If you think the belly is the first sign if weight gain…guess again.
You know what they say…a moment on the lips, forever on the…tongue?
That phrase might not have quite the same ring to it, but it might be more accurate, according to world-renowned physician, and food scientist, Dr. William Li.
While appearing on a recent episode of The Mel Robbins Podcast, Li explained, “When you have too many calories and you overflow your fuel tank, the first fat that grows is inside your body. You can’t see it.”
The type of fat Li is talking about is visceral fat, which, unlike the subcutaneous fat we might see on our hips, thighs, and belly, is stored in the spaces around your internal organs and contributes to serious health problems like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers.
Li went on to say that, according to clinical research, one of the first places “anyone” starts to accumulate this type of visceral fat is the tongue. The back of the tongue, specifically. Which is described by Li as a “pillow of fat.”
This factoid helps explain why obesity and/or weight gain are often closely linked to sleep apnea. Obviously, there are exceptions. People who are considered underweight can end up having sleep apnea for a variety of reasons. But generally speaking, it’s a byproduct of gaining fat.
In fact, Li said that sudden snoring can actually be an early “telltale” sign of weight gain…since the tongue will block your airways as it naturally relaxes if it’s carrying extra fat. This all happens long before a “muffin top” starts to show.
Down in the comments, folks were fairly gobsmacked at this new information, and reeling because of how much it, surprisingly, made sense.
“It’s so interesting because if you notice if you’ve been somebody that’s lost weight and gained weight, people will complain about accidentally biting their tongue, probably because of the fluctuation that starts in your tongue! Who knew, wow totally fascinating!”
“He makes a good point because I just went to my pulmonologist to talk about potential sleep apnea and the first thing he had me do was open my mouth and stick out my tongue and immediately said, yup you have sleep apnea. Now I’m scheduled for the sleep study ”
“I heard many years ago that a Chinese medicine practitioner exercises his tongue 👅 to stay youthful! Makes sense to me now!”
It also inspired a few tongue-centric jokes…
“‘Your tongue is looking a little more full these days…’ newest way of saying ‘did you put on a little weight?’”
“So basically my gym membership should come with tongue exercises too?😂😂😂😂”
Who's gonna be doing tongue exercises at the gym now? media0.giphy.com
Thankfully, studies have also shown that losing fat, and therefore fat in the tongue, can also improve sleep apnea.
In a new paper, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (according to CNN), researchers used MRI imaging to measure the effect a 10% weight loss would have on the upper airways of 67 obese patients. The images showed reducing tongue fat was the primary reason overall sleep apnea scores improved by 31%.
“In fact, the more tongue fat you lost, the more your apnea improved,” said Penn Medicine sleep specialist Dr. Richard Schwab, the lead author of the study.
There were a few other interesting takeaways. One, weight loss also reduced the size of certain jaw muscles and the muscles on each side of the airways, which also improved snoring. Two, the study opens up new avenues of what exercise or treatments might be done to improve tongue fat loss, such as cool sculpting (which is normally reserved for stomach fat) or even playing wind instruments in lieu of using a CPAP machine.
Basically, next time someone offers you something fattening and scrumptious but you’re trying to be good, simply say, “No thanks that’ll go straight to my tongue!”
A man walking through the airport.via 
Motivation expert Mel Robbins.Photo 
Motivation expert Mel Robbins.Photo
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Communications expert shares the 7-word phrase to shoot down anyone being disrespectful
Try this method next time someone says something rude.
A woman can't believe what she just heard.
Getting caught off guard by a rude comment from a coworker, family member, or total stranger can throw you for a loop. You immediately start wondering how you should respond. Should I insult the person right back or play it cool without stooping to their level? Everyone is going to be thrown by a disrespectful comment at some point, so it’s good to have a response in your back pocket for that moment when it comes.
Communications expert Jefferson Fisher provided a great response that we can all use recently on the Mel Robbins Podcast. Fisher is a Texas board-certified personal injury attorney and one of the most respected voices on argumentation and communication in the world. He is also the bestselling author of The Next Conversation: Argue Less, Talk More.
How to respond to a rude or disrespectful comment
Fisher told Robbins that the first step in responding to the comment is nonverbal. You say nothing. “A lot of silence. So often, if you just wait 10 seconds that you're gonna add distance between what they said and how you're going to respond,” Fisher said. “They're saying this to get something out of you, cause in that moment, they're feeling something, whether it's a fear or an insecurity, whatever it is, you're not going to deliver on that same plane that they are.”
The next step is to let the rude person know that their behavior will not be tolerated in a confident manner.
“So somebody says something disrespectful, you give enough silence to make sure that it's a little awkward, and then you're going to say something to the effect of, ‘That's below my standard for a response.’ All of a sudden, you're now making it clear that what you just said was beneath me. And I don't respond to things that are beneath me in that way.”
Throw it back on them
If you prefer to put someone back on their heels instead of squelching the situation as Fisher recommends, John Bowe, a speech trainer, award-winning journalist, and author of I Have Something to Say: Mastering the Art of Public Speaking in the Age of DisconnectionI Have Something to Say: Mastering the Art of Public Speaking in the Age of Disconnection, says that you should respond with a question: “Do you really mean that?”
“Say it with outrage or dripping sarcasm, with raised eyebrows or deadpan calm. It doesn’t matter. This phrase is quietly disarming and deceptively powerful,” Bowe writes for CNBC. Bowe says the response does two great things for you. First, it gives them a chance to reconsider their words because most rude comments are said without thinking. “By responding with curiosity instead of defensiveness, you’re holding up a mirror. Often, that’s all it takes for the other person to walk back their offense,” he writes.
After the person is asked if they meant what they said, they can double down on their rude comment, but they are probably more likely to backpedal or apologize.
Unfortunately, it’s a fact of life that, unless you live under a rock, you’ll have to deal with people making rude comments. But the best thing you can do is to prepare yourself to confidently put someone in their place so they’ll think twice about ever being rude to you again.