Diet for skinny fat body recomposition

parrischristina

I am currently skinny fat. I am 5' 3'", 128lbs and 22.7 BMI. There isnt alot of info online about how a person who is built like me should diet. Hopefully someone here can help me. I currently exercise about 4 days a week which is a mixture of weight training with a tiny bit of hiit cardio.My main focus is belly fat.

stanmann571

parrischristina wrote: »

I am currently skinny fat. I am 5' 3'", 128lbs and 22.7 BMI. There isnt alot of info online about how a person who is built like me should diet. Hopefully someone here can help me. I currently exercise about 4 days a week which is a mixture of weight training with a tiny bit of hiit cardio.My main focus is belly fat.

Use MFP to calculate Maintenance. Follow a good progressive strength program. Make sure you get enough protein.

That's it. Fuel your training and your post training...

LivingtheLeanDream

If you have belly fat still then you still need to eat at calorie deficit - the fat in that area is usually the last to go.
You will find that even losing as little as 5lbs more will make a difference to your tummy area, I know it did for me. And keep up the exercise, especially weight training as it makes such a difference.

RoxieDawn

You are built no differently than anyone else, genetics determine where and how we carry most of our fat. For us women usually the stomach, hips, upper thighs.

The same principle applies to everyone, for working on body consumption, you need to recomp, time and patience. No special diet, meet your minimum protein needs to support your training, make sure you consume enough dietary fat for hormone health etc, and let the carbs fall where they may.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p1

sardelsa

LivingtheLeanDream wrote: »

If you have belly fat still then you still need to eat at calorie deficit - the fat in that area is usually the last to go.
You will find that even losing as little as 5lbs more will make a difference to your tummy area, I know it did for me. And keep up the exercise, especially weight training as it makes such a difference.

Not always. I have seen people who are underweight/borderline underweight (myself included at one point) who continue to have belly fat because they lack muscle base and therefore have higher bodyfat with a low weight. In OP's case she could probably lose a bit but should either eat just under or at maintenance to improve body composition.

bosskaren

Lift more weights.

RadishEater

I second sardelsa post, I am at the point where I if I lose 7lbs I'll go from a normal bmi to the top range of an underweight bmi. Yet I still have a stomach pooch, which I would love to get rid of, but also larger thighs and butt which I have no problem with. However, from the bottom of my ribcage up, I am very lean, so I am working at building upper body strength and maintaining.

Unfortunately, I learned just because you accomplish your weightloss goals does not mean you will end up with your ideal body; however, it does give me something to work towards. The recompostion thread is definitely worth the read.

parrischristina

LivingtheLeanDream wrote: »

If you have belly fat still then you still need to eat at calorie deficit - the fat in that area is usually the last to go.
You will find that even losing as little as 5lbs more will make a difference to your tummy area, I know it did for me. And keep up the exercise, especially weight training as it makes such a difference.

I've been eating in a deficit but its not working for me. I'm not trying to lose weight. I was eating in a deficit and following my workout plan and im actually gaining weight. I want to build muscle to lose the belly fat.

parrischristina

RoxieDawn wrote: »

You are built no differently than anyone else, genetics determine where and how we carry most of our fat. For us women usually the stomach, hips, upper thighs.

The same principle applies to everyone, for working on body consumption, you need to recomp, time and patience. No special diet, meet your minimum protein needs to support your training, make sure you consume enough dietary fat for hormone health etc, and let the carbs fall where they may.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p1

I'm not saying that i need low-card or keto or one of those diets i mean should i be in a deficit? surplus? maintenance? I need to recomp and lose the belly fat by building muscle.

snowflake954

RoxieDawn wrote: »

You are built no differently than anyone else, genetics determine where and how we carry most of our fat. For us women usually the stomach, hips, upper thighs.

The same principle applies to everyone, for working on body consumption, you need to recomp, time and patience. No special diet, meet your minimum protein needs to support your training, make sure you consume enough dietary fat for hormone health etc, and let the carbs fall where they may.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p1

I second this. The recomp thread is the best--look into it.

sijomial

Loads of people are built just like you!
You can't focus on fat on one part of your body - fat can't be exercised. Fat is just an energy store.

Assuming you think you will be happy at 128lbs with the body you wish for then eat at maintenance calories so your weight is relatively stable, train hard and effectively using a decent program, be patient and realistic.

suzyloveskoalas

I started with your same stats in Nov 2017, but with a lot of fat around my mid section and thighs. Look into Thinner, Leaner, Stronger the book and the 1 year workout plans. He’s got 3,4,and 5 day week workouts for you to choose from..it’s a progressive overload weight lifting program and it will do wonders for your composition. Although his TDEE calculators are on the low end, I’ve been eating between 1750-2200 calories per day and I’ve lost inches all over and gained strength. I only lift 4 days and do no more than 1.5hrs of HIIT/cardio a week. It’s done wonders and I stopped counting calories at this point because I’m so mindful of the quality of food that I’m eating to fuel my workouts. You can do it! I swear I felt like I was hearing my own voice when reading your post. Other programs you might want to check out are strong curves or stronglifts. Good luck!