When you lose body fat… where does it actually go?
Do you sweat it out? Burn it off? Does it somehow disappear?
The answer might surprise you.
In this episode of The Fundamentals of Fitness, Alison Berrisford strips fat loss back to the science—without reducing it to the unhelpful advice of simply “eat less and move more.”
We explore:
- What actually happens when your body uses stored fat
- Where lost body fat physically goes
- Why a calorie deficit matters
- Why calories aren't the whole story
- How protein, fibre, sleep and your environment affect fat loss
- Why the scales can go up even when you're making progress
- Why you can't choose where you lose fat from
- Whether low-carb, low-fat or intermittent fasting is best
- How to make fat loss sustainable in the real world
Because understanding how fat loss happens is one thing.
Creating a strategy you can actually live with is another.
CONNECT WITH ALISON
For no-nonsense fitness, training, and mindset support, you can find me here:
Instagram: @abperformancetraining
TikTok: @abperformancetraining
Facebook: AB Performance Training & Coaching
Website: abperformance.training
DISCLAIMER
The information shared on The Fundamentals of Fitness podcast is for educational purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making changes to your training, nutrition, or health routines.
References:
Meerman, R. and Brown, A.J. (2014) ‘When somebody loses weight, where does the fat go?’, BMJ, 349, g7257.
Hall, K.D. et al. (2019) ‘Ultra-processed diets cause excess calorie intake and weight gain: An inpatient randomized controlled trial of ad libitum food intake’, Cell Metabolism, 30(1), pp. 67–77.e3.
Gardner, C.D. et al. (2018) ‘Effect of low-fat vs low-carbohydrate diet on 12-month weight loss in overweight adults and the association with genotype pattern or insulin secretion: The DIETFITS randomized clinical trial’, JAMA, 319(7), pp. 667–679.
Hall, K.D. et al. (2015) ‘Calorie for calorie, dietary fat restriction results in more body fat loss than carbohydrate restriction in people with obesity’, Cell Metabolism, 22(3), pp. 427–436.
Dhurandhar, E.J. et al. (2015) ‘Energy balance measurement: When something is not better than nothing’, International Journal of Obesity, 39, pp. 1109–1113.
