# Why do I still have all this fat? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 2, 2003, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-still-have-all-this-fat/172704 "2003-05-02T19:30:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-still-have-all-this-fat/172704/1 "2003-05-02T19:30:53Z")
As many of you know, I’ve been on Weight Watchers for the last nine and a half months. In that time, I’ve lost 85 pounds and am now within four pounds of my goal weight. People tell me that I look great and many of them are beginning to complain that I look too thin. However, when I look down at my stomach, there is still a lot of fat there; and I mean a lot. I can hold in in both my hands and it still overflows. There is certainly much less of it than there was, but it’s still there. At this rate, I’d probably have to lose another 30 pounds before it would disappear. Don’t worry, I’m not planning on going anywhere near that low! I can only barely see my toes when I look down, yet I seem to remember from when I was thin waaaay back when that I was able to see most of my feet (and then I didn’t do any excersize either). Admittedly, I have done very little exercise on my stomach over these last nine and a half months, so I expected some flab to remain. But it seems like there is still so much fat there. Why? If I’m only four pounds overweight, shouldn’t I only have a little bit of fat there? Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-still-have-all-this-fat/172704/2 "2003-05-02T19:41:26Z")
Maybe that’s how much space 4 pounds of fat takes up? No, of course not. You can try doing lots of sit-ups, but be prepared to have really good ab muscles _under_ a layer of fat. Don’t ask me why, but it happens. How does (or did) your dad’s gut look? I have found that when I gain weight, it goes to roost in the exact same spots as my mom’s always does. So I have great legs and upper body, but a pooch on my tummy that just won’t go away. Not that I’m trying very hard, because I’m not. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-still-have-all-this-fat/172704/3 "2003-05-02T20:08:55Z")
You have all the fat cells still (but empty ones), and lots of extra skin. Get your body fat % checked. Under 15% = no belly …but the skin might need to be trimmed, literally, by a surgeon. Congrats on the weight loss! ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-still-have-all-this-fat/172704/4 "2003-05-02T20:17:23Z")
> [@](#): > > You have all the fat cells still (but empty ones) There’s the rub. Fat cells, once created never go away. The lipids stored inside them get burned up, shrinking them, but they never totally leave. They’re always sitting there, waiting for that extra slice of pie… ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-still-have-all-this-fat/172704/5 "2003-05-02T20:22:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by toadspittle \* > \*\*There’s the rub. Fat cells, once created never go away. The lipids stored inside them get burned up, shrinking them, but they never totally leave. \*\* So, that means that short of something radical like liposuction, I’ll always be fat, even if not overweight? ☹ Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-still-have-all-this-fat/172704/6 "2003-05-02T20:32:25Z")
It may be a skin thing. It may be an exercise thing. It may be a liposuction thing. But don’t be discouraged…your doctor can tell you what it is. Maybe you can get it taken care of. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-still-have-all-this-fat/172704/7 "2003-05-02T20:32:56Z")
Well, no. If the empty fat cells and loose skin can be tightened up, the appearance will change- although both will still be there. There are some skin tightening cremes, another creme that seems to do something about “cellultie” and exercises to tone those loose muscles. Fortunately, one of these is REAL easy. Just use those muscles to pull your tummy muscles in & out- over & over & over and… But you can do this sitting at your desk, or even when stuck in traffic. It works. Oddly, there are also those tummy belts you put around your waist. These work mainly by sweating out water in that area, but hey- they aren’t expensive, and they give your back some support too. Congrats by-the-way. How much did you wiegh? ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-still-have-all-this-fat/172704/8 "2003-05-02T20:39:28Z")
This: > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by zev\_steinhardt \* > \*\*However, when I look down at my stomach, there is still a lot of fat there; and I mean a lot. I can hold in in both my hands and it still overflows. \*\* sounds more like skin, Big Guy (or Not-So-Big Guy - good job!). When you put on weight your skin gets all stretched out and when you lose the weight it doesn’t just _SNAP_ right back into place - I think what you’re assuming is fat, is actually stretched skin. Sooo - what can you do for stretched skin? Well, depending on your age, and your skins general elasticity, it will shrink up a bit. However, 85 lbs fills out a lot of skin. You could consider consulting with a plastic surgeon. Here’s the thing - hospitals are always very keen to get live skin tissue - which is what you have - because A) it’s hard to get and B) its really useful for burn victims - etc. I would contact a hospital with a note-worthy burn unit - there will certainly be one in NY - and inquire - there’s a good chance they would consider doing the surgery to remove your extra skin for free - or perhaps anasthetic costs and theatre time - a substantial reduction, just to get their hands on your o-so-precious skin. You could potentially help a lot of people with that roll. