Where’s The Fat?

2 Comments / August 23, 2023

You Have To Open The Book To Know What's Inside

People come in many different shapes and sizes. Our body type is genetic, but even with that, we are all uniquely created. No two human beings are identical. More than 85% of us are unhappy with our body type and want to change it. The other 15 % may be pretty happy with their body type, because from the outside looking in things are great! Right? Well, let’s be careful not to just assume that fat means unhealthy. No more than we should assume that skinny means healthy. There’s a saying, “never judge a book by it’s cover.” You have to open the book to know what’s inside. Some of us are TOFI (Thin on the outside, fat on the inside). And some of us are FOTI (Fat on the outside, thin on the inside).
For so many years, society had assumed that all fat people are considered the unhealthiest, while thin people gave the impression that they were the healthiest. But when you come to an understanding about body fat, you see things differently. I used to think that only overweight people get hypertension and cardiovascular disease. It wasn’t until I learned the term TOFI that I came to the understanding of body fat and how it works. I was shocked to learn that people who appeared to be “healthy” from the outside, were in much worse shape than me because they were TOFI. This is also why we see more and more children with chronic health diseases. Although they appear to be healthy from the outside, they’re being fueled with sugar and unhealthy carbs, therefore resulting in an unhealthy body type, TOFI.

Where's The Fat?

There are two distinct types of fat in our body. Subcutaneous fat and visceral fat. Subcutaneous fat is located under the skin and makes up 90% of body fat. The remaining 10% is visceral fat, which is found deeper in the body, behind the abdominal muscles and around the intestines, liver, and other organs. Visceral fat is also known as intraabdominal fat because it’s mainly in the abdominal cavity. Visceral fat located in the abdominal poses serious risks to overall health. There are several factors that causes an increase of visceral fat. Foods and beverages high in sugar or high-fructose corn syrup, sugary fruit juices, more than two alcoholic drinks a day, inadequate protein intake, and insufficient fiber promote the storage of visceral fat. A sedentary lifestyle, high stress levels, and poor sleep habits also increase the amount of visceral fat.

Subcutaneous fat is stored beneath the surface of the skin. The only way to measure a persons total body fat is by MRI. Subcutaneous fat is visible outwardly. And some who may appear to be unhealthy may very well be FOTI. Which is fat on the outside, thin on the inside. Like sumo wrestlers for instance. Studies have shown that most of their body fat is stored under the skin surface with little to no visceral fat SO in actuality they’re pretty healthy. However, they have a unique training method along with a 7000 calorie diet that prevents the build up and storage of visceral fat.

In FOTI’s and TOFI’s extra fat can be deposited around the abdominal organs as visceral fat. And this is the leading cause of lifestyle diseases like diabetes and hypertension. Excess visceral fat can act like an organ and release chemicals and hormones in the body causing mental cloudiness and restless sleep. It increases the risk of cancer and also changes the reproductive profile therefor leading to low fertility levels. The only way to really know is looking at your lifestyle, being honest with yourself and make some serious changes.

You can’t choose your body type. That is genetic. But you can choose your body fat. Start by adding 30 minutes of moderate aerobic activity to your daily routine. In addition, strength training is known to be very effective in the reduction of visceral fat particularly around the liver. Keep in mind that visceral fat responds much faster than subcutaneous fat. So don’t be alarmed by what you see or don’t see from the outside. Just stay consistent. It’s working. The most harmful fat is moving first Eat a diet high in whole foods fruits and vegetables with lean healthy protein options, high fiber and healthy carbs.minimize alcohol intake, manage stress levels and get more than 5 hours of sleep. The older we get the slower the metabolism. In this case, increase activity and decease portion sizes. It’s a lifestyle change for the long term. When we EAT well we LIVE well and all will BE well.

– Anita Faye Wilson

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