In today’s vlog, I want to talk about a medical condition that hadn’t been on my radar—but should be. I remember as a child my father saying to me that “we don’t know what we don’t know.” I’m feeling the truth of that as I realize how little attention I’ve paid to lipedema. I don’t doubt that there are a lot of lives that can be changed by watching this vlog. It’s mind-blowing.
A woman named Nicole wrote to me long ago urging me to learn more about lipedema and discuss it in a vlog. I didn’t respond until a friend of mine, a physician, started telling me about it as well.
I’m not a medical doctor, so I generally stay away from discussing specific illnesses or conditions. But in this case, I hadn’t realized how much lipedema is related to stubborn, resistant fat loss. For some people, this condition may explain years of confusion, self-blame, and frustration around weight loss.
What is Lipedema?
Lipedema is characterized by a particular kind of fat. Here are a few things you should know about it:
- The fat of lipedema is a fibrotic, connective-tissue fat that is not metabolic fat.
Lipedema fat can be painful. - It doesn’t feel like adipose-tissue fat; it feels lumpy like there is rice or walnuts under the skin.
- It bruises easily. If you have it in your arms, for example, a blood pressure cuff may be excruciatingly painful.
- The fat is inflamed, and doesn’t respond to dietary measures—even bariatric surgery or GLP-1 medications for fat loss.
- It’s often seen in the lower half of the body, but can occur in the arms and abdomen as well.
People with lipedema may lose weight very slowly, or not at all, even if they’re doing everything right.
Lipedema seems to be genetic, and it affects female bodies almost exclusively. It appears to have a hormonal component involving estrogen. It’s estimated that 11 percent of women have lipedema.
Lipedema often develops or worsens during hormonal shifts, such as puberty, pregnancy, menopause, or starting hormonal birth control.
Lipedema: A Different Kind of Fat
Lipedema can be challenging to treat. Options may include drainage massage, compression, an anti-inflammatory diet, such as Bright Line Eating, or specialized liposuction surgery.
Bright Line Eating teaches nuance around carbohydrates. We don’t put apples and carrots into the same bucket as waffles. Sugar and flour can be highly inflammatory, which is one reason we eliminate them—especially if you are dealing with a condition like lipedema. But that doesn’t mean you don’t eat carrots or apples.
Beyond Willpower: Why Bright Line Eating Helps Lipedema
Bright Line Eating gives you support for the long term. Most people already know what they should eat—the challenge is sustaining it over time. Our plan is automatizable and will set you up for maximum habit formation. Your food plan becomes routine. Other food plans don’t do that, often because you need to track things throughout the day.
For those in Bright Line Eating who haven’t had an explanation for slow weight loss or a long plateau, I hope learning about lipedema will help drain away some of the shame or confusion you may feel. You’re not flawed. You’re not making it up. It’s worth looking into whether lipedema might be the cause.
Coping with Lipedema: Compassion & Support
Have compassion for yourself. This is a whopper of a condition, and it’s worth learning more about it. To that end, I want to open a discussion about lipedema in our Bright Line Eating community. You’re probably going to have questions—I certainly do. I invite you to click the link below and share your questions. And for a future vlog, I am going to invite a medical doctor who specializes in lipedema to join us to discuss this condition and answer your questions.
If you have buddies, Mastermind Group members, or Gideon Team members who are experiencing unusually slow weight loss, suggest that they get checked out for lipedema.
Thank you, Nicole, and my physician friend. Let’s keep this discussion going.
Submit your questions about lipedema here.