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-still-have-all-this-fat/172704/9 "2003-05-02T20:41:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DrDeth \* > \*\* How much did you wiegh? \*\* July 2002: 247.2 April 29, 2003: 161.6 Goal: 158 To get an idea of the difference, here’s a [before](http://y42.briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/waynes1068/vwp?.dir=/Israel+Vacation&.dnm=Me+at+Rachel%27s+Tomb.jpg&.done=http%3a//my.yahoo.com/p/d.html)\* and [after](http://y42.briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/waynes1068/vwp?.dir=/Hamantashen+2003&.dnm=Me+mixing---1.jpg&.done=http%3a//my.yahoo.com/p/d.html)\* shot. Zev Steinhardt \*Before shot taken in December 2001 at Rachel’s Tomb. After shot taken in March 2003 (when I weighed about 15 pounds more than I do now) ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-still-have-all-this-fat/172704/10 "2003-05-02T21:11:06Z")
Wow! What a difference, zev! Congrats on all that weight loss, you sexy little thing. 🙂 [sub]I’m not flirting. Really. I hate board flirting but I thought it’d be a nice little pick me up.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-still-have-all-this-fat/172704/11 "2003-05-02T21:20:12Z")
Welcome to the hell of major weight loss. Well, maybe not hell, but heck at least. My guess is that the other posters are right and what you think is fat is actually skin and depleted fat cells. If it is just fat cells, liposuction might be a good alternative, but only a plastic surgeon can tell you. You look good, by the way. 🙂 I lost 100 pounds about a year and a half ago and am currently recovering from my second plastic surgery, which is the reason behind my opening sentence. I am sure in a week I will feel differently, but right now, 3 days post op, I am not the happiest of campers. Do follow the suggestions for ab exercises, but don’t be surprised if they don’t produce the six pack you may be hoping for. Unfortunately, skin doesn’t snap back as nicely as we would like. Good luck if you do go the surgery route. I was very happy with the results of my first surgery and look forward to the results of this one. ---
**Author:** ![Margo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Margo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Margo)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-still-have-all-this-fat/172704/12 "2003-05-02T21:59:33Z")
I am going to agree that it is a skin issue, I have a friend that lost allot of weight (about 145 pounds) and she had 6 pounds of skin removed from her stomach and upper arms. If you had been overweight for a significant amount of time and you skin doesn’t have enough elasticity it might not stretch back. You look amazing, you must be proud! Margo ---
**Author:** ![Agback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/977dab/32.png) [@Agback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agback)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-still-have-all-this-fat/172704/13 "2003-05-03T00:06:06Z")
G’day I would suggest that you have your blood insulin level checked. Possibly (though not probably) you are hyperinsulinaemic, which can keep you ‘apple-shaped’ even when your body fat is moderate. A low-carbohydrate diet or a course of chromium supplements might help hyperinsulinaemia (if you have it). Apart from that, you might like to redesign your exercise regimen so as to increase its stimulation of pituitary growth hormone. Put on more muscle, and you can get rid of fat without your weight dropping. This seems the most likely best approach. As for the size of four pounds of fat, take a look a eight half-pound sticks of butter. When you are in the supermarket, take them out of the cooler and hold the stack in your hands. Then be _amazed_ that you shed 85 lb. Congratulations on the weight loss, BTW. You look good. I myself am down from 127 kg (about 280 lb) to 100 kg (about 220), heading for 86 kg (about 190 lb). Yesterday I got wolf-whistled! Regards, Agback ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-still-have-all-this-fat/172704/14 "2003-05-03T02:09:29Z")
[hijack]Hey, **Agback** , how do you know about hyperinsulimia? I’m impressed. I meet MDs all the time who have never heard of it. I found out about it on the net, got my fasting insulin measured, and found out my insulin level was 5X normal. Getting it under control (I take a medication that is used for diabetes called Metformin, or glucophage) was key to my weight loss. And yes, I was decidedly apple-shaped. 🙂 I am happy to see someone else spreading the word. My guess is that lots of people have it without knowing it. [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![LorieSmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a587f6/32.png) [@LorieSmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LorieSmurf)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-still-have-all-this-fat/172704/15 "2003-05-03T04:30:55Z")
