Hard fat raises LDL cholesterol, increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke. Soft fat can lower LDL cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. Exercise increases hard fat, improving metabolism and calorie burning.
As per a study, almost 90 percent of body fat in most people is soft and the remaining 10 percent if hard fat. This type of fat is located just below your skin and keeps you warm and is a source of energy for your body. They are not as harmful as hard belly fat and are considerably easy to lose.
Luckily, soft fat is considerably easy to lose.
While a hard, protruding beer belly is caused by the buildup of visceral fat, a soft belly is caused by subcutaneous fat, which is located close to the skin's surface. If you have subcutaneous belly fat, your belly feels jiggly and softer to the touch. Unlike visceral fat, subcutaneous fat can be pinched.
In most people, about 90% of body fat is subcutaneous, the kind that lies in a layer just beneath the skin. If you poke your belly, the fat that feels soft is subcutaneous fat. The remaining 10% — called visceral or intra-abdominal fat — lies out of reach, beneath the firm abdominal wall.
Visceral fat pushes your abdominal wall outwards. Though the fat itself is not hard, the tissues that make up your abdomen are, which is why your belly feels rigid when you poke it. The hard belly is caused by the build-up of visceral fat, a soft belly is caused by subcutaneous fat, which is located near to your skin.
Soft belly fat
As per studies, 90% of body fat is made of soft while the other 10% is of hard fat. The soft one is located just under our skin and keeps us warm and provide a source of energy. They are not as harmful as the hard one. One can easily melt this type of fat by exercising and following a healthy diet.
Hard fat raises LDL cholesterol, increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke. Soft fat can lower LDL cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. Exercise increases hard fat, improving metabolism and calorie burning.
Mostly, losing weight is an internal process. You will first lose hard fat that surrounds your organs like liver, kidneys and then you will start to lose soft fat like waistline and thigh fat. The fat loss from around the organs makes you leaner and stronger.
Firm fat (also known as visceral fat) is different from the three other types, as it lives below the muscles, surrounding the internal organs in your abdomen. Since it's located behind a thick muscle wall, this type of fat feels firm, not soft or pinchable.
One reason belly fat is so hard to lose is that it's considered an “active fat.” Unlike some fatty tissue that simply sits “dormant,” belly fat releases hormones that can have an impact on your health — and your ability to lose weight, especially in the waist and abdomen areas.
Even if you're thin, you can still have too much visceral fat. How much you have is partly about your genes, and partly about your lifestyle, especially how active you are. Visceral fat likes inactivity.
Subcutaneous fat is stored in the deeper layers of the skin causing a lumpy appearance following poorly regulated weight loss. Visceral fat forms around body organs and is generally considered to be more harmful to your health.
If your belly is hard and not squishy, it's likely due to an excess of visceral fat. This can increase your risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers.
However, generally speaking, people tend to lose weight in their face and neck first. When it comes to weight loss, facial and neck fat is typically the first area to experience noticeable reductions. This is because these regions tend to be the most sensitive and react positively to even a small amount of weight loss.
As adipose tissue cells begin to die, you may notice changes in the texture or appearance of your skin in the area. You may feel a lump or a hard node under your skin, or the area may appear red, thickened or bruised. This is normal and expected, and usually temporary. Your tissue will eventually repair itself.
You Feel Like You're Looking Worse
The idea is that just before a significant weight loss occurs, you actually look a little pudgy and soft. Why? Because you've started to break down your fat cells and now they're filling up with water. Soon, these cells will flush themselves out and shrink.
Coming to the point, you will first lose “hard fat” (visceral fat) that surrounds your organs like liver, kidneys and later, you will burn soft fat (belly fat, thigh fat, back fat, etc.). Women accumulate fat cells around their belly area, hips, thighs and these areas are usually the last from.
Usually, as you lose weight your skin shrinks back to its normal size. But if it's been stretched too much or simply isn't elastic enough, the loose skin that remains after weight loss could easily be interpreted as "squishy fat" — especially if your skin was previously stretched taut from the extra weight.
The best way to reduce visceral fat is through losing weight and diet. Visceral fat responds better to diet and exercise than fat on the hips. Regular exercise can also stop visceral fat from coming back. Another option is medication, but studies show this is not as effective in reducing visceral fat as exercise.
Fat leaves the body as carbon dioxide when you breathe and is also released as water through urine and sweat. So if you think about it, that backs up why exercise is an important part of weight loss. Your body disposes of fat through sweat, urine, and exhaled air.
Fortunately, visceral fat is actually easier to lose than visible subcutaneous fat. By maintaining a healthy diet and keeping up with regular exercise, you should be able to prevent visceral fat from building up in your abdominal cavity.
The abdomen is usually soft upon palpation. Note the location of any firmness and any associated pain/tenderness. The consistency of the abdomen is influenced by the amount of adipose tissue or muscle, but these are symmetrical across the abdomen.
A hard stomach can happen for various reasons, including constipation, gastric cancer, and some chronic digestive conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).