Visceral fat

[Robert Santana]

People really do not understand the limits to instruments used in medical and research settings. First and foremost these are indirect methods meaning that they are estimating fat, muscle, and bone based on a set of assumptions. Bone density is the most reliable to measure, in part because it doesn't vary as much as fat and lean do and its weight doesn't include anything other than bone itself. Best case scenario you may capture a fairly reasonable estimate in a single time point but once your bodyweight, fat, and lean tissue starts to vary due to weight gain and training it's hard telling how accurate that test is. Save your money, stick to direct measurements even if they are "less accurate" for the professional research people. At least you have confidence that the thing you are measuring is the thing you are measuring (I.e. skin fold thickness, abdominal circumference) and don't drive yourself crazy when the DXA algorithm isn't on your side for reasons that have nothing to do with anything you did or didn't do.

[brinethery]

99.9% as accurate as a comprehensive dissection sounds suspicious.

Hey Jason, I might have been off by a factor of 10. At least on the bone density component, the percent error is 1%. If you Google DXA scan percent error, there are some papers you can look through. Compared with all other methods, DXA is the gold standard for fat and lean tissue composition.

So they're asserting that fat within the abdomen has no positive effects? In any way? It's all maladaptive poison?

Fat behind the abdomen and around the organs is not good. The littler fat you have in that area, the better.

To put this in proportion, 8.6 oz of fat is pretty darned small - you're talking half a brick of lard from the baking aisle of the grocery store, or two sticks of butter. I've pulled more fat than that out of deer during hunting season. (Yes, I like to keep it, render it, and cook with it.). They're not human beings, of course, but they are smaller than a grown human being, so I'm a little skeptical at this whole thing.

I have plenty of subcutaneous fat, which is reflected in my DXA report. I have subcutaneous fat in my stomach, on my butt, hips, and legs. Visceral fat is problematic, subcutaneous fat isn't as big of a deal.

The lowest body fat that Kirkland physical therapy and rehab measured was from a body builder, and his body fat was measured at 12%. My body fat percentage on 12/31/2023 was measured to be 35% and I weighed 171lb at the time. If you're interested in seeing the report, I can share it with you. My dad has over 7lb of visceral fat based on his scan, so he has a lot to work on.

Replying to your hunting comment: I have switched over to an almost exclusively meat-based diet and it has produced profound results. My waist size has gone down from a 36" to a 31.5", and my pants from 2019 are barely fitting. I'll need to size down in pants pretty soon (very loose). Meat-based is the way to go. I stay away from industrial seed oils, palm oil, and all artificial sweeteners. I'm pretty much left with meat and salt for my sustenance. I'm hitting my protein goals, but my biggest challenge is trying to get in enough calories to support my lifting. I need to make friends with the local butcher and get lots of beef tallow. I'm also considering taking in coconut oil by itself... I know it's not animal-based, but it doesn't seem to cause me any issues.

[od1]

Is this a symptom of low testosterone where hormone therapy can be used in conjunction with training and diet to address it?

[Georgenak]

Can unconventional training methods, such as incorporating yoga or ballet into a competitive lifter's routine, enhance strength gains and improve overall performance?