- With Mayo Clinic nutritionist
Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.
Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.
As a specialty editor for the Food & Nutrition Center, Katherine Zeratsky helps you sort through the facts and figures, the fads and the hype to learn more about nutrition and diet.
A Marinette, Wis., native, she is certified in dietetics by the state of Minnesota and the American Dietetic Association. She has been with Mayo Clinic since 1999.
She is active in nutrition-related curriculum and course development in pediatrics at Mayo Clinic Rochester and nutrition education related to the physiology and recommended intakes for premature infants.
Other areas of interest include breast milk and formula safety, neonatal feeding, and nutrition for breast-feeding mothers.
She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, served a dietetic internship at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, and worked as a registered dietitian and health risk counselor at ThedaCare of Appleton, Wis., before joining the Mayo Clinic staff.
More answers
- Fast weight loss: What's wrong with it?
- Weight loss: Better to cut calories or exercise more?
- Weight-loss hypnosis: Does it work?
- Caffeine: Can it help me lose weight?
- Vegetarian diet: Will it help me lose weight?
- Lipovarin: An effective weight-loss supplement?
- Belly-dancing: A good exercise for weight loss?
- Ear stapling for weight loss: Does it work?
- Coffee calories: Sabotaging your weight-loss plans?
- Blood type diet: Does it work?
- Coconut oil and weight loss: Does it work?
- Trying to lose weight? Watch what you drink
- Vitamin B-12 injections for weight loss: Do they work?
- FucoThin: Can it help burn fat?
- HCG injections: Good for weight loss?
- Weight-loss exercise: How do I fit it into my day?
- Apple cider vinegar for weight loss: Does it work?
- Protein shakes: Do they increase weight loss?
- CortiSlim: Do cortisol blockers increase weight loss?
- Fat but fit: Can I still be healthy?
- Metabolism: What's the best way to boost it?
- Walking: Is it enough for weight loss?
- Bitter orange weight-loss supplements: Do they work?
- Phentermine: Can it help me lose weight?
- Hoodia: An effective appetite suppressant?
- Water retention: Are there any natural diuretics?
- Lipodissolve: Does it get rid of unwanted fat?
- Slow metabolism: Is it to blame for weight gain?
- Breakfast: Why is it so important?
- see all
Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Question
Body fat: Where does it go when you lose weight?
Where does body fat go when you lose weight?
Answer
from Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.
When you consume fewer calories than your body needs, your body turns to fat for energy. Your fat cells (triglycerides) provide the fuel for this energy.
Through a series of complex metabolic processes, triglycerides are broken down into two different components — glycerol and fatty acids — which are absorbed into your liver, kidney and muscle. Here, these components are further broken down by chemical processes that ultimately produce energy for your body.
The heat generated through these activities is used to help maintain your body temperature. The waste products that result are water and carbon dioxide. You excrete water primarily in urine and sweat and carbon dioxide in air exhaled from your lungs.
Next question
