Am i skinny fat?

pbandz
pbandz Posts: 128 Member
edited November 15 in Health and Weight Loss
everywhere i am reading is if you have a muffin top or deal with chafing thighs or have a little chubby stomach, you much be skinny fat. I am currently ~112lb 5'1" and i try to walk 10k daily, as well as do some yoga and core stretches multiple times a week. I hate my body. I keep switching medications and I know that cannot be helping but am i doing something wrong? Do i need to walk 10 miles a day and eat nothing?
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Replies

  • XxQueenMxX
    XxQueenMxX Posts: 683 Member
    I really dont have much advice besides that im 411 and weigh 127 obviously considered over weight, but I dont even considered my self fat.
  • threnjen
    threnjen Posts: 687 Member
    112 at 5'1" is a very healthy weight!!! Are you sure you don't just have a bad body image and actually look really great?

    If you still aren't happy with the way your body looks, weight lifting is going to give you the look that you want. Lifting heavy like Stronglifts 5x5. I personally think you would see more body decomposition results if you put your time to lifting instead of yoga I think you might see results.
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
    pbandz wrote: »
    everywhere i am reading is if you have a muffin top or deal with chafing thighs or have a little chubby stomach, you much be skinny fat. I am currently ~112lb 5'1" and i try to walk 10k daily, as well as do some yoga and core stretches multiple times a week. I hate my body. I keep switching medications and I know that cannot be helping but am i doing something wrong? Do i need to walk 10 miles a day and eat nothing?
    Without pictures it's not entirely possible to tell if you are skinny fat or not. It's certainly possible based on your stats. You do not need to walk 10k a day or eat nothing. The cure for skinny fat is weight lifting. Heavy weight lifting! Get yourself on a 5x5 beginners routine and watch the magic happen. Depending on your goal physique goals, you may want to lose a little bit of fat first, or go straight into a muscle building stage first. To completely cure skinny fat you are going to need to spend some time doing both fat loss, and then muscle building. Your goals and current body shape should dictate which come first.

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    pbandz wrote: »
    everywhere i am reading is if you have a muffin top or deal with chafing thighs or have a little chubby stomach, you much be skinny fat. I am currently ~112lb 5'1" and i try to walk 10k daily, as well as do some yoga and core stretches multiple times a week. I hate my body. I keep switching medications and I know that cannot be helping but am i doing something wrong? Do i need to walk 10 miles a day and eat nothing?

    Things like "muffin tops" and a "little chubby stomach" are so subjective. And I don't think there is anything wrong with thighs touching sometimes. It sounds like you're reading some pretty harsh stuff. When you take away how people tell you to feel about your body, do you really hate it? Your weight sounds healthy and it sounds like your body can do amazing things (long walks, yoga, stretching). There's a time for honest self-criticism, but there is also a time for self-acceptance and love.


  • pbandz
    pbandz Posts: 128 Member
    Thanks. I keep hearing the lifting thing i guess i should start. I cannot run much because every time i do get bad shin splints. I do yoga as a class through school right now so i just practice it to keep up in class. Adding some weights cannot hurt. Also I do have an awful body image so that isnt helping. I just have gained four pounds in the past so many months and it is really annoying. Thanks though
  • marissafit06
    marissafit06 Posts: 1,996 Member
    Weight lifting sounds like your best bet. It's quite possible that upping your cardio and dramatically reducing calories would just result with you being a smaller version of the same body type, until you so tiny you were underweight and unhealthy.
  • pbandz
    pbandz Posts: 128 Member
    Also Mayra, better to be happy with your body than not i imagine. Glad you are happy in your own skin. Your picture is stunning btw
  • pbandz
    pbandz Posts: 128 Member
    pbandz wrote: »
    everywhere i am reading is if you have a muffin top or deal with chafing thighs or have a little chubby stomach, you much be skinny fat. I am currently ~112lb 5'1" and i try to walk 10k daily, as well as do some yoga and core stretches multiple times a week. I hate my body. I keep switching medications and I know that cannot be helping but am i doing something wrong? Do i need to walk 10 miles a day and eat nothing?

    Things like "muffin tops" and a "little chubby stomach" are so subjective. And I don't think there is anything wrong with thighs touching sometimes. It sounds like you're reading some pretty harsh stuff. When you take away how people tell you to feel about your body, do you really hate it? Your weight sounds healthy and it sounds like your body can do amazing things (long walks, yoga, stretching). There's a time for honest self-criticism, but there is also a time for self-acceptance and love.


