Lifting weights didn't fix skinny fat-need help (WOMEN ONLY PLS)

I read in order to fix being skinny fat, you need to lift weights. I did for a year. Now, I just have muscle underneath the fat.

I love being so much stronger, but I hate that I've been working so hard and still have so much flab. I also changed my eating habits greatly and eat much healthier now, and I am good about not eating too much. I did moderate cardio workouts regularly, too, but did more weight lifting than anything else.

So, what now? How do I finally lose the fat and continue to gain muscle? Any previously skinny fat women have some advice for me?
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Replies

  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    That's where you go back to a small deficit and keep lifting.
  • kshadows
    kshadows Posts: 1,315 Member
    Francl27 wrote: »
    That's where you go back to a small deficit and keep lifting.

    Truth.
  • thepinkbananabanana
    thepinkbananabanana Posts: 9 Member
    edited January 2016
    What would constitute a small deficit?
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    edited January 2016
    To lose the fat, cut calories. Keep lifting.

    BTW this is the same for women and men.
  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
    What would constitute a small deficit?

    Roughly 250 a day below your TDEE
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    Then you probably weren't skinny fat. You were probably just overweight.

    If you are happy with the level of muscle mass you have, i suggest you cut your calories and continue lifting. Making sure to keep adequate protein levels during this phase and continuing with weight lifting will help with retaining muscle mass.

    Some say run a "small" deficit, but i don't see any reason it has to be so small. Especially considering you have been at this for a year and don't feel you've seen the progress you're looking for. I say run a moderate deficit for 12 weeks and see what happens.
  • Nice2BFitAgain
    Nice2BFitAgain Posts: 319 Member
    If you want to know how many calories you should be eating you need to give more info - age, weight, activity level
  • Sumiblue
    Sumiblue Posts: 1,597 Member
    How much do you need to lose? I set MFP to lose .5/lb week since I only wanted to lose 20lbs. I lifted heavy, lost 17lbs and lost a fair amount of fat. Keep protein macros high enough so you don't lose too much muscle when dieting. Fat really started coming off when I stuck to my deficit and kept up a good progressive lifting program in the last 4 months. How often do you lift and what is your program?
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    What are your stats (height, weight, age)? Are/were you really skinny fat? Was your BMI in the healthy range and your BF% in the unhealthy range? What is your current BF%?

    Is it possible you just have trouble seeing yourself accurately in the mirror?
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  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
    What would constitute a small deficit?

    Roughly 250 a day below your TDEE

    You're a man. That can't be right. ;)

    I knew that was you Mrs. Juggernaut!
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
    Can you give us your stats?
  • Rainbow, I was underweight when I started. Skinny fat means your weight is fine, but you don't have much muscle and are pretty flabby. Sumiblue, I don't care that much about losing weight. I just want to lose my flab. I have actually gained weight since lifting weights, but it seems to be muscle and not fat. I did lose some fat, but it wasn't much at all.

    I'll try to keep a closer eye on my calories and eat at a small deficit. Merely losing weight is easy, but getting in shape (build muscles, improve stamina and endurance, lose flab, eat the right amount of calories and macros, etc.) is a lot more complicated than I thought it would be.
  • Sumiblue
    Sumiblue Posts: 1,597 Member
    If you were underweight then I see why you might not want to deficit. Have you been tracking your calories throughout? Lifting is only part of the equation. You have to eat properly to fit your goals. It's impossible to say what you might do without knowing your stats & your current calorie goal & lifting program.
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
    Without knowing your stats (height, weight, which lifting program you've been doing), it's really hard to give any specific advice. However, if you don't have much underlying muscle mass, losing more weight is probably not going to help. Your best bet may be a recomp, where you eat at maintenance and continue to lift. Recomps are slow processes so you're not going to see changes overnight, but over time a recomp could help you develop some muscle mass and lose some of the overlying fat.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    You need a dexa scan

    You could just be body dysmorphic

    Best to get the data in
  • JayRuby84
    JayRuby84 Posts: 557 Member
    Francl27 wrote: »
    That's where you go back to a small deficit and keep lifting.
    Exactly.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    I read in order to fix being skinny fat, you need to lift weights. I did for a year. Now, I just have muscle underneath the fat.

    I love being so much stronger, but I hate that I've been working so hard and still have so much flab. I also changed my eating habits greatly and eat much healthier now, and I am good about not eating too much. I did moderate cardio workouts regularly, too, but did more weight lifting than anything else.

    So, what now? How do I finally lose the fat and continue to gain muscle? Any previously skinny fat women have some advice for me?

    If you were doing a structured, progressive weight lifting program, which one was it?

