Weird question, maybe.
I've put on 10 kg in the last year following an unexpected change of circumstances. I've always been slim and any gained weight has usually appeared briefly on my hips.
Now, as I've entered perimenopause, excess calories settle immediately around my middle: 'apple' distribution across stomach, boobs, ribcage and my back, while I've retained my normal arms, legs and face.
What bothers me is not so much how it looks, as the fact that I think I can sort of feel internal fat deposits -like the fat that's visible on the outside, expanding outwards, is almost certainly also expanding inwards and settling around my organs, and this is what I feel when I bend down to tie my shoelaces etc. It's as if I can feel internal tummy rolls all around my middle, never mind the ones on the outside, or like I'm wearing a life-jacket. Like instead of my regular supple layer of skin, I now feel as if I've got more of a thick hide which bunches and folds as I move.
I think I'm just looking for reassurance that a) it is normal and b) it goes away with weightloss? Has anyone else gained weight quite quickly and felt this difference to how your body used to feel? I really hope that it is just the result of my weight gain I'm feeling, and not some other growths around my torso. I can't actually feel any particular masses or lumps if I poke around my abdomen or sides, just an overall 'thickness'. It's so uncomfortable! I've looked at diagrams of visceral fat distribution and it seems feasible that it could be felt?
Things are returning to closer to normal and I hope to be able to shift the weight this year, but until I do, this is really bothering me! Is it visceral fat I'm feeling?