Skinny fat to just skinny, what now?
Cisseismint
Posts: 53 Member
so, I am male 6 foot tall, and at the start of the year I was a skinny fat bast@rd, lol, like a rake with a belly.
Since then I have been eating 1800 cals per day, to loose 1lb per week, but also lifting weights 3 time per week, playing 5 a side football once a week, and running 5k once a week. This has worked well for me, I have dropped to 11 stone, lost most of my belly, and actually gained some muscle in my chest, arms and shoulders for the first time in my life.
So what do I do next. I still have a bit of a belly, but it's pretty small to be honest. I want to loose maybe another couple of pounds of fat, but also start to focus more on growing bigger muscles.
Do I keep doing what I'm doing, or do I need to start eating more and drop the cardio.
The thought of eating above maintenance calories really scares me, as I don't want my belly back, but I don't know if I can keep growing muscle on a calorie deficit? The thought of seeing my weight go back up again is scary, but I guess that's what I want, as long as it's not fat going back on.
Please give me some guidance. I've almost done the skinny fat to skinny bit. So how do I get from skinny to Adonis?
Since then I have been eating 1800 cals per day, to loose 1lb per week, but also lifting weights 3 time per week, playing 5 a side football once a week, and running 5k once a week. This has worked well for me, I have dropped to 11 stone, lost most of my belly, and actually gained some muscle in my chest, arms and shoulders for the first time in my life.
So what do I do next. I still have a bit of a belly, but it's pretty small to be honest. I want to loose maybe another couple of pounds of fat, but also start to focus more on growing bigger muscles.
Do I keep doing what I'm doing, or do I need to start eating more and drop the cardio.
The thought of eating above maintenance calories really scares me, as I don't want my belly back, but I don't know if I can keep growing muscle on a calorie deficit? The thought of seeing my weight go back up again is scary, but I guess that's what I want, as long as it's not fat going back on.
Please give me some guidance. I've almost done the skinny fat to skinny bit. So how do I get from skinny to Adonis?
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Replies
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You can't build muscle on a deficit (other than newbie gains) so you either eat at maintenance and recomp, or do some bulk & cut cycles.
Given that you say you're scared of gaining, I'd go with recomp first, see if you like the results.1 -
Hey Toad. Thanks for the reply. So you think I should set my calories to maintain my weight, and keep on with the lifting and the football? What should I expect to see on the scales? Weight flat, but muscles growing and fat continuing to shrink? I guess that what you mean by recomp? I think that would be ideal for now. If I ever get really lean, then I may be braver about a full on bulk.0
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Cisseismint wrote: »Hey Toad. Thanks for the reply. So you think I should set my calories to maintain my weight, and keep on with the lifting and the football? What should I expect to see on the scales? Weight flat, but muscles growing and fat continuing to shrink? I guess that what you mean by recomp? I think that would be ideal for now. If I ever get really lean, then I may be braver about a full on bulk.
Pretty much. You might see a small increase, but then maintenance should be a range anyway and not one set number.0 -
Cheers. That's what I'll do. I guess I should have posted this in the maintain weight section, not the gain weight section, lol. Oh well.0
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Well done for the weight loss and dedication mate. I agree with what has been said, and remember to keep your protein high (within your calorie range) to help build and maintain lean muscle mass.0
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1800 is very low. When you go up to maintenance cals, you may see a water, food cumulation in gut and glycogen scale gain. Don't freak out! It's not fat. Concentrate on refining your lifting form. Learn how to pre fuel your football and other cardio correctly (2/300g carbs 3 hours before, tailored around YOUR personal burn rate during high intensity sports). This will stop you from losing muscle mass if and when you bulk (most people cut the cardio as it gets in the way of recovery and the need for an excess calorie situation).
Try maintenance until autumn then if you feel right, do a bulk over winter, then a slow cut in spring in time for summer.
154lb at 6ft is low. I'd say go for the bulk plan.0 -
Jusus christ- 1800 is way to low for a guy 6 feet tall. 1800 is the bottom end of my maintance and I'm 5'8' F.
Also - you make me sad- 155 pounds? you weigh less than I do- get thee to the gym- lift all the things.
Eat all the things.
