I'm skinny, with high body fat %
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Hi, I'm skinny fat, too! People don't realize that your bf % is what percentage of your current weight is fat. So while your weight may be low, you have too much fat content. I'm in the same boat! I'm about 25% body fat trying to get down to 18%, but I'm 5'8 and weigh 133. I started at 32% which is technically considered OBESE. My starting weight was 142. I'm definitely not obese, but my body fat was at an unhealthy level.
You should eat at a deficit because you are still losing fat. Not a huge deficit, because you don't have a lot to lose, so it will be slow runnings. 1 lb a week or even .5 lb. Mine is set to 1 lb, but I'm losing 1 lb maybe every 10 days. Up your protein intake. You also need to weight train to build muscle. So you may not lose #s on the scale, but your body comp will change. You may even gain weight from lifting. Go off your measurements instead of the scale! Again, body fat % is what percentage of your current weight is fat. The scale isn't really a factor here.0 -
another thing, about people of any weight with little lean mass and a higher bf%, is that fat-soluble things, like vitamin D, are distributed less efficiently0
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Iceprincessk25 wrote: »Go get either dunked, DEXA'd, or BODPOokagD'd to get a more accurate number for you body fat %. Bioelectrical impedance is known for being terribly inaccurate. Although, I will say that it is possible to be skinny fat. Once you have a more accurate representation of you body make up you can go from there.
Okay thank you, I will look into that..Iceprincessk25 wrote: »Go get either dunked, DEXA'd, or BODPOD'd to get a more accurate number for you body fat %. Bioelectrical impedance is known for being terribly inaccurate. Although, I will say that it is possible to be skinny fat. Once you have a more accurate representation of you body make up you can go from there.
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I had DEXA and BODPOD done within a day of each other and they reported exactly the same thing.
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yopeeps025 wrote: »yopeeps025 wrote: »yopeeps025 wrote: »Isabelle_1929 wrote: »Iceprincessk25 wrote: »Insulting? There are people that have more body fat % than they do lean muscle mass. That is what I call skinny fat.
it's a way to shame skinny people since we need to invent one now. yeah, it's highly insulting. if anyone called me that to my face, i'd be pissed.
I agree but you will have to accept it. I don't know how old you are, but apparently, that now it is a trendy thing to say.
It's like girls calling each other "*kitten*". Apparently, "*kitten*" can be a nice or cool thing to say.
It is a generation and/or regional cultural thing. I don't react to it on forums.
But I am with you: if I get back to my weight of 115 pounds, and someone calls me "skinny fat" IN PERSON, he/she would have seen stars, I swear.
I'm 40. We did not use this term in the past like it's used now. Not a fan.
Well you may not be a fan but it's a real thing. You think this is the only site where it's used? You think it's an expression use to only describe a female situation? No to both. You seem to always take offense to things people say. It's ridiculous. Now you're constantly bringing that stuff here into the weight gain section when you don't even have experience doing controlled bulks. Makes no sense.
I never said it's the only site where it's used or only to describe females. why are you putting words in my mouth? It could be used on every website on the planet. Doesn't make it a term I'm okay with to describe a 112 pound 5'5" female.
What do controlled bulks have to do with anything in this thread? You don't own the weight gain section in order to tell me where I'm allowed to be. I post where I want.
Now I see why you have so many flags. BTW how else would you describe someone with high body fat % and low lean body mass?
why I have so many flags? Not sure how you know that, but I wear them as a badge of honor. I doubt the o.p. is in this category with her stats. that term is overused.
I can read when someone post how many flags they have.
What does OP have to do with this question. You don't like the term most use to describe that situation so what would you call it then?
I had an issue with insinuating that the o.p. fits this category and I think the term is overused. The term is fine if it truly fits. I doubt it does here though.
If OP goes into the bod pod has those result that are in the OP then what would you call her. She even says it herself. I'm skinny with a lot of fat.brendaaeliza wrote: »I'm 5'5 female I weight 112lbs and have 28% overall body fat including visceral. And only have 26% muscle. I look skinny, I WANT to gain weight and drop my body fat to at least 20%.
i've heard that bod pods are not entirely accurate.
The only truly accurate measurement is an autopsy where all fat is extracted and measured, but that is not terribly attractive.
