Running and fat loss

ilariadm1

Hi there!
I'm not totally new to nutrition/weight loss/fat loss, I have gone through a lot of weight fluctuations in the past years and I'd like to better understand my current situation.
I'm 165 cm, about 51-52 kg, 28 y/o. Last year I dropped a lot of weight due to an illnes, I hit 46 kg, gained some back till I reached 49 and then plateaued there for a few months. In november I started running twice a week, increasing the km and the pace a little at a time. I also changed job in december, previously I spent 50% of time on my feet and now I'm mostly sitting at a desk, and I gained 2-3 kilos. I honestly thought I would mantain at 49, I know I'm more sedentary but I do a lot more of exercise, I run 8-10 km twice a week and 13-17 km every other sunday. But the weight is not my main concern, I really don't like my body shape...I look "skinny fat", like I don't look as skinny as someone would with a weight of 51 kgs. Although I'm not dieting or eating super healthy 100% of the time, I thought running would make me loose some bodyfat. I know I should also build some muscles but I am just curious, some runners from my team are super shredded just from running and I looked more fit when I was 49 kg without exercising

mombodrocks

Running may be burning fat, but the way to look toned is to add resistance training a few times a week, too.

Anecdotally, I saw that even doing 2 45-minute power yoga classes per week when I was running 5x per week was enough to give me the toned look I wanted. When I’ve gone through phases of running, only, I’ve looked flabby as the fat has come off.

westrich20940

So...some thoughts. You are an inch taller than me (we're running about the same mileage per week). You are technically at the lower end of the 'healthy weight range' for your height --- which I won't focus too much on because that's just an average range and maybe that's OK for you. I know that I got down to a similar weight at once time for ~2 months (~115lbs) and I ended up deciding that I looked too skinny.

I have stayed pretty consistent at ~20-23% body fat though, even with my running. I wouldn't say that I'm the 'healthiest' eater....and I get plenty of my daily % of calories from fat.

I'd say if you were trying to cut your body fat %, you should concentrate on longer but *slower paced* runs. How long is that 10 mile run taking you? Try slowly increasing the *duration* of your run. But I'd also highly highly highly suggest incorporating some strength training as well - if not to gain muscle mass but simply to support your running better.

EDIT** this is also assuming that your body fat % is within a healthy range still with the goal of losing some. It can get too low and that will have negative health consequences.

gpanda103

You can run all you can manage, but the diet will ALWAYS catch up to what you burn in your run. I would recommend getting your calorie and protein intake tailored to you


There’s a couple of ways you can go about changing skinny fat. You can go into a slight deficit (200-300 cals), you can go into a slight surplus. Also, standing desks are definitely a game changer when it comes to increasing your energy expenditure throughout the day.

ilariadm1

Thank you everyone for the answers!
So, I don't know which is my exact bodyfat percentage, I don't really want to obsess about it. I've suffered from bulimia and BED in the past so I'm really taking it easy, this is the reason why I don't focus too much on my diet, it would be a trigger to me. I'm omnivorous, I chose not to eat meat often and I don't have a lot of dairies as I'm lactose intolerant, but if I'm offered a croissant at work I won't refuse or if I crave some cookies after dinner, no hesitation. I could eat healthier but I know it would be too much of a struggle for my mental health. I'm sure my eating habits are the reason for my belly fat but I'm too scared of relapsing if I focus too much on this!
Btw my situation is not that bad, my arms and back are ok, my chest is almost bony, I just have a little extra fat on my thighs and lower belly (very common for women and i think it's genetic, I never had a flat belly)...so what I want is just a little "polishing"!
My current pace is 5:55-6:05 min per km, I'm slow haha! I'll try to sneak in some strength training, I used to pole dance and didn't like how my arms and back got bigger, but I know I need some muscles to support my body. Any suggestion on exercise routines?

PAV8888

Maintaining at 49kg would have had you doing so at an officially underweight BMI. Even with the unexpected 2kg gain, at 51kg you're closer to 18.5 than 19.

Shape when we gain or lose weight does take a few months to finalise. And, given your history and your current already low starting point, you sure don't sound like a good candidate for eating at ANY kind of deficit!

If you have areas that are under-strength and you don't feel you have enough definition... the obvious move would be to seek to strengthen, perhaps even allowing for a bit of a gain over time.