Visceral fat... What are you doing to reduce it?

Simplifi
Simplifi Posts: 128 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
As you may already know Visceral fat is body fat that is stored within the abdominal cavity and is therefore stored around a number of important internal organs such as the liver, pancreas and intestines. This type of fat can significantly increase your risk for certain diseases. It's separate from the subcutaneous fat that let's us "pinch an inch" and it's a lot harder to get rid of. I'm curious what other people are doing to burn it? It's something I really want to target. Thoughts?

Replies

  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
    Just plug in your calories and try to stay within them everyday. Move as much as you can. Lose the weight this way and you will lose visceral fat too. It's impossible to target by itself, and unfortunately is usually the last to go. You have to be in this for the long haul. There was a thread on this topic last month, I believe. You can do a search.
  • Simplifi
    Simplifi Posts: 128 Member
    snowflake954 wrote: »
    Just plug in your calories and try to stay within them everyday. Move as much as you can. Lose the weight this way and you will lose visceral fat too. It's impossible to target by itself, and unfortunately is usually the last to go. You have to be in this for the long haul. There was a thread on this topic last month, I believe. You can do a search.

    THank you :)
  • Simplifi
    Simplifi Posts: 128 Member
    jemhh wrote: »
    You can't pick which fat you lose--visceral or subcutaneous--but visceral is lost fairly easily. That is, a proportionately larger amount of it (rather than subcutaneous) is lost when you first start the fat loss process. IMO this is why we have people who lose pounds but not inches. It's the fat that wraps around your organs so it would be easy to lose without losing notable circumference in your midsection.

    Well I have lost 5% body fat since I started and only 1% visceral... and my visceral percentage hasn't changed in a while. It seems to be coming off at a much slower rate. I'm at 13% which is right at the edge of the safe zone. I just want to make sure I'm doing things correctly, I have no issue with being patient. Thanks for the input.
  • vivsky
    vivsky Posts: 6 Member
    I'm starting primal eating... i was previously on paleo and it me a waistline. But I found it too restrictive so I'm following the primal blueprint now which allows a little dairy and wine.
  • T1DCarnivoreRunner
    T1DCarnivoreRunner Posts: 11,502 Member
    michaeljbaker303 wrote: »
    jemhh wrote: »
    You can't pick which fat you lose--visceral or subcutaneous--but visceral is lost fairly easily. That is, a proportionately larger amount of it (rather than subcutaneous) is lost when you first start the fat loss process. IMO this is why we have people who lose pounds but not inches. It's the fat that wraps around your organs so it would be easy to lose without losing notable circumference in your midsection.

    Well I have lost 5% body fat since I started and only 1% visceral... and my visceral percentage hasn't changed in a while. It seems to be coming off at a much slower rate. I'm at 13% which is right at the edge of the safe zone. I just want to make sure I'm doing things correctly, I have no issue with being patient. Thanks for the input.

    I'm not sure how you are measuring subcutaneous vs. visceral fat, but it is common to use the Omron scales for this. Just keep in mind that visceral fat on the Omron scale is not a % as is total body fat... it is a "rating," and doesn't do much beyond tell you whether it is increasing or decreasing.
  • Simplifi
    Simplifi Posts: 128 Member
    midwesterner85 wrote: »
    michaeljbaker303 wrote: »
    jemhh wrote: »
    You can't pick which fat you lose--visceral or subcutaneous--but visceral is lost fairly easily. That is, a proportionately larger amount of it (rather than subcutaneous) is lost when you first start the fat loss process. IMO this is why we have people who lose pounds but not inches. It's the fat that wraps around your organs so it would be easy to lose without losing notable circumference in your midsection.

    Well I have lost 5% body fat since I started and only 1% visceral... and my visceral percentage hasn't changed in a while. It seems to be coming off at a much slower rate. I'm at 13% which is right at the edge of the safe zone. I just want to make sure I'm doing things correctly, I have no issue with being patient. Thanks for the input.

    I'm not sure how you are measuring subcutaneous vs. visceral fat, but it is common to use the Omron scales for this. Just keep in mind that visceral fat on the Omron scale is not a % as is total body fat... it is a "rating," and doesn't do much beyond tell you whether it is increasing or decreasing.

    Well actually I am using an Omron scale, but my initial percentage was derived from an MRI. Like you said I just use the scale to monitor if it increases or decreases. Good info thanks!
  • vikinglander
    vikinglander Posts: 1,547 Member
    I want to recommend the book "Always Hungry?" by Dr. David Ludwig. He's an endocrinologist from Harvard and he goes deep into the science behind weight gain and loss and what is actually going on in our cells. The book really helped me understand why I am eating the way I am, and how to make choices on the run. Hope it helps you, too.

