Fat balls/marbles under skin after weight loss

fairy2b
fairy2b Posts: 126 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hey Guys!

I've lost about 60 lbs and am now in the top "healthy" BMI range. I have noticed what feel like "fat balls" or marbles underneath my skin. They are ALL over my body, and they don't hurt or change size. I'm fairly certain they are not cysts after talking with a few health care professionals.

They are most noticeable up and down my abdomen and stomach, and I can feel their definition most in that area, although I have felt them in my arm tissue and leg tissue (more so in areas that still have fatty tissue.)

I have done tons of research on this, and haven't found any scientific data explaining this phenomenon or article pertaining to this, although I found one forum where some people experience the same thing.

One of the theories I read suggests that since we can never alter how many fat cells we have, what we can alter is their size. When we are overweight, these fat cells smooth out together but when you start losing weight, the fat cells shrink and therefore become more "noticeable" underneath the skin. (If I press and pull my skin tight in the areas I can see the small round deposit...SO WEIRD!!!)

Another forum suggested this happens right before a "fat flush" and your body is getting ready to burn these deposits... (but that sounds more like wishful thinking horse *kitten* to me)....

Has anyone else experienced this with their weight loss or read any studies on this? I'm curious if you think this theory is true and what your experience has been.
«1345

Replies

  • snowflakesav
    snowflakesav Posts: 649 Member
    More likely fluid in your lymphatic system.
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html/ covers this a little.
  • jenncornelsen
    jenncornelsen Posts: 969 Member
    i have that. its just fat. sucks. should lessen as u lose the last few.
  • fairy2b
    fairy2b Posts: 126 Member
    ncboiler89 wrote: »
    I noticed this a loooooong time ago and had a doctor check it out. He was very unimpressed and was like, "meh fat. No big deal".

    Of course it could be a tumor, fluid in your lymph system, alien birth pouch, a bug. We aren't doctors here.

    HAHAHAHAH! Yes, alien babies were my first thought! Tumors all over my body my second. The professionals I talked to were also "unimpressed." Thanks for the laugh!
  • taco_inspector
    taco_inspector Posts: 7,223 Member
    Some additional thoughts here: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1154106

    It's been a long time since I was lean (especially that lean), but the then-current bro-science was to ensure that you're well (if not over) hydrated, drink red-wine, get a tissue massage, and kick back, which seems to follow some of the stuff mentioned in that link that @Ninkyou posted above...

  • fairy2b
    fairy2b Posts: 126 Member
    :D:D:D:D
  • fairy2b
    fairy2b Posts: 126 Member
    standenvernet wrote: »
    Some additional thoughts here: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1154106

    It's been a long time since I was lean (especially that lean), but the then-current bro-science was to ensure that you're well (if not over) hydrated, drink red-wine, get a tissue massage, and kick back, which seems to follow some of the stuff mentioned in that link that @Ninkyou posted above...

    So the funny thing is I'm not lean at all...I still have about 15 lbs to put me in the middle of healthy BMI....thanks for the link!
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    fairy2b wrote: »
    standenvernet wrote: »
    Some additional thoughts here: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1154106

    It's been a long time since I was lean (especially that lean), but the then-current bro-science was to ensure that you're well (if not over) hydrated, drink red-wine, get a tissue massage, and kick back, which seems to follow some of the stuff mentioned in that link that @Ninkyou posted above...

    So the funny thing is I'm not lean at all...I still have about 15 lbs to put me in the middle of healthy BMI....thanks for the link!

    I'm not either. I have at least 15 lbs before I hit a healthy BMI but I can feel the fat cells. I think it just happens as you lean out.
  • taco_inspector
    taco_inspector Posts: 7,223 Member
    fairy2b wrote: »
    So the funny thing is I'm not lean at all...I still have about 15 lbs to put me in the middle of healthy BMI....
    Ninkyou wrote: »
    I'm not either. I have at least 15 lbs before I hit a healthy BMI but I can feel the fat cells. I think it just happens as you lean out.
    I'm still like 10lbs over "Overweight" by BMI, so my marbles have a lot of company just now, so you're where I'll be around the end of this year :'(

    I say it's a good excuse for a bender and a massage!
  • Camo_xxx
    Camo_xxx Posts: 1,082 Member
    I notice them as well and being the inquisitive type looked for answers. Seems to be a few theriories but if there is a medical answer it eludes me.
    hopefully if somebody has the answer they will share a link and educate us.
    In the mean time I will just go with Lyles insights. ( the body recomp link already posted )
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    I have them in my tummy. The first time i noticed them I Googled, and read about them happening right before a whoosh. This was like 6mths ago and they are still there just the same as before.
    The whoosh fairy hasn't visited me in ages :cry:
  • conqueringsquidlette
    conqueringsquidlette Posts: 383 Member
    Are they lipomas? I have a gigantic one in my lower back (MUCH bigger than a marble).
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
    I have those too, especially around my ribs.

    I figured that they were somehow related to all of the surgeries that I've had in that area of my body or a lymph issue.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    yeah, the texture definitely changes, and it's definitely weird. pre-weight loss, the flesh is just firmer, denser. post-WL it's like a bag half full of spongey marbles.

    to get to the "whoosh" Lyle McDonald talked about, i think you have to get down pretty low in body fat.

    i maintained at 124 lbs for 4 years and it never went away. (did cardio and metabolic circuits, only started really weight lifting at the end)
  • minties82
    minties82 Posts: 907 Member
    The fat in my stomach has always felt like marbles. I've been obese for at least 16 years. I've lost about 51-52lbs this year and it still feels exactly the same.