Sleep all the things.
Stop doing so much cardio.
Lather.
Rinse.
Repeat.
at 6 feet you could easily be carrying 230 pounds and look great.0 -
Thanks for this thread Cisseismint. I'm in the same boat and these responses confirm that a recomp may be the best thing for me too. I'm only 5'2" and MFP says my maintenance is 1700 calories, does that sound about right guys?0
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I think if more people understood that a stone was 14lbs they would have recommended a bulk to the OP0
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Jusus christ- 1800 is way to low for a guy 6 feet tall. 1800 is the bottom end of my maintance and I'm 5'8' F.
Also - you make me sad- 155 pounds? you weigh less than I do- get thee to the gym- lift all the things.
Eat all the things.
Sleep all the things.
Stop doing so much cardio.
Lather.
Rinse.
Repeat.
at 6 feet you could easily be carrying 230 pounds and look great.
I can maintain on around 2800-3000 and I'm only a 155 pounds so I'm definitely going to agree with Jo here. You need to reverse out of your deficit slowly, add about 100 to 200 calories per day each week or two until you find your maintenance. Then look at adding a heavy lifting routine and start bulking. Once you start lifting gradually add in calories and bulk up a bit. I know your going to hate the fat increase because I'm in the same boat. So you might want to do short bulk and cut cycles at first to get used to adding weight back. Just remember that you are in control of you diet and exercise and thus your weight so you won't just go back to the way you were.
Good luck.
ETA actually I should say don't wait on the heavy lifting, you should start as soon as you can.0 -
Jusus christ- 1800 is way to low for a guy 6 feet tall. 1800 is the bottom end of my maintance and I'm 5'8' F.
Also - you make me sad- 155 pounds? you weigh less than I do- get thee to the gym- lift all the things.
Eat all the things.
Sleep all the things.
Stop doing so much cardio.
Lather.
Rinse.
Repeat.
at 6 feet you could easily be carrying 230 pounds and look great.
Hey now! I'm about to go below the 160 mark and still very "strong" for my weight. :-)
Strength over Size for some! :-P
With that said, I HATE being labeled as SCRAWNY by my wife of all people! I can't wait until I can reverse out of my cut and lean bulk for many months!
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OP - I WAS skinny fat myself, it's taken me a couple years of screwing around in the gym thinking I knew what I was doing to realize I was doing it all wrong! These last 6+ months I've gotten my "diet" on point, a lifting plan, and seeking advice from the peeps in this section ONLY!0
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I don't necessarily agree that you can't gain muscle while in a caloric deficit. It may be more difficult (newbie gains aside) but it can be done. If you're afraid of packing on more fat, which you will in a bulk phase, try what everyone else suggests. Get as close to maintenance as possible, refine your macros, stop doing so much cardio and focus on strength training and lift heavy to employ as much muscle fibers in your exercises as humanly possible. Repetition is the key and fueling growth is absolutely necessary. I bulked and gained an additional 10lbs of muscle on top of 10 I gained during bulk while in a caloric deficit and I've been lifting for a while. You have to do what works for you. If you're concerned about looking fat then do a recomp. If you're willing to chunk up a bit in order to pack on some muscle, do a clean bulk. Don't get lazy and go dirty.0
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Jusus christ- 1800 is way to low for a guy 6 feet tall. 1800 is the bottom end of my maintance and I'm 5'8' F.
Also - you make me sad- 155 pounds? you weigh less than I do- get thee to the gym- lift all the things.
Eat all the things.
Sleep all the things.
Stop doing so much cardio.
Lather.
Rinse.
Repeat.
at 6 feet you could easily be carrying 230 pounds and look great.
For what it's worth... I'm a female 6'1", currently 169 lbs and maintaining around 2200.
I agree with Jo (though you don't make me sad)... I think you could totally eat more and see a lot of benefit from doing so. Eat healthy, hit the gym. And know that when you're doing a bulk, you can expect half your gains to be muscle and half fat (from what I've heard)... but you're not gaining weight because of mindless chip and dip eating. You are making a conscious decision to strengthen and build mass. There's a big difference between the two.
Congrats on your belly loss, and even further congrats on your exciting future bulk!
