Im skinny fat - but I don't want to get huge again

gashinshotan

So I lost 29 lbs through tons of running and 1200 cals - I'm WAY more defined than I was at 185 but honestly Im skinny fat.... can you guys recommend how to lift to where I don't get huge and bulky? I'm not gonna stop the running but I am planning on increasing cals to 1500 a day.

xraychick77

First off..the cause of skinny fat is exactly what you are doing and not willing to do. too much cardio, not enough lifting or eating.

when we lose weight, especially doing all that cardio and no lifting with too little calories..we lose both fat and muscle mass. this is skinny fat.

the 'cure' is to put on some muscle. i used to be like you..scared to become chunky again. then i realized all the lifting in the world was doing me no good as long as i did cardio and didnt eat enough. my maintenance cals is around 1800. when i ate that much i didnt gain a thing, i was spinning my wheels. so i upped it to around 2000-2200 cals a day. i've gained back 10 lbs. I stopped cardio and lifted..and lifted heavy. I'm over three times as strong as i used to be 6 months ago, my biceps are awesome, my calves are amazing, i love my back. But i still have a long way to go, since i'm still 'skinny fat' in certain areas (because i have high body fat %). Since i made the same mistake you did. No lifting during losing weight and not eating enough to maintain muscle mass. I just decided to 'cut'. So i'm back down to 1700 cals, very light cardio and plenty of heavy heavy lifting. usually 8-12 reps, 3-4 sets.

Heavy lifting is essential to maintain muscle mass while lose fat. its the difference between losing weight and fat. when you lose weight you lose muscle and fat..when you try to lose body fat, you lose well body fat and maintain muscle.

and trust me, even for men, causual lifting will not make you bulky..getting bulky is a delibrate conscious thing that takes a lot of effort

kgillikin

What is skinny fat?

kgillikin

What is skinny fat?

MelKut

bodyrock.tv has a bunch of body weight workouts that help tone the entire body and avoid "bulking up"

I would recommend just exploring the site and reviewing the videos to see if its something you would do.

rdzilla

I would find a cross fit gym and give it a try. Great form of weight training and a way to have some fun / competitiveness while doing it. Only downside is that the gym membership tend to be quite high.