Each of DEXA, hydrostatic weighing, and bodpod are generally viewed as reasonably accurate (within +/- 3% IIRC from studies) when performed properly.
OP - FWIW I had a chance to do a hydrstatic weighing and a DEXA scan on the same day, within a few hours of each other, and the results came out within a percentage point of each other. By contrast, my older bio-impedance scale gave me a result of about 8% higher on that same day. At the time (and for a long time before) I had known that the scale was wildly inaccurate. I didn't even find bio-impedance testing with a scale to be very helpful in showing trends accurately (which some people do). I'd honestly just dismiss any scale or handheld readings relying on bio-impedance as worthless or worse.
EDIT TO ADD: and the DEXA and hydro came out about where I expected them to, based on images widely available on the net of body fat in selected individuals.
Someone messaged me and I thought it appropriate to add another caveat. My older scale also used physical characteristics (height, weight, gender) in an algorithm to calculate the "bio impedence" BF%. I know this because as part of a little experiment I'd step on my scale with my profile correctly entered as being a 5'9" male and get a BF% of X. I'd adjust my profile to 6'2" male, and suddenly my reported BF%, measured 1 minute later, was x-3% or something. So, a crappy algorithm very likely also played into my opinion that the bio impedance measurement was crap. Only ever used a handheld instrument once; it was middle of the day, so not directly comparable to my morning weighings, but it was similarly out of whack with what I knew to be a reasonable estimated range of where I was at the time.
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FYI
28% X 112 = 31.36 fat mass or pounds of body fat
112 - 31.36 = 81 pounds of lean body mass.0 -
If you don't like "skinny fat," for whatever reason, try "reasonable BMI with low LBM." They describe the same thing -- someone who is at a reasonable weight for their size but has low muscle mass.
OP, your options are to keep trying to lose weight, which isn't a good option if you have low LBM, or bulk and then cut. I'm in the same boat, but I've done one bulk/cut cycle already and am THRILLED with the results so far. I'm going to have do do a few more to get where I want, since I started out with so little muscle, but I'm happy to do them. I'm net 4 pounds up from where I was a year ago, but I'm much happier with my body shape and overall definition, and I'm leaps and bounds ahead of where I was in the gym.
Feel free to PM me if you want to ask any questions, as this thread has completely run itself off the rails and isn't addressing your actual question at all.0 -
CharlieRuns7225 wrote: »FYI
28% X 112 = 31.36 fat mass or pounds of body fat
112 - 31.36 = 81 pounds of lean body mass.
or 72% lean body mass
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brendaaeliza wrote: »Is that photograph you? If yes, then dayum, girl! I'm 5'6" and was 114 lbs at 14% body fat before my first bulk/cut cycle. I've since done two bulks and am currently maintaining around 128 at 17% body fat.
If I was you, I would eat around 300 cals/day above maintenance and lift heavy. What's your current workout schedule look like?
No not me, I made this awhile ago and that was my "goal" photo.
Wow great job!! that's exactly what I want to do. I'm currently doing 150cals over my maintenance level, I will start increasing my cals. I do lifting 5xs a week, and slow and steady cardio 3xs a week.
So should I do less reps more weight?
Or less weight, higher reps?
Back to actually answering the OP's question...
I'd do a combo, something like this (which is specifically my current lifting schedule)
Monday
5/3/1 (or 5x5 or whatever you prefer) Deadlifts
Superset 3x10-15 Hip thrusts and Bulgarian split squats
Superset 3x8-12 front squats and calf raises
Tuesday:
5/3/1 (or 5x5 or whatever you prefer) Bench press
Superset 3x8-12 Underhand lat pulldowns and Dumbbell OHP
Superset 3x8-12 Seated cable rows and Tricep rope pushdowns
Thursday:
Tuesday:/3/1 (or 5x5 or whatever you prefer) Back squats
3x8-12 Sumo deadlifts
Superset 3x8-12 Dumbbell step-ups and Curtsey lunges
Friday:
5/3/1 (or 5x5 or whatever you prefer) OHP
Superset 3x8-12 Dumbbell incline bench press and Yates (or Pendlay) rows
Superset 3x8-12 Wide-grip lat pulldowns and Bicep curls
ETA: I do light cardio 1x/week, that's it.0 -
Wow! You have a lot of replies already . But, I would just maintain for now, and tone up with target exercises. 0
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Ps-sorry, I didn't mean to quote. I'm still getting the hang of this app.0
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hmm honestly I would just stay at maintenance or ~200cals below, get ur macros in order and do something like p90x or insanity at this point. Think you'll get the best results since u probably have low muscle mass. A program like one of those will wake things up in ur body and give u some muscle "tone" and initial definition. Then based on your goals u can move from there. Good luck!!0
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Folks, PLEASE stay on topic in a thread. You are more than welcome to start your own thread to discuss the merits of whatever. But in THIS thread, lets try to answer OPs question and discuss her options.