As for recomp... it's totally possible, but it's very slow going and you may not see visible results for quite some time. Just be prepared for that, if that is the route you take.0 -
Btw a clean bulk is one where you try and control your daily calories in excess to 4/500 for men and 2/300 for women.
Dirty bulking is similar to what I've been doing over easter....all out hoovering up everything in site, eating twice as much as I need, only taking care of the chocolate, wine and chip macros. Even as a lifter, I can only use about 650 Cals per week for muscle building, men double that. It's meticulous.
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BULK!!
Seriously, 1800 cals?! And 11 stone (I'm 10 and a half at 5'6 and female) at 6' tall. You're going to love the weight room so much more if you up your calories.1 -
Hey thanks for all the replies. The low calorie intake was designed to help me loose my pot belly, and it is working.
Maybe you guys who hit the gym regularly don't know that it's possible to be a skinny bean pole AND have a high body fat percentage. Yes I am 6 foot and 11 stone, but I my body fat is still 22% according to the PT at the gym. He measured me with some teaser type things pinching the fat off all over my body, and also with some electric thingy attached to my toes, and then did a comparison with some stock photos.
My plan was to get to 15% body fat and then increase calories for a bulk as I have seen that advice on here before. Yes that will make me very skinny. But skinny is a better starting point for a bulk than skinny fat- isn't it?0 -
Cisseismint wrote: »Hey thanks for all the replies. The low calorie intake was designed to help me loose my pot belly, and it is working.
Maybe you guys who hit the gym regularly don't know that it's possible to be a skinny bean pole AND have a high body fat percentage. Yes I am 6 foot and 11 stone, but I my body fat is still 22% according to the PT at the gym. He measured me with some teaser type things pinching the fat off all over my body, and also with some electric thingy attached to my toes, and then did a comparison with some stock photos.
My plan was to get to 15% body fat and then increase calories for a bulk as I have seen that advice on here before. Yes that will make me very skinny. But skinny is a better starting point for a bulk than skinny fat- isn't it?
it's because you have no muscle.
GO LIFTING.
And eating.
And sleeping
And then more lifting.
And more eating.
There is a tremendous amount of growth you can do right now- take advantage of it- you're a young male with pracically no muscle.
Go hammer it like the angry fist of god and make the most of these gains you're going to have. It's literally NEVER going to be this easy to muscle on again- do it and do it right while you can.0 -
Haha 'muscle on' - love it!
OP listen to Jo
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Cisseismint wrote: »Hey thanks for all the replies. The low calorie intake was designed to help me loose my pot belly, and it is working.
Maybe you guys who hit the gym regularly don't know that it's possible to be a skinny bean pole AND have a high body fat percentage. Yes I am 6 foot and 11 stone, but I my body fat is still 22% according to the PT at the gym. He measured me with some teaser type things pinching the fat off all over my body, and also with some electric thingy attached to my toes, and then did a comparison with some stock photos.
My plan was to get to 15% body fat and then increase calories for a bulk as I have seen that advice on here before. Yes that will make me very skinny. But skinny is a better starting point for a bulk than skinny fat- isn't it?
it's because you have no muscle.
GO LIFTING.
And eating.
And sleeping
And then more lifting.
And more eating.
There is a tremendous amount of growth you can do right now- take advantage of it- you're a young male with pracically no muscle.
Go hammer it like the angry fist of god and make the most of these gains you're going to have. It's literally NEVER going to be this easy to muscle on again- do it and do it right while you can.
LISTEN TO JOROCKA! She knows her stuff, otherwise she will bench press you multiple times!
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Lol. Okay I'll hit the weights. I ditched my fitness blender routine today and Started the 5x5 programme. I had to tweak it as I only have dumbells and a bench.
I spent a lot of money on some iron master dumbbells and the iron master super bench. It was really embarrassing because I bought the 120lb add on kit to make sure I have enough weight. This goes to 120lb per hand, but when I tried to bench press with them the best I could manage for 5x5 was 40lb per hand.
