Skinny fat?

aleram94

I've always been very skinny. I didn't enjoy it lol towards the end of high school I started gaining weight around my waist but was still pretty skinny. Now I'm 24, 5'9, and as of this morning weigh around 144 pounds. I've been going to the gym for 3 months now. I lift 4x a week and dedicate the 5th day to cardio and abs. I will also do 20 to 30 minutes of cardio and my 2 upper body days. Well I haven't changed my diet. I pretty much just eat whatever whenever. I don't feel like I eat enough calories but what I do eat isn't the healthiest or most nutritious. Any tips? I do also want to gain inches around my thighs and glutes.

kimny72

aleram94 wrote: »

I've always been very skinny. I didn't enjoy it lol towards the end of high school I started gaining weight around my waist but was still pretty skinny. Now I'm 24, 5'9, and as of this morning weigh around 144 pounds. I've been going to the gym for 3 months now. I lift 4x a week and dedicate the 5th day to cardio and abs. I will also do 20 to 30 minutes of cardio and my 2 upper body days. Well I haven't changed my diet. I pretty much just eat whatever whenever. I don't feel like I eat enough calories but what I do eat isn't the healthiest or most nutritious. Any tips? I do also want to gain inches around my thighs and glutes.

Start logging your food consistently. Set your goal to gain 0.5lbs per week, log your exercise, and then make sure you are hitting your calorie goal. The number of calories and your training are the keys to gaining weight/building muscle.

Meanwhile, you can use the data in your food logs to start making small changes to your diet, building better habits, little by little. It's a process, and you don't have to be perfect to get results. Good luck!

aleram94

DeadliftsAndSprinkles wrote: »

aleram94 wrote: »

I've always been very skinny. I didn't enjoy it lol towards the end of high school I started gaining weight around my waist but was still pretty skinny. Now I'm 24, 5'9, and as of this morning weigh around 144 pounds. I've been going to the gym for 3 months now. I lift 4x a week and dedicate the 5th day to cardio and abs. I will also do 20 to 30 minutes of cardio and my 2 upper body days. Well I haven't changed my diet. I pretty much just eat whatever whenever. I don't feel like I eat enough calories but what I do eat isn't the healthiest or most nutritious. Any tips? I do also want to gain inches around my thighs and glutes.

Sorry, so do you not log your food? That would be the first place to start.

No, I don't track. I'm just confused on how to calculate my macros.

hesn92

Go to the "gain weight" section of the forum, there should be stickied posts at the top that you may find helpful. There are a lot of calorie dense foods that you can eat.

sardelsa

Are you maintaining your weight? Since you are at a healthy weight for your height, I would eat at maintenance and recomp to lose bodyfat and gain some muscle over time. See this thread

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

If you want to gain weight and inches you would bulk, but considering the title of your thread I would not go that route yet unless you are quite lean.

jjpptt2

aleram94 wrote: »

DeadliftsAndSprinkles wrote: »

aleram94 wrote: »

I've always been very skinny. I didn't enjoy it lol towards the end of high school I started gaining weight around my waist but was still pretty skinny. Now I'm 24, 5'9, and as of this morning weigh around 144 pounds. I've been going to the gym for 3 months now. I lift 4x a week and dedicate the 5th day to cardio and abs. I will also do 20 to 30 minutes of cardio and my 2 upper body days. Well I haven't changed my diet. I pretty much just eat whatever whenever. I don't feel like I eat enough calories but what I do eat isn't the healthiest or most nutritious. Any tips? I do also want to gain inches around my thighs and glutes.

Sorry, so do you not log your food? That would be the first place to start.

No, I don't track. I'm just confused on how to calculate my macros.

Don't worry about macros just yet - start with the basics. Once you get a feel for calories, then work on macros.

bpotts44

You guys are recommending weight gain and don't know her BF% yet?

OP I would get some idea of your BF% and then decide which way to go. There is alot of good advice on here but you are not getting it right now.

If you are "skinny fat" then you probably need to get a better weight lifting program, log your calories, and slowly start to lean out.

kimny72

sardelsa wrote: »

Are you maintaining your weight? Since you are at a healthy weight for your height, I would eat at maintenance and recomp to lose bodyfat and gain some muscle over time. See this thread

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

If you want to gain weight and inches you would bulk, but considering the title of your thread I would not go that route yet unless you are quite lean.

Good point, I didn't look at the OP's weight, just that the goal was to gain weight.

aleram94

I have a scale that shows body fat. I know scales aren't the most accurate at calculating body fat but on there it says I'm at 23%. Maybe some pictures give a better idea.

mom23mangos

I would not bulk with where you are now. If you are maintaining your weight without logging, just keep doing what you are doing. Make sure you are on a progressive lifting program and not just winging it. Ensure you are getting adequate protein and have patience.

However, if your goal is to add inches I guess it is still an option as you might actually get smaller if you recomp.

middlehaitch

I too would recomp over a cut and bulk cycle (may be biased as it has worked well for me over time)

You may want to log for a while to improve your nutrition and get your protein to 0.8-1g of LBM. Fat to 0.35-0.45. This will help towards muscle strength and mass development.

Do know, for women, things do not happen fast. Under ideal conditions a woman can expect to gain 1lbs of muscle a month, however lifting will help resculpt your body, and give you a more visually pleasing physique ( if you are unhappy with the one you have now)

These 2 threads should help you. One about recomp, one with a plethora of tried and true lifting programmes.

Cheers, h.

ETA1: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p1

ETA2:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

danigirl1011

Nutrition is really underrated by alot of people on this site. Nutrition matters though. If you are not seeing progress there are reasons why. I would start with nutrition and what you put in your mouth. The rest sounds pretty good, but there is always the are you doing the same thing over and over at the gym? Do you increase your weights or change up what and how you lift? and so on and so on. But, i would personally start with nutrition.