Damn!! I’m not board flirting, but you do look sexy. Think about the fat that you had before, and the “fat” you have now. Do you think you’re being a little too hard on yourself? ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-still-have-all-this-fat/172704/16 "2003-05-03T05:11:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by toadspittle \* > \*\*There’s the rub. Fat cells, once created never go away. The lipids stored inside them get burned up, shrinking them, but they never totally leave. They’re always sitting there, waiting for that extra slice of pie… \*\* Not quite. It was formerly believed that once a fat cell (adipocyte) forms, it’s there forever. Now it is known that if you keep your body fat percentage low enough long enough, the excess fat cells will eventually die by apoptosis (essentially cellular suicide). I’m not sure how low the body fat percentage has to be, nor how long it has to be maintained. My source is _The Fats of Life_ by Caroline M. Pond, Ph.D. (1998). She cites “Regulation of adipose cell number in man” in _Clinical Science_ 92: 3-11 (1997). Abstract here: [http://cs.portlandpress.com/cs/092/cs0920003.htm](http://cs.portlandpress.com/cs/092/cs0920003.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Rusalka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecd19e/32.png) [@Rusalka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rusalka)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-still-have-all-this-fat/172704/17 "2003-05-03T05:13:51Z")
PLEASE! do not do anything as drastic as surgery. All this talk is _way_ too premature, there are a whole lot of factors we don’t know, and your previous weight was not so drastic. Most people who do the skin surgery are those who have been morbidly obese - I’m talking 500-600 lbs or more. I don’t know why everyone is so quick to jump on the liposuction bandwagon. You haven’t even told us your height. You also haven’t told us what your exercise regimen is. Probably the single most important thing you should find out is what your body fat percentage is. That is the only way you can know what your “target” or ideal weight should be for your height. The first thing I thought of when I read your post was: “he needs to put on some muscle”. Working out, while keeping your protein intake steady will eventually help you get rid of that layer of fat you’re complaining about without “losing weight” or looking too skinny. I don’t know if you lift weights but you should seriously consider it. Increased muscle mass will increase your metabolism, and if you watch what you eat, your fat percentage should shrink. That fold will disappear if your bodyfat percentage falls below the norm for men, I guarantee it. Go to your local health club and see if they can do a body fat test. The best ones are when they submerge you in a pool, but most of the time they just use a skin fold caliper. One more thing: after childhood, your fat cell number remains constant. You cannot increase or decrease the number, only the size of them. So if you once could see your toes, you will be able to see them again _without_ surgery if you work at it hard enough. ---
**Author:** ![Agback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/977dab/32.png) [@Agback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agback)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-still-have-all-this-fat/172704/18 "2003-05-03T05:14:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Brynda \* > **[hijack]Hey, Agback, how do you know about hyperinsulimia?** I first read about it in a diet book called _Protein Power_ by MR Eades MD and MD Eades MD. And then I learned more by discussing it at length with my brother’s wife’s sister and her husband, who are doctors who found that a lot of their practice has to do with patients with hyperinsulinaemia and consequent disorders such as obesity, hypertension, arterial disease, stroke, and type II diabetes. The husband was particularly distressed to find that a very large proportion of his obstetric patients developed diabetes in pregnancy, so he set out to work out why it happened and how he could prevent it. since our discussions he has decided to try suggesting a low carbohydrate diet to such patients as seem likely to have good compliance, and last I heard he was planning to have his patients collectively lose a tonne in six months. Regards, ---
**Author:** ![Rusalka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecd19e/32.png) [@Rusalka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rusalka)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-still-have-all-this-fat/172704/19 "2003-05-03T05:22:42Z")
here’s a relevant link: [http://www.sciam.com/askexpert\_question.cfm?articleID=000D5A77-FA90-1D89-B3B9809EC588EEDF](http://www.sciam.com/askexpert_question.cfm?articleID=000D5A77-FA90-1D89-B3B9809EC588EEDF) ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-still-have-all-this-fat/172704/20 "2003-05-03T05:44:59Z")
This thread depresses me. I’m on a diet right now and I don’t need the reminder that even if I manage to stay on it and lose all the weight that I’ll be carrying around folds of skin. ☹ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-still-have-all-this-fat/172704.md?page=2)