    Thank you so much :,) you are so right. I dont ever think about it that way. Thank you so much for this
  • AmerTunsi
    AmerTunsi Posts: 655 Member
    Skinny fat really isn't about a 'muffin top' or anything like that. It is the idea that you can be thin and still be unhealthy. People associate being overweight with being unhealthy and being skinny as the picture of health (as if there aren't people who are skinny and mostly composed of fat). The reality is there are people who are healthy and unhealthy in both categories. I couldn't find the article that I read during school, but here is a recent story on the topic. Think body composition and lifestyle rather than body shapes. Another myth is that the gap between your thighs means your lean, it actually has to do with the position of your pelvis.

    http://abcnews.go.com/Health/skinny-hidden-fat-thin-equal-healthy/story?id=29614011

    If you're living a healthy lifestyle, and yet your thighs rub together, or you have a muffin top ... don't stress ... doesn't make you unhealthy.
  • Blueseraphchaos
    Blueseraphchaos Posts: 843 Member
    Yup, lift heavy weights for a body recomp. :D
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    For short people BMI tends to indicate that people who are carrying around a higher percentage of body fat are normal. I suspect that short people need to lose more weight than some charts indicate.
  • LuckyStar813
    LuckyStar813 Posts: 163 Member
    I think "skinny fat" is where someone looks at a healthy weight or even underweight, but their muscle to fat ratio is too low. They either need to add muscle or change fat to muscle. Their weight on the scale might not change but their health is improved!
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Lift heavy weights.
  • annette_15
    annette_15 Posts: 1,657 Member
    I'm 5'1 and 109... I dont feel fat...
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    I've always thought skinny fat is when you're down to your goal weight but you still have a flabby tum and/or inner thighs?? Is this correct?
  • Th3Ph03n1x
    Th3Ph03n1x Posts: 275 Member
    I've always thought skinny fat is when you're down to your goal weight but you still have a flabby tum and/or inner thighs?? Is this correct?

    That's pretty much how I think of it too. That you're just sort of loose from losing too much muscle along with the fat.
  • MelanieMamaof5
    MelanieMamaof5 Posts: 75 Member
    Strength training (aka weight lifting). That's the key to restructuring the body. Sometimes that can be intimidating, though. Especially if you are not sure what/how to do it. Try searching on you tube for full body strength or HIIT routines (try fitness blender, bob harper, jillian micheals). Switch out 2-3 of your 10k walks a week with an hour long HIIT video and you will be seeing results in no time.

    Some of my favorites for those who need to learn the basics and form:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRd1ZbU5QiQ (beginner to intermediate)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naJtNxEuBqw (beginner ONLY 20 minutes)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xFI5CT5GYA (intermediate to advanced)
    This website is GREAT!!!! You can find exactly what you are looking for and have several FREE videos to chose from: http://www.fitnessblender.com/

    Good luck.

    Above all else....forget about what others are saying or you THINK they are saying about your body. It's an amazing vessel that gets you from one end of life to the other. Be grateful for it. :)

  • jennifershoo
    jennifershoo Posts: 3,198 Member
    vismal wrote: »
    pbandz wrote: »
    everywhere i am reading is if you have a muffin top or deal with chafing thighs or have a little chubby stomach, you much be skinny fat. I am currently ~112lb 5'1" and i try to walk 10k daily, as well as do some yoga and core stretches multiple times a week. I hate my body. I keep switching medications and I know that cannot be helping but am i doing something wrong? Do i need to walk 10 miles a day and eat nothing?
    Without pictures it's not entirely possible to tell if you are skinny fat or not. It's certainly possible based on your stats. You do not need to walk 10k a day or eat nothing. The cure for skinny fat is weight lifting. Heavy weight lifting! Get yourself on a 5x5 beginners routine and watch the magic happen. Depending on your goal physique goals, you may want to lose a little bit of fat first, or go straight into a muscle building stage first. To completely cure skinny fat you are going to need to spend some time doing both fat loss, and then muscle building. Your goals and current body shape should dictate which come first.

    This^.
    Listen to this guy.
  • threnjen
    threnjen Posts: 687 Member
    threnjen wrote: »
    decomposition

    I only just noticed I typoed this. Too bad I can't go back and edit it :( But it's an amusing typo.

