Following the dietary intervention and after an overnight fast (~12 hr), all animals were subjected to a metabolic study. In the morning of the study, animals were anesthetized with ketamine and xylazine, and fur shaved on the chest, neck and one ear. Jugular and marginal ear veins and the carotid artery were cannulated along with intubation of the trachea or placement of a laryngeal airway mask (LMA) and ventilated (Rate 12 bpm, Volume 100 mL pressure not to exceed 20 mmHg). Venous blood (~20 ml) in EDTA vacutainer tubes, and abdominal scAT and skeletal muscle samples from vastus lateralis were collected. Thereafter, a 3-hr primed continuous infusion of U-[13C16]-palmitate (99% enriched, Cambridge Isotope Laboratories, Inc., Tewksbury, MA) in 5% albumin (priming dose [PD]: 1.0 μmol•kg-1, infusion rate [IR]: 0.1 μmol•kg-1•min-1) was started (15 (link),16 (link)). About 3 ml of arterial blood was obtained at 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, 160, 170, and 180 min of infusion to determine the rate of appearance of palmitate [Ra] as a measure of the lipolysis rate. Thereafter, the animals were sacrificed by I.V. injection of 5 ml of Euthasol solution under general anesthesia of ketamine and xylazine. Death was confirmed by open chest observation. At this time, a liver sample was obtained.