Skinny Fat is my goal

NoAdditives

What about just being healthy instead? Weight and clothing sizes are just numbers, having a nicely toned body isn't the same as being ultra-muscular. You can have a healthy BMI, a healthy body fat percentage and a healthy percentage of muscle, good overall cardiovascular health, etc. without spending hours at the gym and without a crazy weight lifting routine. But a little bit of strength training is very good for your body. And, a healthy amount of body fat doesn't mean you'll be skin and bones...

RWeaver08

I thought this place was for support not for people to down people for what they say. If this is her goal, thats it. Don't judge. I feel like there is enough judging already in the outside world and this is supposed to be a safe place. I guess I thought wrong.

ctprofessional

Have you read this article?

http://www.crossfitsouthbay.com/2011/05/skinny-fat/

Good article!

Samsara9

"That Hansel...he's so hot..."

Lyadeia

I am 5' 4" 115lbs and 16% body fat . I run 40 min a day. I should weight train, but don't.

Am I skinny fat?

16% body fat is not skinny fat, fat fat, or any other kind of fat.

You really had to ask???

wish21

I thought this place was for support not for people to down people for what they say. If this is her goal, thats it. Don't judge. I feel like there is enough judging already in the outside world and this is supposed to be a safe place. I guess I thought wrong.

I agree! To OP I wish you the best of luck!:flowerforyou:

VVEXVVEX

This is what you should do:

Set MFP at 1200 & don't eat exercise calories
cardio 6x a week for minimum an hour (zumba, tae bo, body sculpt, long distance slow jogging, any jillian michaels dvd are really good)
Make sure never to consume anywhere near 1g/lb of bw of protein
Never pick up anything heavier than your handbag

I wish you the best in you're quest for skinny fatness.

I aspire to be "fat skinny," so thanks for providing me with the "don't" list!

4HealthyMe

I thought this place was for support not for people to down people for what they say. If this is her goal, thats it. Don't judge. I feel like there is enough judging already in the outside world and this is supposed to be a safe place. I guess I thought wrong.

If you post your opinion on a public forum, you should expect responses. And given that this is a FITNESS site, the responses are not surprising.

OP, you mention your age (50) a couple of times. Why? Are you resigned to looking a certain way because of it?

LorinaLynn

Last time I lost weight, I was skinny fat. I weighed about what I do now (around130# at 5'5) but I still had back fat rolls and a muffin top. This time around, I wore smaller clothes and was more streamlined (no back boobs!) at 140#. At 130-ish, I'm fitting into clothes I last wore when I was under 120, including a couple pair of jeans from high school when I was about 110. (Not that they fit well. They're quite painful.)

Having been a little fat, very thin, kinda thin, skinny fat, just plain average, and now pretty much athletic... I'm really diggin' on being athletic. I have strong muscle that shows when I'm using it and gives shape to my body when I'm not. I wouldn't mine being a little leaner, but I'm not going to bust a nut getting there. I'm enjoying where I'm at and knowing I'm doing good things for my health and appearance.

I don't consider wanting to be an active person with a healthy level of body fat to be the same as "skinny fat is my goal."

Silverkittycat

The word fat has so many different meanings. Pretty sure you're not going for sarcopenia, or being overweight..
I'm not quite sure what your goal is but it's yours. Good luck to you.

4HealthyMe

Last time I lost weight, I was skinny fat. I weighed about what I do now (around130# at 5'5) but I still had back fat rolls and a muffin top. This time around, I wore smaller clothes and was more streamlined (no back boobs!) at 140#. At 130-ish, I'm fitting into clothes I last wore when I was under 120, including a couple pair of jeans from high school when I was about 110. (Not that they fit well. They're quite painful.)

Having been a little fat, very thin, kinda thin, skinny fat, just plain average, and now pretty much athletic... I'm really diggin' on being athletic. I have strong muscle that shows when I'm using it and gives shape to my body when I'm not. I wouldn't mine being a little leaner, but I'm not going to bust a nut getting there. I'm enjoying where I'm at and knowing I'm doing good things for my health and appearance.

I don't consider wanting to be an active person with a healthy level of body fat to be the same as "skinny fat is my goal."

^^Perfect. This is me except the weight range over the years is a little smaller (I am 4'10). But I agree, been down the road "skinny", "skinny fat'...I want to look lean & be healthy.

debussyschild

Hmmm... okay.............

I'm anti skinny fat, because while visceral (organ) fat may not be visible in size 4 skinny jeans, I doubt my pancreas will appreciate it.

"Skinny fat" is a condition lots of yo-yo dieters suffer from. They lose weight, and in doing so, also lose muscle. Then they put weight back on, but only in the form of fat. They lose weight again--mostly muscle, maybe some fat. They put some weight back on, again, only in the form of fat. So, to be truly skinny fat means to replace the vast majority of your lean muscle tissue with FAT. Not a lofty aspiration, in my opinion.

debussyschild

I thought this place was for support not for people to down people for what they say. If this is her goal, thats it. Don't judge. I feel like there is enough judging already in the outside world and this is supposed to be a safe place. I guess I thought wrong.

If you post your opinion on a public forum, you should expect responses. And given that this is a FITNESS site, the responses are not surprising.

OP, you mention your age (50) a couple of times. Why? Are you resigned to looking a certain way because of it?

I have to agree with this. OP made her thoughts public and open to discussion. Quite frankly, the statement the OP made was alarming at best and saddening at worst. Why does one aspire to be skinny fat? Is that all that can be expected?? Yes, we're here for support, and that means showing people that sometimes they need a reality check.

debussyschild

This is what you should do:

Set MFP at 1200 & don't eat exercise calories
cardio 6x a week for minimum an hour (zumba, tae bo, body sculpt, long distance slow jogging, any jillian michaels dvd are really good)
Make sure never to consume anywhere near 1g/lb of bw of protein
Never pick up anything heavier than your handbag

I wish you the best in you're quest for skinny fatness.

