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We’re always talking about burning fat, but very rarely do we stop to ask where that fat goes. Is it converted into energy and released as heat? Or is it converted to muscle?

Apparently, neither is the right answer. According to a study by Andrew Brown from the University of New South Wales and physicist Ruben Meerman, when you lose weight you exhale your fat. Their study, published in the British Medical Journal, sheds new light on the metabolic process of weight loss. In a press release, Meerman said, “Most of the mass is breathed out as carbon dioxide. It goes into thin air.”

Excess carbs and proteins are converted into chemical compounds called triglycerides (which consist of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen) which are stored in the lipid droplets of fat cells. When you exercise, you’re attempting to metabolize those triglycerides, which means you are basically unlocking the carbon that’s stored in your fat cells.  To lose 10 kg, a person must inhale 29 kg of oxygen, produce 28 kg of carbon dioxide and 11 kg of water.

So it turns out, our lungs are the primary excretory organ for weight loss. The remainder is excreted through bodily fluids like sweat, urine and tears.