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WHI was honestly shocked 😱
Last October I did a DEXA body scan—my third one ever.
But for the first time, I saw my visceral fat.
I assumed it would be basically zero.
It was almost 1 pound.
So what does that mean?
Subcutaneous fat is the fat you can pinch (hips, thighs, arms) — is not a metabolic problem.
Visceral fat is the deeper fat around your organs.
This is the fat that drives insulin resistance, inflammation, and metabolic disease.
Most research suggests ~2.2–5 lbs of visceral fat is where risk really starts climbing.
Which means… it doesn’t take much. And with perimenopause & the drop of estrogen around the corner for me, I am paying CLOSE attention.
Here’s the nuance most people miss 👇
How much fat you can store safely under the skin before it spills into visceral fat is partly genetic.
But here is the part you CAN control:
👉 Having healthy, active muscle.
Muscle is your metabolic buffer.
It’s what protects you as energy intake goes up and life happens.
And this is why BMI and the scale don’t tell us much!
They don’t tell you where fat is stored or how much muscle you have.
A DEXA scan can give a clearer picture.
But not everyone can (or wants to) get one of those.
Another way, is to understand your metabolic labs and markers.
Want to know which markers matter most?
👉 Grab my FREE lab guide.
Comment LABS below to grab it!
#metabolichealth #insulinresistance #metabolism #womenshealth #muscle
@whitneysmithnp