Lol. I guess I could have saved some money there and skipped the add on. But at least there is plenty weight there to exploit my newbie gains.0 -
5x5 is a proven program to help you build strength and size. That's what I used for my first program I actually followed.0
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You'll grow into the 120's.. no worries. Better to have them now than to have to wait on them when you get there.0
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Cisseismint wrote: »Lol. Okay I'll hit the weights. I ditched my fitness blender routine today and Started the 5x5 programme. I had to tweak it as I only have dumbells and a bench.
I spent a lot of money on some iron master dumbbells and the iron master super bench. It was really embarrassing because I bought the 120lb add on kit to make sure I have enough weight. This goes to 120lb per hand, but when I tried to bench press with them the best I could manage for 5x5 was 40lb per hand.
Lol. I guess I could have saved some money there and skipped the add on. But at least there is plenty weight there to exploit my newbie gains.
Push hard and you'll move the stack quickly. We all started at low weight but those who want it bad enough will put on impressive gains.
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Cisseismint wrote: »Hey thanks for all the replies. The low calorie intake was designed to help me loose my pot belly, and it is working.
Maybe you guys who hit the gym regularly don't know that it's possible to be a skinny bean pole AND have a high body fat percentage. Yes I am 6 foot and 11 stone, but I my body fat is still 22% according to the PT at the gym. He measured me with some teaser type things pinching the fat off all over my body, and also with some electric thingy attached to my toes, and then did a comparison with some stock photos.
My plan was to get to 15% body fat and then increase calories for a bulk as I have seen that advice on here before. Yes that will make me very skinny. But skinny is a better starting point for a bulk than skinny fat- isn't it?
it's because you have no muscle.
GO LIFTING.
And eating.
And sleeping
And then more lifting.
And more eating.
There is a tremendous amount of growth you can do right now- take advantage of it- you're a young male with pracically no muscle.
Go hammer it like the angry fist of god and make the most of these gains you're going to have. It's literally NEVER going to be this easy to muscle on again- do it and do it right while you can.
LISTEN TO JOROCKA! She knows her stuff, otherwise she will bench press you multiple times!
at 155- I totes could
he he he he
sad panda face- missed 190 yesterday. grump grump.
Oh well. but yes- DO ALL THE LIFTING- or get squatted - or benched.Lol. Okay I'll hit the weights. I ditched my fitness blender routine today and Started the 5x5 programme. I had to tweak it as I only have dumbells and a bench.
I spent a lot of money on some iron master dumbbells and the iron master super bench. It was really embarrassing because I bought the 120lb add on kit to make sure I have enough weight. This goes to 120lb per hand, but when I tried to bench press with them the best I could manage for 5x5 was 40lb per hand.
Lol. I guess I could have saved some money there and skipped the add on. But at least there is plenty weight there to exploit my newbie gains.
good boy.
You'll be fine- do the best you can- just think attack attack attack-a If you can invest in a cage/oly bar- do that- if not a gym is an option (I personally really like the gym but I'm a total weirdo like that)
If you really feel hammstrung- you can do a body weight progression- it's not as smooth- less research- and its' hard- like really hard- but it's a perfecly viable option.
body by you
convict conditioning
you are your own gym
read up on Waldo's site
strengthunbound- he's done 4-5 bulk/cut cycles doing purely body weight only- and I don't mean endless free weight squats- like real progressions- planch- dragonflag etc etc type stuff.
It's out there- all you gotta do is be hungry for it.
Being said- at some point you're going to feel fat and miserable. everyone does. get over it- keep going. that's when your best gains start to happen.
"bulking is about self confidence. cutting is about determination and will power"
waldo.0 -
Those devices aren't really accurate for body fat measurements. I used a bodpod, calipers, and the body fat charts from protein power. They had me at 15-18%. My scale at home has me at 27% and I had similar readings at the gym.
You aren't carrying much more fat than the rippiest guys here, it's just you have a low proportion of muscle. Go on a long bulk then a slow cut after that.
The sad news is your diet you've been on has probably catabolised (burned) muscle. It was too aggressive.
I did exactly the same thing and ended up at 123lb and not happy. I put on 10lb on my bulk, approx half fat to muscle, and I was much happier then! Even though I'd been there before the cut and looked completely different.
I then slowly cut about 5lb.
Go to Scooby's calculator to see your TDEE and test it for a couple of weeks before you bulk.0
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