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Cheers,
davis_em0 -
Yeah OP, dexascan or Bod Pod are really the only way to get an accurate BF% reading, and even those only promise accuracy within 1%. Don't get too discouraged.
Its typically more productive to lose fat at higher BF%, and to try to build muscle in a lower BF% (this is called the P-ratio). I would say you should try to shred some weight since that is always faster than building muscle, it will help you with the motivation aspect of your training. You will see changes in just a couple weeks vs the months it takes to build muscle. Get down to an optimal BF zone for building muscle (for women, this would be sub 20% BF) and then start eating at a small surplus to gain muscle. That would help maximize the effectiveness of your time.0 -
You want to lose belly fat and have a nice flat toned mid section? We see that a lot on this site. Hell, that was my goal for my birthday last year. We all want to be able to take our shirt off at the pool or beach and look great, but how do we do it?
1. Slight calorie deficit. Eating 800 calories and killing yourself in the gym is not going to get you there any faster. You need to fuel your body appropriately. I suggest the TDEE-20% method. www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc (If you have questions please feel free to ask them here). Make sure to weigh everything you eat! Guessing could put you well over your calories.
2. Strength training. If you want that toned mid section look you have to put some muscle there. If you just want a nice flat stomach muscle will still help it look tight. You can begin with Strong Lifts, a hypertrophy routine or a strength program from bodybuilding.com (free!). One that includes compound lifts like deadlift, squat, bench press and pull ups will help. Work on increasing the amount of weight you use. When the weight gets heavier you engage your core more and it builds the muscle.
3. Muscle insurance. There are a variety of studies done on the amount of protein the body needs. I like to think of higher protein as muscle insurance. My suggestion is about 1gram of protein per pound of lean mass. Make sure to get fat in your diet to help joints and metabolic processes. Make sure to get carbs in your diet to fuel workouts.
4. Cardio. I like cardio once or twice a week for 30 minutes. It's good for the heart and lungs. It doesn't add much to the calorie burn for the week, but it helps even things out in case you haven't been completely accurate weighing food.
5. Patience! It is not going to happen overnight. If you stick with it you could lose around 1% body fat a month. We aren't going to be perfect all the time. Enjoy birthdays and holidays. It is life and things will happen. Don't stress, learn to love the process.
FINALLY: Losing fat is like trying to dry out a sponge. You can't dry a corner while the rest of it is still wet. You won't magically lose belly fat or thigh fat or any other fat. It will come off where it wants to. Keep working at it! It is possible!
^this0 -
Don't worry about what others think of you on this forum. What matters is what you think of yourself and it sounds like a diet and daily exercise would be good for you. Most people would suggest lifting, but do what you enjoy whether that's running, basketball, soccer,... Some lifting would help. Don't worry about "skinny fat."0
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feminist42 wrote: »Don't worry about what others think of you on this forum. What matters is what you think of yourself and it sounds like a diet and daily exercise would be good for you. Most people would suggest lifting, but do what you enjoy whether that's running, basketball, soccer,... Some lifting would help. Don't worry about "skinny fat."
OP is calling herself skinny fat.
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yopeeps025 wrote: »feminist42 wrote: »Don't worry about what others think of you on this forum. What matters is what you think of yourself and it sounds like a diet and daily exercise would be good for you. Most people would suggest lifting, but do what you enjoy whether that's running, basketball, soccer,... Some lifting would help. Don't worry about "skinny fat."
OP is calling herself skinny fat.
OP can call herself what she wants. It doesn't make it okay for others. She sounds like she is in fine shape and should just find an activity she enjoys. Motivation only lasts a limited time when you don't enjoy what you do.0 -
Can we please keep this on topic. If people dont like a phrase start a thread about it elsewhere.0
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