Does malapsorption cause belly fat? Or is that more a diabetes thing? I work out hard by doing Insanity and weights and biking. But it seems the only place I store fat is my stomach. I noticed that lots of people with CF seem to be built the same way I am. Thin legs and arms and a thicker midsection. I have lots of muscle on my stomach which I'm guessing is compensation for the lungs having to work harder and coughing all of the time. I know CFers have larger rib cages. My respiratory therapist told me that. Nothing I do gets rid of this little belly flab though.
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malabsorption and belly fat
- Thread starter Kayla
- Start date
B
BreathinSteven
Guest
Hey Kayla!!!
I'm unsure of all of the possible causes -- I think there may be several, and I think that many of us probably deal with various combinations...
Some of us are on prednisone now and then -- and my understanding is that can cause "Cushing's Syndrome" -- among those symptoms can be belly fat ("muffin top", etc...), moon-pie face, thinning skin, bruising, insulin resistance... if we're not on prednisone now and then, or rather constantly, during our CF years -- we almost certainly are post lung transplant!
I also know a little pot-belly often seems associated with malnutrition...
In my years pre-transplant (I received two beautiful, new lungs almost 14 years ago...) my abs were pretty ripped -- I had VERY strong abdominal muscles from constantly coughing all of my life... In the past 12-13 years, that's been replaced by quite a bit of belly fat, which I do my bestest to keep at a reasonable level...
The bigger rib-cage is also very common for the reason you stated... For many of us -- it's called "barrel chested"... Many of our rib-cages look exaggerated compared to "normal" people -- some of us also get elongated lungs from our diaphragms pulling them down to suck in more air... Mine were abnormally long and I had to regularly guide/coach the x-ray techs so we didn't have to always re-take chest x-rays... (you know how that goes -- you try to tell them where your lungs are, they look at you like you're an idiot and take the pix they want to take, then apologize and re-take where you said your lungs were...)
Hope you're doing well!!! Love, Steve
I'm unsure of all of the possible causes -- I think there may be several, and I think that many of us probably deal with various combinations...
Some of us are on prednisone now and then -- and my understanding is that can cause "Cushing's Syndrome" -- among those symptoms can be belly fat ("muffin top", etc...), moon-pie face, thinning skin, bruising, insulin resistance... if we're not on prednisone now and then, or rather constantly, during our CF years -- we almost certainly are post lung transplant!
I also know a little pot-belly often seems associated with malnutrition...
In my years pre-transplant (I received two beautiful, new lungs almost 14 years ago...) my abs were pretty ripped -- I had VERY strong abdominal muscles from constantly coughing all of my life... In the past 12-13 years, that's been replaced by quite a bit of belly fat, which I do my bestest to keep at a reasonable level...
The bigger rib-cage is also very common for the reason you stated... For many of us -- it's called "barrel chested"... Many of our rib-cages look exaggerated compared to "normal" people -- some of us also get elongated lungs from our diaphragms pulling them down to suck in more air... Mine were abnormally long and I had to regularly guide/coach the x-ray techs so we didn't have to always re-take chest x-rays... (you know how that goes -- you try to tell them where your lungs are, they look at you like you're an idiot and take the pix they want to take, then apologize and re-take where you said your lungs were...)
Hope you're doing well!!! Love, Steve
Steve, I have to coach x-ray and ct techs about my lung length, too. Many a re-do because of it.
Kayla, Another thing to consider is bloating. Put a little bit of fat/extra skin over a gas-distended belly (or an enlarged spleen) and you have the look and feel of belly fat.
Kayla, Another thing to consider is bloating. Put a little bit of fat/extra skin over a gas-distended belly (or an enlarged spleen) and you have the look and feel of belly fat.
H
hellokitty
Guest
Hello Kayla, I know exactly how you feel. I have tried everything and nothing seems to work. I know, we should have other things to complain about, but ey, we are only women too, aren`t we;-) My weight is 62KG and i am 1,68m tall, but it seems most of my fat is hanging around my belly...
azdesertrat
New member
I know exactly what you're talking about.
All my life I've had a big rib cage, skinny arms & legs, etc. etc. All the classic physical characteristics of a white male with CF.
And, post-trans I've been on Prednisone so that's probably the reason for the fold of belly fat.
I don't know how anyone could be physically attracted to me but thank God there are some women that actually like the look of a skinny guy.
I'm 5'6 and a whoppin' 117 lbs. at this time. At one time I was almost 140 lbs. for the first time in my life in Jan. of '13.
Unfortunately, I got sick & dropped around 35-40 lbs. I have yet to re-gain the weight.
All my life I've had a big rib cage, skinny arms & legs, etc. etc. All the classic physical characteristics of a white male with CF.
And, post-trans I've been on Prednisone so that's probably the reason for the fold of belly fat.
I don't know how anyone could be physically attracted to me but thank God there are some women that actually like the look of a skinny guy.
I'm 5'6 and a whoppin' 117 lbs. at this time. At one time I was almost 140 lbs. for the first time in my life in Jan. of '13.
Unfortunately, I got sick & dropped around 35-40 lbs. I have yet to re-gain the weight.
randomgirl
New member
Totally understand! I have always had skinny arms and legs and a larger core body (but tiny hips)....quite odd looking. One time I was so self-conscious of my stomach that I did as many sit ups as I could after each meal. I did that for about 2 months yet there wasn't really a difference so I quit. But I did get to the point where I seriously looked 9 months pregnant when I had really bad liver disease with an enlarged spleen. Thankfully that mostly went away after transplant. But I still have the muffin top that won't go away. If I knew the secret that would make it go away then I would certainly share it. Sorry :/
A
Alan245
Guest
Fitness is a tough job. We should do physical activity like cycling on daily basis. It really leaves very good impact on health. Fatness is the base of diseases. We should not let it increase otherwise it is very difficult to lose it. Exercising and proper diet will always help to lose your weight but it is a slow process and may take months to lose.
I've been thinking about this recently and it occurred to me...maybe dealing with malabsorption is stressing our bodies out, elevating cortisol. High cortisol is usually responsible for the accumulation of belly fat on normal folks. There may be other factors with CF patients, but it was a thought. Has anyone had their cortisol measured?
I have had my cortisol checked and it was normal. It is frustrating! Maybe it is a combination of hormones and genetics. Not sure. I feel like all this working out I do should burn it off though! I know some people store more weight in their thighs and hips. My body fat is 18-19% (based on my scale, I think it's pretty accurate) So that's a good percentage, but I feel like that's all on my midsection! haha! Oh well. I feel better others have the same problem...don't feel so alone in my frustration!
My body fat is 18-19% (based on my scale, I think it's pretty accurate) So that's a good percentage, but I feel like that's all on my midsection! haha! Oh well. I feel better others have the same problem...don't feel so alone in my frustration!
I'm exactly the same! I'm still hopeful I can figure out what's causing this and maybe see some improvement...