    If not, what was your routine?
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    Rainbow, I was underweight when I started. Skinny fat means your weight is fine, but you don't have much muscle and are pretty flabby. Sumiblue, I don't care that much about losing weight. I just want to lose my flab. I have actually gained weight since lifting weights, but it seems to be muscle and not fat. I did lose some fat, but it wasn't much at all.

    I'll try to keep a closer eye on my calories and eat at a small deficit. Merely losing weight is easy, but getting in shape (build muscles, improve stamina and endurance, lose flab, eat the right amount of calories and macros, etc.) is a lot more complicated than I thought it would be.

    If you are underweight and want more muscle you need to AT LEAST eat at maintenance. You might gain strength but you won't put on muscle eating at a deficit. A slight surplus will yield faster results.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    OP, could you state the following:
    * your height
    * your weight
    * how many calories you've been eating
    * how much weight you gained while lifting
    * what lifting program you're following
    * if you're using a homemade lifting program, what exercises are you doing and how often are you doing them

    That would help us to help you better.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    My question would be are you really eating as many calories as you think, or accidentally eating more? Do you use a food scale, and weigh and log everything you eat? If you're lifting progressively, you need to dial in your calories.
  • Kimberly_Harper
    Kimberly_Harper Posts: 409 Member
    By "flab" do you mean fat, or just loose skin? You may not be trying to lose weight, but are you trying to lose body fat? If you mean loose skin, there may not be anything you can do about that in some places depending on your age. If you mean fat, there are a lot of good suggestions in this thread.
  • TrishaCisneros
    TrishaCisneros Posts: 171 Member
    jemhh wrote: »
    OP, could you state the following:
    * your height
    * your weight
    * how many calories you've been eating
    * how much weight you gained while lifting
    * what lifting program you're following
    * if you're using a homemade lifting program, what exercises are you doing and how often are you doing them

    That would help us to help you better.

    quoting, in case you missed it.


    also, lifting doesn't automatically fix skinny fat. Diet plays a huge roll.
  • brb_2013
    brb_2013 Posts: 1,197 Member
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    Then you probably weren't skinny fat. You were probably just overweight.

    If you are happy with the level of muscle mass you have, i suggest you cut your calories and continue lifting. Making sure to keep adequate protein levels during this phase and continuing with weight lifting will help with retaining muscle mass.

    Some say run a "small" deficit, but i don't see any reason it has to be so small. Especially considering you have been at this for a year and don't feel you've seen the progress you're looking for. I say run a moderate deficit for 12 weeks and see what happens.

    I would agree with this, it seems to fit the knowledge I have acquired. To keep the muscle you don't want an extreme deficit but I'd probably do a "cut" for 3 months or so, you may lose a small amount of muscle in the process but keep on with strength training and adequate protein to limit that. Don't be discouraged. You have great muscles, just have to drop the fat to see them! Make sure your logging is accurate, it matters more now that you're down to the last few pounds.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    Rainbow, I was underweight when I started. Skinny fat means your weight is fine, but you don't have much muscle and are pretty flabby. Sumiblue, I don't care that much about losing weight. I just want to lose my flab. I have actually gained weight since lifting weights, but it seems to be muscle and not fat. I did lose some fat, but it wasn't much at all.

    I'll try to keep a closer eye on my calories and eat at a small deficit. Merely losing weight is easy, but getting in shape (build muscles, improve stamina and endurance, lose flab, eat the right amount of calories and macros, etc.) is a lot more complicated than I thought it would be.

    If you are underweight and want more muscle you need to AT LEAST eat at maintenance. You might gain strength but you won't put on muscle eating at a deficit. A slight surplus will yield faster results.

    OP said she WAS underweight. She's been lifting for over a year, already seen muscle gains (which leads me to believe she was also eating in a slight surplus since she still has unwanted fat).
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
    How in the world is this a women-only question?

    I am wondering how heavy the OP is lifting and what, specifically, she means by "moderate" cardio workouts and "regularly."

    In other words, we need more information.
  • christch
    christch Posts: 238 Member
    There is alot of information missing as asked for my others. I was always told by my trainer that if I was doing "moderate" cardio regularly that is was counter productive to muscle gain.
    To build muscle =lift heavy+ eating at maintainence or slight surplus ,limit cardio
    To show it off drop body fat = lifting heavy + eating at small deficit, some cardio
  • lisaipri
    lisaipri Posts: 9 Member
    You need to do more cardio, what does moderate cardio mean?
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    christch wrote: »
    There is alot of information missing as asked for my others. I was always told by my trainer that if I was doing "moderate" cardio regularly that is was counter productive to muscle gain.
    To build muscle =lift heavy+ eating at maintainence or slight surplus ,limit cardio
    To show it off drop body fat = lifting heavy + eating at small deficit, some cardio

    this is untrue. but, m'kay
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    Cardio can be done while building muscle. As long as you're eating enough you'll be fine.