Is Being Skinny Fat Okay?

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Replies

  • MeiannaLee
    MeiannaLee Posts: 338 Member
    ecdce wrote: »
    "Is it okay to not want to look like people in magazines?"

    I have a hard time even accepting this is a serious question. If you don't think something is attractive and you don't want to look like that, then be your own person and don't. If being on tumbler and Instagram makes you feel insecure then, ya know, don't be on tumbler and Instagram. You don't have to drink the koolaid just because others are. Life's going to be rough until you figure that out.

    And after I spend so much time bringing up others too. I know this I just get too caught up in comparing myself with fitness people on tumblr and instagram.

    Also I just always thought that there was two kinds of thin: fit/lean and skinny fat. I figured I was skinny fat.


  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    MeiannaLee wrote: »
    ecdce wrote: »
    "Is it okay to not want to look like people in magazines?"

    I have a hard time even accepting this is a serious question. If you don't think something is attractive and you don't want to look like that, then be your own person and don't. If being on tumbler and Instagram makes you feel insecure then, ya know, don't be on tumbler and Instagram. You don't have to drink the koolaid just because others are. Life's going to be rough until you figure that out.

    And after I spend so much time bringing up others too. I know this I just get too caught up in comparing myself with fitness people on tumblr and instagram.

    Also I just always thought that there was two kinds of thin: fit/lean and skinny fat. I figured I was skinny fat.


    I think you're just "skinny", without the negative connotations that word has for some.

    "Slim", in other words.

    I think you look great.
  • MeiannaLee
    MeiannaLee Posts: 338 Member
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    tomteboda wrote: »
    This is not what "skinny fat" means. "Skinny fat" refers to people who have very high bodyfat percentages despite maintaining an "optimal" BMI. Lacking popping muscles or not being a bodybuilder does NOT make you "skinny fat".

    Bingo!

    OP, you are not skinny fat.
    You may not be muscular but if you want to try a resistance program that's up to your personal preference.

    Thank you for educating me! I didn't know what skinny fat was in all honesty.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,178 Member
    You cannot change your bodyshape to please others. There is nothing wrong with your body, others would kill to look like this. At your age, focus on exercise for fun, not to change your body according to what someone else's ideal.
  • Linseymout
    Linseymout Posts: 159 Member
    djeffreys10 wrote: »
    Being whatever you want to be is ok. Make your body what you want it, you're the only one that has to live in it.

    This!!
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    edited January 2016
    At one point, looking exactly like you do right now was the sought after look. People chased that look then, and now an athletic look is considered "in". Who knows what people will consider sexy next, but I know one thing, if you are happy with the way you look you don't have to bend over backwards to please others.

    It's sad how something that women did to rebel against the magazine stereotypes to promote strength, freedom of choice, and body acceptance has turned into a magazine stereotype itself that people are now pressured to pursue.

    Just do what makes you happy, and those who don't like it can go and change their own bodies to look like whatever they want them to look like. That's their problem not yours.

  • blankiefinder
    blankiefinder Posts: 3,599 Member
    You are not skinny fat. You're slim. If you've lost 50 pounds, it may take some time to adjust, and truly 'see' yourself for the size you are now. There are some benefits to strength training you could consider, such as bone health and lean mass gives you more daily calories, but unless you were doing a lot, you probably wouldn't get bulky. That doesn't happen accidentally.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    I don't understand since when having a bit of healthy fat means 'being skinny fat'.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    Stop looking at tumblr and instagram. Back in my day (get off my lawn), Cindy Crawford and Naomi Campbell and various other supermodels had "the look" that caught people's attentions. Were they lovely? Absolutely. But I don't remember my peers (teenage/young adult women) obsessing over looking like them the way that a good number of teenage/young adult women do with these instagram people.
  • krithsai
    krithsai Posts: 668 Member
    middlehaitch wrote: »
    You are fine. BUT......

    I am the same height and weight as you, and was from my teens to my fifties. Up to my forties my daily activity kept me fit and with a decent muscle mass.

    In my fifties I put on 30lbs then lost back to my normal weight.

    The difference was- I had to work very hard to regain the muscle I lost. I am now in better shape than I was in my 30-40's, but it has taken 3-4 years to get there.

    Why do I tell you this?
    So you know, even if you do not want to work out formally, keeping active and moving is important.

    At your age I thought once I hit 50 never mind 60 I would be an old lady and wouldn't care. How wrong I was!
    I enjoy an active regular life, much more so than a lot of my friends and look pretty good for my age, yes still important.

    I now have the opportunity to travel to far flung places and I want to be the woman that keeps up with everyone, not the woman tagging along struggling with a walker.

    TLDR: Stay as you are that is fine, but be aware that as you age the benefits of good bones, muscles, heart, and lungs become more apparent.

    Cheers, h.

    Quoting this comment to bump it up.

    Excellent comment, as usual :smile:
  • hsmith0930
    hsmith0930 Posts: 160 Member
    You look fantastic as you are! There are health benefits to resistance training in addition to muscle you would gain, so I wouldn't ever say you shouldn't do it. I think you should incorporate some kind of resistance training for the health benefits and tailor your program to meet your own personal goals. And if that doesn't include building additional muscle, then don't!
  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
    Girl... you are GORGEOUS!

    Don't let anybody tell you what you should look like or who you are. You just keep on being you. You worked hard to get the body you have and you should enjoy and be proud of your success. Don't let other people bring you down for not meeting their standards of how a body should look, which quite likely they are not even meeting themselves.

  • disasterman
    disasterman Posts: 746 Member
    Your family wants you to have a big booty and washboard abs?
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    Be however you want. It's great to see you've become a happy and healthy person. Society changes its mind every twelve seconds anyway, so just be happy being your fit self.
  • dolliesdaughter
    dolliesdaughter Posts: 544 Member
    As long as you are healthy, you should be the size you want to be. Don't worry about everyone else's opinion, you can't satisfy everyone, so don't even try.
  • MeiannaLee
    MeiannaLee Posts: 338 Member
    Thanks so much for everyones comments! I learned a lot.
    I think I got caught up in comparing myself to others, even though I know doing so is pointless.
    I really appreciate your responses. Overall I need to learn to be more gentle on myself. :)
  • GsKiki
    GsKiki Posts: 392 Member
    If you feel comfortable in your body don't change it. Unless you need to gain muscle for medical reasons, you really shouldn't feel pressured. We come in different shapes and you will meet someone that will like you for who you are.
    If you are healthy and feel good stay that way!

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