Why is most abdominal fat beneath the abs, rather than immediately beneath the skin, as it is elsewhere in the body?
Why do you think most fat is beneath the abs?
This site defines the anatomy but does not say where most fat is: http://www.lipoinfo.com/slideshow/chap06.htm
The closest this site says is "It is thought that in male patients who have marked abdominal fat, the majority of this fat is omental [behind the muscle]. " http://www.tuckthattummy.com/anatomy.htm
But that’s not a general statement, refers only to people who are obese or at least “fat”. Doesn’t say “why” though.
Are those sites trying to encourage cosmetic surgery? If the idea is that you can’t eliminate this fat without surgery, and they want to sell you this surgery, I’d recommend checking the information with a different source.
I don’t know about ‘most’, but there certainly is some fat under the abdominal muscles. This fat provides insulation and protection to the internal organs; consider that the abdomen is the only area of the body where internal organs are not protected by bone. It is necessary for health, and is not an aesthetic concern. (However, excess fat inside the abdominal muscles is considered more of a health concern than excess fat on the outside.) Men with very well-defined muscles typically have about 10% body fat (slightly more for women), even though it may appear that they have no body fat whatsoever. The fat that they do have is distributed in a thin layer under the skin and in the abdomen. In a person with high body fat, additional fat would be stored both inside and outside the abdominal muscles, though I can’t see how the majority would be inside. A person with only a little fat outside their abdominal muscles (someone with normal body weight, for example) may well have more fat inside than outside.
I don’t know if they’re encouraging it but they discuss liposuction, and they both say that surgical removal of omental fat is infeasible due to the great risk.
The abdominal cavity is really the only part of the body where there’s any significant empty space inside the muscles.
Nothing scientific to add. Just wanted to say that I recently did that South Beach thing and really did lose 30 lbs, most of on my stomach. (the rest of it was
rearward). But then, I do have a sugar problem . . .
I cut out beer (that nastey maltose thing) and started drinkinking “bacardi and diet coke” and it kept coming off! :eek: It really dumbfounded my bartender (and myself) but hey, its seems to be working.
So, do you folks see a pitfall for me to avoid down the road? Am I in danger of becoming even bigger than I was if I backslide?