You can't spot reduce , can you spot gain?

Ajocal18
Ajocal18 Posts: 167 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been reading several articles lately that state that excess sugar or refined carb are the cause of belly fat. Some articles have cited studies showing a link between stomach fat and sugar intake. I know you can't spot reduce but it seems like if these are in fact causing you to gain fat in a particular area wouldn't eating less of them while in a calorie deficit help rid the unwanted fat? Is this a possibility or just another weight loss myth ?

Replies

  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    edited March 2016
    You cannot spot add or lose fat (without surgery.)

    You can spot add muscle. You can also spot lose it if you are careful about refraining from using/training it.

    Belly fat is due to eating too many calories--fat, protein, carbs, doesn't matter. Just too much.
  • MommyMeggo
    MommyMeggo Posts: 1,222 Member
    edited March 2016
    14bdo2g83b77.jpg
    Spot gain? Muscle...Absolutely.
    Spot gain fat? No...and why...get that shiz outta here!


    Where my fat goes/falls off and where your fat goes/falls off are two different things.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    It's false. You gain or lose fat where your genetics dictate.
  • Scamd83
    Scamd83 Posts: 808 Member
    edited March 2016
    Calorie deficit gets rid of weight, regardless of where those calories come from. Blaming sugar for weight gain is like blaming beer glasses for binge drinking.
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
    Those articles are untrue. It's just more of making sugar the scapegoat for obesity and health problems.
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
    usmcmp wrote: »
    It's false. You gain or lose fat where your genetics dictate.

    So it can happen in one spot? You just don't get to decide where.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    _Waffle_ wrote: »
    usmcmp wrote: »
    It's false. You gain or lose fat where your genetics dictate.

    So it can happen in one spot? You just don't get to decide where.

    Not quite. Most of us don't gain in just one spot, our bodies tend to like to share the wealth.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    usmcmp wrote: »
    _Waffle_ wrote: »
    usmcmp wrote: »
    It's false. You gain or lose fat where your genetics dictate.

    So it can happen in one spot? You just don't get to decide where.

    Not quite. Most of us don't gain in just one spot, our bodies tend to like to share the wealth.

    Like an onion
  • Ajocal18
    Ajocal18 Posts: 167 Member
    edited March 2016
    I figured , Just curious if there was some truth in it. Like maybe people eating in a surplus who are pear shaped eat less refined carbs and apples just cant get enough sugar lol. I guess I was hoping since I am an apple and still have a huge gut 54lbs later. :neutral:
  • Scamd83
    Scamd83 Posts: 808 Member
    Don't eat cards, whether they're refined or not.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    Ajocal18 wrote: »
    I figured , Just curious if there was some truth in it. Like maybe people eating in a surplus who are pear shaped eat less refined carbs and apples just cant get enough sugar lol. I guess I was hoping since I am an apple and still have a huge gut 54lbs later. :neutral:

    Try pears. J/K
  • MommyMeggo
    MommyMeggo Posts: 1,222 Member
    queenliz99 wrote: »
    usmcmp wrote: »
    _Waffle_ wrote: »
    usmcmp wrote: »
    It's false. You gain or lose fat where your genetics dictate.

    So it can happen in one spot? You just don't get to decide where.

    Not quite. Most of us don't gain in just one spot, our bodies tend to like to share the wealth.

    Like an onion

    Mmmm onion rings.
    I know exactly where those go! LOL.
  • Cahgetsfit
    Cahgetsfit Posts: 1,912 Member
    I'm going to go against the grain here and share my personal experience. When I DO decide that eating ice-cream every day for a week after dinner is not a bad thing (WITHIN CALORIE LIMIT - i'm not blowing out AND I weight the effing ice cream) I do notice stomach gainz.

    On ME. But I also find that I lean everywhere else really quickly and keep the stomach/upper thighs - they're the last bits to lose.

    Feel free to start telling me I'm wrong and CICO blah blah blah blah.
  • Ajocal18
    Ajocal18 Posts: 167 Member
    queenliz99 wrote: »
    Ajocal18 wrote: »
    I figured , Just curious if there was some truth in it. Like maybe people eating in a surplus who are pear shaped eat less refined carbs and apples just cant get enough sugar lol. I guess I was hoping since I am an apple and still have a huge gut 54lbs later. :neutral:

    Try pears. J/K

    Don't get the pear joke- I don't think I'm spelling it incorrectly
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    Cahgetsfit wrote: »
    I'm going to go against the grain here and share my personal experience. When I DO decide that eating ice-cream every day for a week after dinner is not a bad thing (WITHIN CALORIE LIMIT - i'm not blowing out AND I weight the effing ice cream) I do notice stomach gainz.

    On ME. But I also find that I lean everywhere else really quickly and keep the stomach/upper thighs - they're the last bits to lose.

    Feel free to start telling me I'm wrong and CICO blah blah blah blah.

