The Science Behind Weight Loss with Ruben Meerman

Australian Weight Loss Surgery Podcast

To understand weight loss, we need to understand chemistry. You’re probably wondering what chemistry has to do with weight loss. It's a massive part of the journey because we are chemical machines ourselves!

Thankfully, we have great educators, such as our guest today, to demonstrate and explain the scientific side of losing weight in simple, fun, and understandable ways.

Out of curiosity about where fat goes after weight loss, Ruben Meerman, a Science Educator and Author, made an amazing discovery. He found that the answer was that it turns into Water (H20) and Carbon Dioxide (C02). And he also discovered that C02 contributes the most to losing weight.

Weight loss is happening right under your nose! Ruben has shared this new knowledge across the country and even the world through his TedTalks. His amazing demonstrations visualise these molecules that can't be seen by the naked eye and show how these work together in our bodies.

The atoms, molecules, and chemical reactions in our body are crucial information to know how we can properly go through our weight loss journey without harming our own bodies. This power of knowledge needs to be shared with people because when you know how your body works internally and how it loses weight, you'll know where to begin.

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Episode Highlights:

• How Ruben began this journey with simply curiosity
• The big fat question: Where does the fat go?
• The myths and facts of where does the fat go
• Water and Carbon Dioxide
• Ruben's Liquid nitrogen demonstration
• Publishing Ruben's discovery in an article in the BMJ with Dr Andrew Brown
• Introducing this knowledge to the school level
• How breathing out helps to lose weight
• The Alphabet of what everything is made of
• Iron deficiency can slow down your weight loss
• How to effectively get back into physical activity
• Don't breathe off more than you need to
• Calculating the carbon atoms, you put in and breathe out
• 3D Animation of glucose molecules
• Addressing the obesity epidemic properly
• Bringing more awareness
• The contribution of sleep to your weight loss journey

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About Our Guest:

Ruben Meerman is a Science enthusiast, educator and author passionate about health literacy and STEM education. He teaches children, adolescents and adults where the carbon atoms they exhale come from and why that's important.

He believes that primary school children should learn about atoms, molecules and the Periodic Table because leaving it until high school is manifestly too late.

He uses liquid nitrogen, dry ice and colourful chemistry to explain how food is converted into the CO₂ we exhale. He can explain the physical difference between matter and energy using thermal imaging cameras and laser beams. Ruben even created 2D and 3D animations to explain chemical reactions and the difference between a vitamin and a mineral.

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Connect with Ruben Meerman:

Website | rubenmeerman.com

LinkedIn | au.linkedin.com/ruben-meerman

Twitter | @surfnscientist

YouTube | www.youtube.com/Ruben_Meerman

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Resources Mentioned in the Episode:

• Big Fat Myths by Ruben Meerman: www.amazon.com/Big-Fat-Myths
• The Mathematics of Weight Loss: https://youtu.be/vuIlsN32WaE?t=602
• When somebody loses weight, where does it go?: https://www.bmj.com/content/349/bmj.g7257
• How Breathing and metabolism are Connected: https://youtu.be/nM-ySWyID9o
• When somebody loses weight, where does the fat go?- Article: https://www.bmj.com/content/349/bmj.g7257

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