Short and... Skinny Fat?

WellAlB

@kimny72 The simpler, the better! It definitely can’t hurt. Thanks for your advice.

Azdak

Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »

Jlkelley92 wrote: »

We are literally the same person. I am 5 foot 3 (barely) and 154 lol. Well I was 154 2 weeks ago. Now I'm 150. I am the definition of skinny fat.

From urban dictionary "Skinny fat:A person who is not overweight and have skinny look but still have a high fat percentage and low muscular mass. "

I don't think anyone seems to understand what skinny fat is. You are not skinny fat, you are just overweight. Skinny fat would be like someone who is 115 and 5'3 but has a lot of fat and no muscle.

Congratulations on losing 4lbs so far! It may not sound like a lot but every lb counts when you are short lol. I don't know your goal weight, but to lose to a healthy weight for your height will be a considerable amount of fat loss and you will likely feel like you have less fat. Before I lost (been maintaining 4 years), my perception of healthy was so warped since 70% of Americans are overweight/obese. I thought overweight looked healthy or even skinny. It is amazing how your perception changes once you realize what healthy really looks like.

Your description is the most accurate and the example is the clearest description.

From my perspective, because of my livelihood, I only think in terms of lean body mass and body fat %. There are no “norms” for LBM that I know of, but since I have done thousands of assessments, I have a pretty good understanding of what LBM puts one in the “skinny fat” category (relative to height).

As you implied, most obese people are not going to show up as skinny fat, because they have extra muscle from supporting the increased mass. The ones who are most obvious are the ones who are either normal weight or modestly overfat (26%-32% bf).

And to answer another comment, in my experience, most of the people who are truly “skinny fat” are that way because it’s the body they were born with. While I have seen people lose as much as 30%-33% of their total weight loss in LBM because of VLCDs and no resistance training, even that didn’t push them into the skinny fat category. They might have had flabby muscles, and less muscle than desirable, but the muscle was still there.

leahraskie

WellAlB wrote: »

Let me be clear. BY DEFINITION, NO, I AM NOT SKINNY FAT. But by my appearance, what people say of me, and what I look to myself, “skinny fat” sounds like a term to describe it. A term others have also related to as well.

Maybe I should just start saying “a small woman with flab instead of ab”.

I have been (trying) to do most of my own research. It’s hard to narrow things down when there are so many plans and tips out there for weight loss. I thought I’d come here to see what others who may have been in my situation have done. And also to try and become motivated.

It’s not that I look fat but I feel unhealthy. I’m coming to the revelation that food is for nutrition and not (always) for pleasure.
And as a lover of all things chocolate, fried, and well, food, it’s hard to switch eating habits and portions.

@leahraskie Is there an accurate way to measure body fat percentage at home?

No, the hospital I work at had a scale that gives you an idea of what it is using your weight and height. It's used for patients that have had bariatric surgery as well, so I assume if it's correctly calibrated it's relatively accurate. Your doctor could also use a caliper too if you were really interested as a starting point.

They do sell similar scales online, fitbit has one, but who knows how accurate that is and for $100+ if it's worth even using.

AnvilHead

leahraskie wrote: »

WellAlB wrote: »

Let me be clear. BY DEFINITION, NO, I AM NOT SKINNY FAT. But by my appearance, what people say of me, and what I look to myself, “skinny fat” sounds like a term to describe it. A term others have also related to as well.

Maybe I should just start saying “a small woman with flab instead of ab”.

I have been (trying) to do most of my own research. It’s hard to narrow things down when there are so many plans and tips out there for weight loss. I thought I’d come here to see what others who may have been in my situation have done. And also to try and become motivated.

It’s not that I look fat but I feel unhealthy. I’m coming to the revelation that food is for nutrition and not (always) for pleasure.
And as a lover of all things chocolate, fried, and well, food, it’s hard to switch eating habits and portions.

@leahraskie Is there an accurate way to measure body fat percentage at home?

No, the hospital I work at had a scale that gives you an idea of what it is using your weight and height. It's used for patients that have had bariatric surgery as well, so I assume if it's correctly calibrated it's relatively accurate. Your doctor could also use a caliper too if you were really interested as a starting point.

They do sell similar scales online, fitbit has one, but who knows how accurate that is and for $100+ if it's worth even using.

Actually, they do have a pretty good idea of how accurate (or not) the BIA scales are, and whether or not they're worth using: https://weightology.net/the-pitfalls-of-bodyfat-measurement-part-4-bioelectrical-impedance-bia/

SCoil123

“Skinny fat” refers to someone with a low-normal BMI and high body fat percentage. If your BMI says you are obese or overweight than that isn’t you

PAV8888

I think we've now established that the OP was using the term in a different than expected manner and that her real concern seems to be more along the lines off: "I haven't lost much weight while trying to do so and I don't feel like I look particularly fat, should I be trying to lose weight?" Unless I'm misinterpreting, which obviously wouldn't be the first time!

WellAlB

PAV8888 wrote: »

I think we've now established that the OP was using the term in a different than expected manner and that her real concern seems to be more along the lines off: "I haven't lost much weight while trying to do so and I don't feel like I look particularly fat, should I be trying to lose weight?" Unless I'm misinterpreting, which obviously wouldn't be the first time!

Thank you!!