Have you ever experienced a bloated abdominal area after starting a fat loss phase? I’ve had many clients call me a few days after a consultation telling me they are bloated, they feel fat, and that something must be wrong and they want a new plan. Nothing is wrong. This reaction is perfectly normal and to be expected, which is why I inform my clients of this possibility of bloating before they stress out and give up on the plan. Increased blood flow to fat cells helps increase fat mobilization, and this is very important for burning fat. Fatter people have less fat cell blood flow than leaner people. Many factors can affect fat cell blood flow. Being insulin resistant is one of those factors, reducing fat cell blood flow. The study below shows us why we can get bloated while losing fat. As you lose fat, your insulin sensitivity increases, thus increasing both water and blood flow to fat cells, which may possibly give you that bloated look.
TIP: Don’t panic if you start getting a little bloated while losing fat. It’s a positive sign that indicates your losing fat.
Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2003 Jun;27(6):677-83.
Changes in abdominal subcutaneous fat water content with rapid weight loss and long-term weight maintenance in abdominally obese men and women.
Laaksonen DE, Nuutinen J, Lahtinen T, Rissanen A, Niskanen LK.
1Department of Medicine, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Insulin resistance decreases blood flow and volume in fat tissue. We hypothesised that fat tissue nutritive blood flow and volume, and thereby water content, would increase during weight loss and weight maintenance in obese persons.
DESIGN: Longitudinal clinical intervention with a 9-week very-low-calorie diet (VLCD) followed by one year of weight maintenance.
SUBJECTS: Obese men (n=13) and women (n=14) with the metabolic syndrome.
MEASUREMENTS: Water content of abdominal subcutaneous fat tissue as estimated by a sensor on the skin surface measuring the dielectric constant at 300 MHz. Anthropometric measures of fatness and fat
distribution. Biochemical measures related to insulin resistance.
RESULTS: Subjects lost 14.5+/-3.4% of body weight during the VLCD, and generally sustained this weight loss during weight maintenance. Insulin sensitivity as estimated by an index (qualitative insulin sensitivity check index) increased during the VLCD, and remained increased throughout weight maintenance. The dielectric constant increased from 23.3+/-2.3 to 25.0+/-2.1 (P<0.001) during the VLCD, and further to 27.8+/-1.9 (P<0.001) during weight maintenance, indicating an increase in the water content of subcutaneous fat. The increase in subcutaneous fat water content did not correlate with weight loss and other measures of adiposity during the VLCD, but there was an inverse correlation that strengthened in significance from baseline to 6, 9 and 12 mo (r=-0.32 to -0.64, P=0.079-0.002). Increases in subcutaneous fat water content also correlated with improvements in insulin sensitivity at 6, 9 and 12 months of weight maintenance (r=0.34-0.54, P=0.094-0.006).
CONCLUSIONS: Water content of abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue increases with weight loss in obese persons with the metabolic syndrome, and may reflect increased subcutaneous fat tissue nutritive blood flow. The increase in water content correlates with the increase in insulin sensitivity, suggesting that weight loss and consequent improved insulin sensitivity could mediate the increase in abdominal subcutaneous fat hydration.