  • SergeantSausage
    SergeantSausage Posts: 1,673 Member
    I've always thought skinny fat is when you're down to your goal weight but you still have a flabby tum and/or inner thighs?? Is this correct?

    No.

  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    I've always thought skinny fat is when you're down to your goal weight but you still have a flabby tum and/or inner thighs?? Is this correct?

    No.

    wow ever so helpful.... Care to elaborate??

  • Hearts_2015
    Hearts_2015 Posts: 12,031 Member
    Strength training (aka weight lifting). That's the key to restructuring the body. Sometimes that can be intimidating, though. Especially if you are not sure what/how to do it. Try searching on you tube for full body strength or HIIT routines (try fitness blender, bob harper, jillian micheals). Switch out 2-3 of your 10k walks a week with an hour long HIIT video and you will be seeing results in no time.

    Some of my favorites for those who need to learn the basics and form:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRd1ZbU5QiQ (beginner to intermediate)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naJtNxEuBqw (beginner ONLY 20 minutes)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xFI5CT5GYA (intermediate to advanced)
    This website is GREAT!!!! You can find exactly what you are looking for and have several FREE videos to chose from: http://www.fitnessblender.com/

    Good luck.

    Above all else....forget about what others are saying or you THINK they are saying about your body. It's an amazing vessel that gets you from one end of life to the other. Be grateful for it. :)

    Wow, thanks for sharing the site and the youtube vids! :)
  • Jupither
    Jupither Posts: 11 Member
    threnjen wrote: »
    112 at 5'1" is a very healthy weight!!! Are you sure you don't just have a bad body image and actually look really great?

    If you still aren't happy with the way your body looks, weight lifting is going to give you the look that you want. Lifting heavy like Stronglifts 5x5. I personally think you would see more body decomposition results if you put your time to lifting instead of yoga I think you might see results.

    The right type of Yoga can actually build muscle, since it has tons of body weights exercises (planks, push up sort of things etc). I have read many times that Yoga helps in getting everything tight and lean without "bulking up". I dp agree about the weights though, but would rather suggest exchanging some of the light cardio for that and keep the Yoga :-)
  • kindrabbit
    kindrabbit Posts: 837 Member
    Great advice. I just want to say that the other amazing benefit of strength training is psychological. Op says she has a bad body imagine. being /feeling/ looking strong is such a buzz! Imo there's no better way to feel good about yourself. Feeling physically strong can help you feel mentally strong.
  • astrose00
    astrose00 Posts: 754 Member
    I've always thought skinny fat is when you're down to your goal weight but you still have a flabby tum and/or inner thighs?? Is this correct?

    No.

    wow ever so helpful.... Care to elaborate??

    Deja vu...
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
    Skinny fat is being in a healthy weight range but having so little muscle mass that your body fat % is at an unhealthy level. It has nothing to do with how or where you carry the body fat.

    The solution: recomp by eating at or just barely below maintenance and lift heavy.
  • SergeantSausage
    SergeantSausage Posts: 1,673 Member
    edited March 2015
    I've always thought skinny fat is when you're down to your goal weight but you still have a flabby tum and/or inner thighs?? Is this correct?

    No.

    wow ever so helpful.... Care to elaborate??

    I answered the asked question. ("Is this correct?")

    Now I'll answer yours ("Care to elaborate? "): No.

  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,178 Member
    OP, based on your stats and age, there is a 99% chance all is in your head. Honestly, I would start by looking if school offers counseling, because no exercise will help when you have a negative body image.
    If you really want to find a workout that will help you, first look for something you enjoy. Many posters here are more familiar with weight lifting, they love it or it has worked for them. This does not make it the only way to build strenght and to have a great body though. If it something you think it would interest you, awesome. If you prefer yoga, again awesome, the right classes can definitely help you build strenght and muscle, as it involves body weight training.
  • sgthaggard
    sgthaggard Posts: 581 Member
    I've always thought skinny fat is when you're down to your goal weight but you still have a flabby tum and/or inner thighs?? Is this correct?

    No.
    I disagree.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    astrose00 wrote: »
    I've always thought skinny fat is when you're down to your goal weight but you still have a flabby tum and/or inner thighs?? Is this correct?

    No.

    wow ever so helpful.... Care to elaborate??

    Deja vu...

    Whys that?

    That's a stock standard answer when someone simply replies with a pointless "No"....

This discussion has been closed.