    Bloated maybe? How do you know it is gains?
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    Cahgetsfit wrote: »
    I'm going to go against the grain here and share my personal experience. When I DO decide that eating ice-cream every day for a week after dinner is not a bad thing (WITHIN CALORIE LIMIT - i'm not blowing out AND I weight the effing ice cream) I do notice stomach gainz.

    On ME. But I also find that I lean everywhere else really quickly and keep the stomach/upper thighs - they're the last bits to lose.

    Feel free to start telling me I'm wrong and CICO blah blah blah blah.

    Bloating from dairy and carbs which you otherwise eat less of and eating it every day for a week is unusual? As you say, it's not fat so it can only be bloat. Low level dairy/carb intolerance would be my guess at an explanation.
  • Ajocal18
    Ajocal18 Posts: 167 Member
    Cahgetsfit wrote: »
    I'm going to go against the grain here and share my personal experience. When I DO decide that eating ice-cream every day for a week after dinner is not a bad thing (WITHIN CALORIE LIMIT - i'm not blowing out AND I weight the effing ice cream) I do notice stomach gainz.

    On ME. But I also find that I lean everywhere else really quickly and keep the stomach/upper thighs - they're the last bits to lose.

    Feel free to start telling me I'm wrong and CICO blah blah blah blah.

    HMMM , I think its possible. I know for weight loss all you need is to burn more calories than you take in. I do not think its outside the realm of possibilities for there to be things we don't know or things we think we know but are actually incorrect.
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    Lactose intolerance can cause stomach bloating
  • MommyMeggo
    MommyMeggo Posts: 1,222 Member
    Cahgetsfit wrote: »
    I'm going to go against the grain here and share my personal experience. When I DO decide that eating ice-cream every day for a week after dinner is not a bad thing (WITHIN CALORIE LIMIT - i'm not blowing out AND I weight the effing ice cream) I do notice stomach gainz.

    On ME. But I also find that I lean everywhere else really quickly and keep the stomach/upper thighs - they're the last bits to lose.

    Feel free to start telling me I'm wrong and CICO blah blah blah blah.

    I have gainz when I eat dairy too. But Im just bigger not heavier- bloating.
    Where fat goes and leaves is variable to the person. My better half - it goes right to his cute face and jowls. - Thats also the first place I notice the loss too.

    For me it goes quicker from my thighs - but slow on the hips- not budging on the arms.
    First to show up is on the waist.

    Would any of it really appear if I were active and in a deficit though?
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    Ajocal18 wrote: »
    queenliz99 wrote: »
    Ajocal18 wrote: »
    I figured , Just curious if there was some truth in it. Like maybe people eating in a surplus who are pear shaped eat less refined carbs and apples just cant get enough sugar lol. I guess I was hoping since I am an apple and still have a huge gut 54lbs later. :neutral:

    Try pears. J/K

    Don't get the pear joke- I don't think I'm spelling it incorrectly

    Pear shaped, apples, apples, pear shaped
  • misskarne
    misskarne Posts: 1,765 Member
    Scamd83 wrote: »
    Don't eat cards, whether they're refined or not.

    I can't imagine a card would be very delicious.
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
    edited March 2016
    Ajocal18 wrote: »
    I have been reading several articles lately that state that excess sugar or refined carb are the cause of belly fat. Some articles have cited studies showing a link between stomach fat and sugar intake. I know you can't spot reduce but it seems like if these are in fact causing you to gain fat in a particular area wouldn't eating less of them while in a calorie deficit help rid the unwanted fat? Is this a possibility or just another weight loss myth ?

    Studies do show it, but it's (at least presumably) because of the varying levels of insulin resistance found in overweight and obese populations. The higher the insulin resistance, the more the tendency for 'central obesity'. Metabolic Syndrome includes it, too, where higher waist-to-hip ratio, insulin resistance, poor lipids, and high blood pressure cluster together and significantly increase the risk of full-blown diabetes and cardiovascular problems.

    The more extra weight folks carry, the poorer the insulin sensitivity (on a population level). That does affect carb metabolism very much, and it is known to affect body composition that way, yep. Eating so few carbs that the insulin response can handle the load can treat the problem. That varies according to the person's individual insulin issues. But it is worth a shot to try to lower them, imho.

    Along those lines, since I've been eating, exercising and taking meds as I should for my hyperglycemia, I finally lost the little lower belly pooch I've had forever. I would have never thought that I could lose it. I've been thinner and more fit before and it never budged all the way until recently. It's bizarre! It happened after I'd been on Metformin and doing the rest combined for about 6 months, I'd say. And it stayed :grin:
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    edited March 2016
    You are probably talking about visceral fat. This is more of a function of insulin resistance, so more sugar (and to some degree overeating saturated fat) in a calorie surplus could contribute to that in the absence of physical activity. So it's not a function of sugar in particular, but of insulin resistance. Sugar is not unique in that. Stress has an even bigger effect (including constantly stressing about foods being unhealthy and panicking about the sugar content of food ;) ). In that sense, a person who is dieting to lose weight and/or exercising (effectively reducing their insulin resistance) wouldn't need to worry too much about that unless they suddenly stop exercising and start gaining weight.

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