In my experience with dieting and reading about fitness I’ve heard many many times that the first place you gain fat is the last place you lose it. Is that a myth? It sounds like myth to me. If it’s not a myth then the last place you gain fat is the first place you lose it, right?
In: 185
I think it’s more likely that the first place you gain fat is the first place you lose it. I’m not a biologist but I’d guess that where you store fat first is based on active pathways that carry the fat molecules to that site… which also makes it easier for your body to reach for it when it needs more energy in the future.
I’ve never heard this but it is very demotivating and simply not true. Often weight loss journeys are not a linear path, but rather is more like rolling hills. Like 2 steps forward 1 step back type thing. If you are trying to lose weight I want to wish you good luck. Don’t rush it, as many people who lose weight fast gain it back faster, compared to those who take it slow, keep it off.
It’s sort-of-true: [People tend to accumulate and hold on to body fat in specific areas](https://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/a19901505/where-do-you-lose-weight-first/) based on a lot of biological factors, and those are also the places we typically concentrate on “losing fat from” because it affects our clothes size or is otherwise visibly obvious.
Also semi-related is that we tend to place unrealistic body-image standards on ourselves, and those can make it *seem* like you’re not losing fat from the places you want to (which are often the first places you noticed it).
This is why common advice is to track your weight weekly or to compare “Start of weight loss plan” photos to where you are in 3 months or so: You may not have dropped a clothing size, but you may have lost fat from other areas that are still visible on a longer scale.
That’s been my experience at least. The gut, the one thing i want to be smaller, always went last. And when I gained weight back, it was the first to grow. It’s also repeated in all the weightlifting subs and forums i’ve ever visited in decades.
If your body decided to add fat preferentially to spot a and then b and then c. I would expect it to “give up” fat in the exact opposite order from the standpoint that it started storing fat in spot b because it stopped preferring spot a.
That said I’m sure this actually happens in layers. As in spot a gets 5 pounds of fat then spot b gets 3 then spot a gets 2 then spot b gets 1. Etc.
Fat accumulation for most people follows a center out pattern. So it starts on your tummy (or hips if you’re a woman) then your back then your limbs. When you lose weight you’ll notice the reverse. You’ll get defined arms and legs before you get a defined back and if you’re a guy most likely the last place to get defined will be your abs.
Think of it from a survival perspective. If you’re going to hold fat, its going to help you the most if it’s protecting your vital organs and keeping your core warmer. Fat limbs with a skinny body makes moving harder AND gives you less protection.
Does that mean I gotta gonback to my mums womb? That’s gonna be kinda awkward.
It kinda makes sense if you were to lose a little fat, and gain it back because all you’d be doing is just refilling your fat cells.
Yeah pretty much
Think of it like your body has a favorite place to store fat, a second favorite place to store date, a third favorite place to store fat, and so on.
Now, why your body has these preferences, that’s more complicated, there’s factors relating to body type, biological sex, and genetic stuff and a number of other factors, but ultimately all that adds up to mean your body has a favorite, second favorite, third favorite…and so on place to store fat. Everyone is unique with this but most people follow pretty common patterns based on a handful of factors like I mentioned
So let’s say you start skinny and gain weight, your body is first going to put the excess fat in its favorite place to store fat, then as you keep gaining weight, your body will start putting in its second favorite spot to put it…and so on. Now, let’s say you gained enough to where your body started putting fat in its 10th favorite place to store fat. Well, as you lose weight, it’s going to start with pulling it from it’s 10th favorite place, right? Because the alternative is removing it from places it prefers to store it first.
Now in reality, maybe your body’s favorite place to store fat is the front of your stomach, then the second favorite is your butt, but then maybe the 3rd favorite is the front of your stomach again, then the 4th favorite might be your butt again. “Preferences” like these where they repeat the pattern are totally ok and it works the same, your body is going to prioritize having fat in its favorite spots. It just might mean that it wants the first 5 extra pounds in your stomach, pounds 6-10 in your butt, then extra pounds 11-12 in your stomach again, etc etc.
I’m no expert but I gain my belly first but no matter how much I try it doesn’t go away lol.
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