lengthy extent explaining your situation. That's your life experience. Not all of us.

But, as you wrote in your first sentence...

"It really doesn't matter where it goes because the bottom line is that weight is determined by the balance of taking in calories compared to the balance of expending calories."

If an ALS person has lost considerable muscle function and muscle, muscle being the primary calorie burner yet we are consuming high carbohydrate foods still our weight continues to drop seems to be the mystery to me.

It does matter where it goes and how in relationship to the subject of ALS.

 

[KarenNWendyn]

Al,

Yes, fat is converted to water and CO2, and the CO2 is exhaled. If there is respiratory muscle weakness, the CO2 accumulates.

Muscle is a highly metabolically active tissue. People without MND who want to lose weight will find that strength training to build muscle is an effective way to lose weight (especially when combined with calorie restriction) because weight training stimulates metabolic activity of muscle.

ALS is a catabolic disease because muscle is breaking down due to loss of nerve input. This results in a loss of muscle mass and weight loss. It appears paradoxical that both building muscle and losing muscle can cause weight loss. I believe that’s your question. I think it’s because in ALS, the catabolism of muscle tissue outweighs (no pun intended) the normal muscle metabolic effect found in healthy people.

Add to that difficulty eating in ALS which leads to more muscle (and fat) breakdown, and that’s why there’s weight loss.

 

[KimT]

Muscle weighs more than fat, too. If we're losing muscle and gaining fat, it is still possible to lose weight while increasing size.

Al, Yes I only posted my experience but I do have graduate training in diet & nutrition, both micro- and macro-nutrition.

It's pretty easy to understand why people with bulbar onset or later bulbar involvement continue to lose weight. They are expending much more energy (calories) just to eat. Another reason for early PEG placement. Trouble breathing also expends more energy. Besides helping with CO2 expulsion, using a BiPap could conserve energy and, possibly, slow down weight loss.

Since ALS comes at us differently, cause and effect is hard to measure. There isn't any money to be had in studying nutrition, supplementation, and exercise but it doesn't surprise me that most of the doctors still hang their hats on diets high in carbs.

 

[Clearwater AL]

Great replies... thanks. Hope more chime in.

The article struck me as interesting where fat really goes.

Back to my ice cream, soft cookies, chocolate pudding and junk food at night.

PS. It is kinda nice... things I avoided all my life and now it doesn't make any difference. Hope I don't become a diabetic now on top of it.

Thanks again.

 

[Atsugi]

Good thread. I'm really very happy whenever you smart folks explain stuff. Thanks.

 

[Angiegal]

I agree with Mike!
I find it odd that before all this started, I RARELY broke a sweat. Now I sweat buckets, and that's just trying to put on a t-shirt. LOL

Angie