I wish I would've had my body fat tested after I ran my last marathon with no weight training to dispute this "cardio causes skinny fat" nonsense. Long runs do burn fat. . .what else do you think you're burning after you've burned off what you've eaten?

http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/tips_archives/fatburning.html

Whoa, whoa, hold the phone. No one said cardio alone would make you skinny fat. Skinny fat usually results when those seeking to lose weight do it by diet alone with very little exercise. Most people who lose weight through diet alone usually only partake in moderate cardio. Cardio is efficient at burning calories, yes, and building cardiovascular endurance along with SOME muscle endurance. It truly depends on the intensity. Marathon runners are training at a significantly higher level than someone who hops on the elipitical 4 times a week. Cardio alone does very little to maintain lean muscle tissue that will be lost when in a calorie deficit.

jenomaha

Everyone has different goals and of course different ideas of what looks good. I believe I am an example of one who has muscle (I have some guns) but still have some curve (my booty :blushing: ) And I love my combination But this is what I am happy with and other people might not like it. My arms don't look like this though unless I flex. So I walk around looking softer.

I too went through a skinny fat stage and I have to say it wasn't for me. I've been much happier since I started lifted weights. But again, to each their own.

Good luck achieving whatever look it is you're going for!!

chrisdavey

My arms don't look like this though unless I flex. So I walk around looking softer.

So you're telling me you don't walk around busting out front double bicep poses?

martalaurazayas

There is a difference between aesthetics and health. Working in the healthcare profession I am sure you know that and I won't second guess your goals. The degree of muscles of lack of muscles you have can be an issue if it hinders your health. That being said, there is room for choice if it doesn't hinder your health. It is, in fact, a matter of taste and many times a matter of what is in style. What some people say is attractive now may not have been considered attractive years ago or might not be considered attractive years from now. I am like you, I don't want my muscles to be the prime focus of my body. I happen to like a softer look to my body. I find it to be more feminine. I don't like the defined muscles look (with or without clothes). The main issue is to be healthy. If your choices are within a healthy range you only owe it to yourself to make them.

martalaurazayas

I just thought of an analogy that might help. Some women wish they could look like Madonna and some wish they looked like Marilyn Monroe. I happen to prefer the Marilyn Monroe look. Some people today might call her a fat "skinny fat".

garlic7girl

I am sorry I still don't get it...all the fitness magazines and I mean the hard core fitness ones for women discuss to NOT be skinny fat. But to each his own....everything under the sun. We are all different and reach for different stars. Just be healthy!!!!!!!

SabrinaJL

My 17 year old is 5'0", 110 lbs and a size 5. She eats crap, is sick all the time, has muffin-top and can't outrun (or even remotely keep up with) her fat-fat 34 year old mother. To me, that's what skinny-fat is and, in my opinion, definitely not a good thing to be.

jordanlell

And I was just about to chime in "you keep using that word..."

i don't think it means what you think it means....

inconceivable!

LOL, my favorite movie!

As you wish.

chrisdavey

And I was just about to chime in "you keep using that word..."

i don't think it means what you think it means....

inconceivable!

LOL, my favorite movie!

As you wish.

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

LadyOfOceanBreeze

I wanna be sober-drunk next year! :drinker:

J/K - I don't know what "skinny-fat" means but it made me giggle. :flowerforyou:

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

alabughosh

I feel like the biggest idiot of all, having read this whole thread. :sad:

servilia

Working in health care for many years I'd never heard the term skinny fat used the way it is used on these forums (it has a very different meaning in healthcare) but people always use it as if it's as bad as being obese. But skinny fat (as it's used here) is exactly what I'm aiming for. I'm not there yet, but I hope to be by the middle of next year.

I'm not saying I want no muscle, but I really only want enough to keep the fat I have left from sagging and to allow me to run and play and do normal activities. But I don't want to drop my body fat % so that my arms look like little sticks with tiny bulges on them and I have buy breast implants so people can tell I'm female. A little firm fat feels nice to the touch and it looks good both in clothes and out.

Skinny fat is my 2012 goal.

From the description you gave of your goal, that doesn't sound like skinny fat (what we call skinny fat outside the medical world). It's just a decent (normal) amount of BF% on top of muscle. The girls I think of as "skinny fat" - well basically their arms are skinny but all mushy.. as soon as they rest an arm against their side it flattens out and looks twice as big from the side as before, kwim? Basically not enough muscle to keep the fat from sagging.

Debbe2

Good luck with that! I will pray that your butt does not get too saggy.

Well, I'm 50 and I've been skinny fat for most of life and it wasn't saggy. It's not saggy now. I don't plan to lose muscle, I just don't plan to lose all my fat either.

You can have some of my fat and I mean that in the nicest way! I really would share. I would prefer no fat and to be ripped!

servilia

Does this help? Just different body fat percentages, you may want

If the one on the right is 30% then I'm 10%.. doesn't look correct for 30% at all..

LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo

Skinny-fat or normal weight obesity means a person who is of normal BMI or even underweight but has high percentage of body fat. Your goal isn't to be skinny-fat (well you shouldn't be if you want to be healthy) but to be in the normal or average body fat range. That really depends on you. Me as an amateur athlete, I consider myself skinny-fat at 21% because athletes must have lower body fat levels but for ordinary people like you, 21-24% is the ideal.

ackerbaby

I Like Skinny Fat too.

supertracylynn

I prefer my more firm size 6 to the squishy size 2 of the last woman I was with.