    My husband has never had that sort of feel to his fat ever! Not that he has much but his is always just smooth and firm.
  • kikichewie
    kikichewie Posts: 276 Member
    They're lipomas, and there is plenty of reputable medical information available online. I have a couple, and I was just reading up on them the other day. Unfortunately, it looks like they generally don't disappear with weight loss. However, weight gain can increase the size and quantity. So don't yoyo when you lose the weight. They can be removed surgically, using liposuction or lipodissolve, or reduced in size using steroid injections. But insurance is unlikely to cover it unless a particular lipoma is causing a problem pressing on a nerve or something.
  • ncboiler89
    ncboiler89 Posts: 2,408 Member
    kikichewie wrote: »
    They're lipomas, and there is plenty of reputable medical information available online. I have a couple, and I was just reading up on them the other day. Unfortunately, it looks like they generally don't disappear with weight loss. However, weight gain can increase the size and quantity. So don't yoyo when you lose the weight. They can be removed surgically, using liposuction or lipodissolve, or reduced in size using steroid injections. But insurance is unlikely to cover it unless a particular lipoma is causing a problem pressing on a nerve or something.

    Is there a tea I can drink or a detox regimen I do to get rid of them as well?
  • kikichewie
    kikichewie Posts: 276 Member
    Is there a tea I can drink or a detox regimen I do to get rid of them as well?

    Let's see if I can do this quote thing.....

    Exactly what about my response warrants the sarcasm re teas and detoxes?

  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    edited April 2015
    kikichewie wrote: »
    They're lipomas, and there is plenty of reputable medical information available online. I have a couple, and I was just reading up on them the other day. Unfortunately, it looks like they generally don't disappear with weight loss. However, weight gain can increase the size and quantity. So don't yoyo when you lose the weight. They can be removed surgically, using liposuction or lipodissolve, or reduced in size using steroid injections. But insurance is unlikely to cover it unless a particular lipoma is causing a problem pressing on a nerve or something.

    I don't think they're the same thing, honestly. It's not just 1 or 2 or 3 - it's the whole network of fatty tissue that is riddled with these marbly bits.
  • Camo_xxx
    Camo_xxx Posts: 1,082 Member
    kikichewie wrote: »
    They're lipomas, and there is plenty of reputable medical information available online. I have a couple, and I was just reading up on them the other day. Unfortunately, it looks like they generally don't disappear with weight loss. However, weight gain can increase the size and quantity. So don't yoyo when you lose the weight. They can be removed surgically, using liposuction or lipodissolve, or reduced in size using steroid injections. But insurance is unlikely to cover it unless a particular lipoma is causing a problem pressing on a nerve or something.

    Perhaps but mine have come and gone and not in the same areas. First showed up around my belly button and disappeared after I lost about 10 lbs of fat, then showed up in my chest and then disappeared after I lost more fat, then showed up in my love handles and disappeared as the fat did. With only a few pounds left to go I noticed a few in my lower back as that area became squishy, if they don't disappear like the others maybe those ones are lipomas.
  • jenncornelsen
    jenncornelsen Posts: 969 Member
    HappyCampr1 wrote: »
    Mine feel like a popcorn ceiling on my outer quads and my forearms. it feels like thousands of tiny bumps. There can't possibly be that many lipomas under my skin, and if there are, I doubt they could remove them all. Seriously, it's a ton of tiny bumps. I only have them on my leaner parts though. I've never felt them in my belly, just my extremities.

    mine is the same. if the OP said she had a few random bumps i would say lipomas. but i didnt get that from her post
  • kikichewie
    kikichewie Posts: 276 Member
    A small percentage of people can have hundreds of lipomas, apparently. If you've got what feel like fatty marbles or cysts under your skin, research lipomas, that's all I'm saying. Don't take my word for it. But the information is readily available.
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
    What I've got aren't lipomas--entirely different shape, density and they move differently under the skin.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    edited April 2015
    Mmm I dunno. I've got a relative who had a couple of lipomas, I've felt them... it's different. I mean, maybe, for some people.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    tomatoey wrote: »
    kikichewie wrote: »
    They're lipomas, and there is plenty of reputable medical information available online. I have a couple, and I was just reading up on them the other day. Unfortunately, it looks like they generally don't disappear with weight loss. However, weight gain can increase the size and quantity. So don't yoyo when you lose the weight. They can be removed surgically, using liposuction or lipodissolve, or reduced in size using steroid injections. But insurance is unlikely to cover it unless a particular lipoma is causing a problem pressing on a nerve or something.

    I don't think they're the same thing, honestly. It's not just 1 or 2 or 3 - it's the whole network of fatty tissue that is riddled with these marbly bits.

    Yep me too. And i only noticed them after i lost most of my belly flab
  • kikichewie
    kikichewie Posts: 276 Member
    HappyCampr1 wrote: »
    Mine feel like a popcorn ceiling on my outer quads and my forearms. it feels like thousands of tiny bumps. There can't possibly be that many lipomas under my skin, and if there are, I doubt they could remove them all. Seriously, it's a ton of tiny bumps. I only have them on my leaner parts though. I've never felt them in my belly, just my extremities.

    Not that I'm any kind of expert, but that doesn't sound like lipomas to me either (although like I said, some people can have hundreds). Sounds more like regular fatty tissue to me.
  • minties82
    minties82 Posts: 907 Member
    Mine are just fat. I've had lots of ultrasounds and an MRI and it was described as adipose tissue resulting from obesity. No one ever suggested I had 1000 tumors in my tummy :-)
  • allaboutthecake
    allaboutthecake Posts: 1,535 Member
    No help here but maybe repeated massaging could benefit & shrink them down? If anything, you'd feel better after the massages.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories