What this post covers, in one line
The one takeaway most readers miss
How this connects to your SIGRID routine
Not all fat behaves the same way, and where it sits matters as much as how much of it there is. Belly fat can look similar to fat anywhere else on the body, yet it functions very differently underneath the surface. Understanding this distinction is the first step toward a more accurate picture of your metabolic health.
Belly Fat vs. the Fat You Can Pinch: What’s the Difference?
When you pinch the skin at your waist, what you're feeling is subcutaneous fat — the soft layer stored directly under the skin, found all over the body. Belly fat, or visceral fat, is different. It's stored deeper, wrapped around the liver, pancreas and intestines, and you can't pinch it no matter how hard you try.
Subcutaneous fat is largely a passive energy store, while visceral fat is metabolically active tissue that releases fatty acids and inflammatory signals directly into the bloodstream feeding the liver. This is part of why belly fat is more closely linked to insulin resistance, elevated blood lipids and cardiovascular risk than overall body weight or subcutaneous fat alone. Two people can weigh exactly the same and still carry very different amounts of visceral fat — with correspondingly different metabolic health.
Why Waist Circumference Tells a Different Story Than the Scale
Because visceral fat sits deep in the abdomen, it can change independently of the number on the scale — which is why waist circumference, not weight alone, is often a more meaningful marker of metabolic health. A few things are worth knowing:
- Visceral fat tends to increase with age and around hormonal shifts like menopause, even when total body weight stays stable.
- Waist circumference is a simple, practical proxy for visceral fat that most people can track at home with a measuring tape.
- In SIGRID's SHINE clinical trial (n=252), SiPore® — the technology inside Carb Fence — was associated with reductions in waist circumference alongside reductions in overall fat mass, with lean body mass preserved.
None of this means the scale is meaningless. It simply means it's incomplete on its own, especially when it comes to the fat stored around your middle.
Is belly fat more dangerous than fat stored elsewhere?
Visceral fat, the fat stored deep around the abdominal organs, is metabolically active tissue linked to a higher risk of insulin resistance and cardiovascular strain. That's part of why many researchers view it as a more informative marker of metabolic health than total body weight alone.
How can I tell how much visceral fat I have?
You can't pinch visceral fat the way you can pinch fat just under the skin, since it sits deeper around the organs. Waist circumference is a simple, practical proxy most people can track at home with a measuring tape, alongside how clothes fit around the middle.
Does Carb Fence target belly fat specifically?
In SIGRID's SHINE clinical trial (n=252), SiPore® — the technology inside Carb Fence — was associated with reductions in waist circumference and overall fat mass, while lean body mass was preserved. Carb Fence is a medical food for the dietary management of impaired carbohydrate metabolism, used under the guidance of a healthcare professional.
