Gaining

This should honestly be a sticky. This is incredibly useful information that I wouldn't have known otherwise. Thanks for compiling this information!

Uneducated guess--time might be a factor; there's been plenty of posts over the years of folks saying that a few months after a fast gain, their fat softened up a lot, though their weight remained the same.

I don't know if that phenomenon is supported by any literature, but it seems intuitive, if we conceptualize VAT as "fast access" fat and SAT as "slow access/backup/reserve"--if you spend a long time with VAT that doesn't get burnt off, maybe your body comes to understand that it won't be needing that energy any time soon, so moves it to more permanent storage.

Again, just a guess. I don't have evidence for that.

best way to have more subcutaneous and less visceral is EXERCISE.

caloric excess results in roughly 70% visceral and 30% subcutaneous

burning calories through physical activity burns roughly 70% visceral and 30% subcutaneous.

it is soooo easy to out-eat exercise and by eating at a caloric surplus, you'll be gaining both, and then with exercise burning most of the visceral fat. this is why so many thin gainers just look pregnant, because they don't bother and just get a ton of hard belly fat. also the reason why the traditional "fat chick" body is common in people who gain slowly over years is the gradual burning of calories (i.e. visceral fat) in small amounts through they're every day living.

also it makes you feel better and effectively nullifies every health issue brought on by body fat.

Oh interesting—can you point me to some research?

I think Bangs15 is very right.

This is evident in Sumo wrestlers as well. Below all the SAT, their bodies are quite athletic. Meaning they have very little VAT. This is due to their strenuous exercise, combined with massive amounts of calories. There are some articles and a documentary about this too iirc.



Well if you burn it all, yes. But if you're a gainer, you should still be eating more calories than what you burn via exercising, that's how gaining works after all. What it does is that it converts the VAT to SAT, that's what he means.

You don't have to go crazy with exercise if that's not your thing. But I think doing some will convert it over time.

I get what you mean, but I also see what Bangs15 meant beyond the formulas provided.

If, foods such as heavy cream favor SAT rather than VAT, then you can shift your SAT/VAT ratio through exercising easier.

Because, what Bangs15 (and I) wanted to say is that exercising favors VAT more than SAT, and hence, if you eat foods that favor SAT and exercise to burn VAT, then you will shift your SAT/VAT ratio easier.

How much do I add to my diet when I am using coconut oil