a really good question and one i would like to hear the answer to. i have carried a bunch of subcutaneous fat around forever. i too have about 20-30 pounds that i could lose. diet and fasting have not touched it. i always had the sneakin suspicion that it had to do with hormones because this is the same manner in which women carry weight. there is another thing i have noticed in my life. when i have a woman i would gain this weight. whenever i have been without a woman, this weight disappeared. in fact, the only two times in my life i had a washboard stomach was when i was bereft of all female companionship. hormones again? or is something else at play? i used to laugh that i got skinny to get a woman and then went to seed. is there something to this? does this match your experience?