    60 is the new 40!
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
    I started MFP after my son poked my huge beer gut and asked when is it due. I got a fitbit and a Aria wi fi scale from fitbit. The scale is nice because it logs my weight, body fat % and BMI. I know the body fat % is probably not totally accurate but it does change to reflect my success or lack thereof. I logged very accurately and started running, a lot. I went from 22% down to 15% and lost 53 pounds of fat. I needed new clothes and even had abs. This was also due to my knowledge of the health risks of visceral fat. Life got busy and I slacked off my running and put twenty pounds back on, you guessed it in the belly. I am getting back into running and trying to hit thirty miles a week again. My body fat % just dropped below 20% this morning and I got 6.5 miles in. My fitbit gave me the 10K step buzz before the sun came up! To all you beer gut dudes out there you can do this and still drink beer.
  • Simplifi
    Simplifi Posts: 128 Member
    rsclause wrote: »
    I started MFP after my son poked my huge beer gut and asked when is it due. I got a fitbit and a Aria wi fi scale from fitbit. The scale is nice because it logs my weight, body fat % and BMI. I know the body fat % is probably not totally accurate but it does change to reflect my success or lack thereof. I logged very accurately and started running, a lot. I went from 22% down to 15% and lost 53 pounds of fat. I needed new clothes and even had abs. This was also due to my knowledge of the health risks of visceral fat. Life got busy and I slacked off my running and put twenty pounds back on, you guessed it in the belly. I am getting back into running and trying to hit thirty miles a week again. My body fat % just dropped below 20% this morning and I got 6.5 miles in. My fitbit gave me the 10K step buzz before the sun came up! To all you beer gut dudes out there you can do this and still drink beer.

    Great work and thanks for the inspiration. Fortunately for me I don't really care for beer so that isn't an issue, but yes everyone can do it... just need to put your mind to it. My body fat is at 24%... I still have a ways to go but I'm not technically Obese any more lol
  • msf74
    msf74 Posts: 3,498 Member
    Apart from the dieting side of things which is where the biggest part of your results will come from you may wish to incorporate such HIIT into your exercise routine (if you have a suitable baseline level of conditioning to begin with. If not then incorporate it when you have this base in place.)

    IIRC it helps target visceral fat but it's been a while since I looked into the area so please double check the information.
  • Simplifi
    Simplifi Posts: 128 Member
    msf74 wrote: »
    Apart from the dieting side of things which is where the biggest part of your results will come from you may wish to incorporate such HIIT into your exercise routine (if you have a suitable baseline level of conditioning to begin with. If not then incorporate it when you have this base in place.)

    IIRC it helps target visceral fat but it's been a while since I looked into the area so please double check the information.

    Excellent thank you! I will look.
  • TheopolisAmbroiseIII
    TheopolisAmbroiseIII Posts: 197 Member
    I know this hasn't been your experience, but from what I've read, an excess of visceral fat is usually easier to metabolize than sub-q fat. Sub-q fat plays a role in long term storage, but visceral fat is more metabolically active and plays a shorter-term energy storage role. This is from what I've read in several reputable places. You're right in that visceral fat puts one in danger of a lot of problems. Heart disease, fatty liver, etc.

    I hold nearly all my extra weight in visceral fat. My arms, legs and rear are cut and defined, I have small love handles and a little jiggly fat on my chest and under my chin, but I have about 60lbs of visceral fat, if my calculations are correct.
  • chiptease
    chiptease Posts: 70 Member
    I had a lot of visceral fat about 15 months ago (not sure what my BF % was). My waist measured 32" and now it's about 27.5". I tracked calories, and ate "junk" foods in moderation (beer, pizza, chips, etc.) by reducing portion sizes. I think it's really about a calorie deficit and incorporating more raw foods into your diet (my go-to is vegetable stir fry with tbsp. of oil). I read somewhere that your body burns visceral fat first and then subcutaneous fat, which is why it's harder to lose. I'm targeting subcutaneous fat by incorporating circuit and strength training exercises.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    I just ate at a deficit and exercised hard. Not much more to it than that.
  • Dr1nkbleachndye
    Dr1nkbleachndye Posts: 441 Member
    Idk how healthy you are but you could try a Yohimbine protocol. I don't recommend it though unless you are under 10 percent bf.

    It is something that needs to be thoroughly researched before used though because using it effectively, and using too much while using it effectively are two of the glaring things about it which people seem to consistently screw up

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