It’s easy to assume that weight gain is only noticeable when your clothes feel snug or the numbers on the scale rise. But sometimes, our body gives early warning signals in ways we never expect. Dr. William Li, physician and scientist, shared on August 21 podcast with Mel Robbins how subtle changes in the body can be the first signs that weight is creeping on, long before the scale reflects it. (Also read: Woman who went from 78 kg to 65 kg in 6 months shares her weight loss secrets: ‘Low-intensity walking burns calories’ )
Where does weight gain start before you notice it
“Weight gain does not start with your muffin top. Weight gain starts in a very subtle way, and this has been studied with clinical research. It’s the visceral fat, the fat that’s inside our body that you can’t see, that starts to grow early. So when you have too many calories and overflow your fuel tank, the first fat that grows inside your body is invisible,” says Dr. William.
He adds, “Can you guess where you start accumulating fat first? It’s not the obvious places. The first place anybody starts to gain body fat is in the tongue. The human tongue is made of three parts: the tip of the tongue, which is like a Cirque du Soleil acrobat, the middle of the tongue, which is really strong and packed with muscle and the back of the tongue, which is a big fat pillow. It is mostly fat to allow food you have chewed to slide all the way back down into your stomach.”
How can snoring reveal early weight gain
“So the back of your tongue is mostly visceral fat. When you gain weight and start to accumulate extra body fat, one of the first places it grows is in the back of your tongue. Now, how do you know this? Your bed partner, who is sleeping with you, might start to notice that you snore. You didn’t snore before, but now you do. This has been studied in Scandinavia with thin people who are gaining weight,” he explains.
“When body fat grows in the back of the tongue, your tongue gets fatter. Now, when you sleep, your muscles relax, including the fat tongue, which starts to block your airway. That’s why you start snoring. So the telltale sign of early weight gain is snoring. It’s the first place the fat accumulates, and your sleeping partner is usually the first to notice,” concludes Dr. William.
Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.