Hidden Fat: Why Your Body Holds Onto The Bits You Don’t Need

Weight is such an emotional conversation. Especially in our more evolved time of body positivity. Haven’t we moved on from diet culture, weight shaming and the need to be “labelled“ as thin? Totally. However, what if your mass is impacting your health? And not just from a plus-size point of view. Hidden fat is like the name suggests, and affects a size 10 as well as a size 22. While body confidence must be applauded regardless of weight, understanding when certain types of fat (like visceral fat) make a health impact is vital. It is the difference between full well-being and body liberation. Yes, confidence is the heart of good self-esteem. But if your vitality is in trouble, it’s time to get real.

The Bits You Don’t Need: The Truth About Visceral Fat

First, know that it’s perfectly normal to have visceral fat (also known as active or hidden fat). Especially as it serves as an organ protector. It plays a very important role in cushioning essential internal organs. Things like your heart, intestines, kidneys, liver and stomach and others. Made up of fat cells, hidden fat is highly sensitive to hormones, which are chemical messenger molecules your body uses. This means there may be a possible link to certain diseases, especially if you have a larger amount of visceral fat. You get a certain amount thanks to your DNA (what you inherit from Mom and Dad).  But you upload more thanks to lifestyle choices.

This means the food you eat, with fatty foods and carbohydrates (sugars), is guilty of adding to hidden fat. Yes, those bits you don’t need. Surely, though, you can’t not have visceral fat, otherwise your organs would suffer? It’s simply a numbers game. The healthy range for visceral fat is approximately 10% of your total body fat. An expert health professional or medical doctor can help you analyse it. The old school method includes calculating your total body fat percentage and then taking off 10%.

There is a more surefire calculation, though – read on. Why it’s a clever move to work with a skilled clinician is that they can then help you strategise about how to safely shed your hidden fat in a way that benefits your body but doesn’t risk your health.

Time To Let Go: Ways To Lose Unwanted Hidden Fat

While visceral fat is very normal and shouldn’t be seen as a problem in itself, it’s an unhealthy amount that will send your system into the red. Cue issues like increased risk of heart disease, diabetes and even a stroke. There are also studies linking hidden fat to dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease.

Perhaps the list of serious conditions is due to research that suggests visceral fat makes more of the types of proteins that inflame your body’s tissue, organs and narrow your blood vessels. Before your blood pressure literally goes up, what to do about the excess fat that certainly isn’t serving you, all depends on your very specific needs. These days, restrictive diets, fasting and cutting out entire food groups just isn’t necessary – or indeed actually wise. What really works is, first and foremost, scientific diagnostics. If you need to embark on a weight loss journey, it’s savvy to know exactly what’s going on and why you’re working your way to better health.

Where Do I Start?

Optics aside, once you’ve been properly assessed with a comprehensive overview of your internal health, such as an InBody Analysis, only then can you fully understand the relationship between weight and your wellbeing. Once you have this snapshot, the choice of how you nurture your body back to health is ideally doctor-led, so your weight loss is supervised and you’re medically coached. This means support, whether through Reset Renewal (medically devised yet holistic with many women’s conditions in mind), RID Diet (customised meal plans, supplementation, medical diagnostics and monthly health coaching) or an enhanced program like Shape Up.

This plan is for those who have already tried other weight loss series and are battling with stubborn weight or facing a condition like Type 2 Diabetes. This comprehensive program sets you up to help with a ten% of body fat weight loss. And the results of achieving that goal can do amazing things for a system in strain – think remission from newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes up to three times more likely.

How Can I Be The Best Version Of Me?

Ready for those feel-good health wins? There really are some things you can go without, and unwanted visceral fat is one of them. What you can’t deprive yourself of is top quality wellbeing – or at least living as well and feeling as strong as possible. That’s the biggest gift you can give yourself. Go fill your cup right now.