I'm sick of the term "skinny-fat"

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  • Di3012
    Di3012 Posts: 2,250 Member
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    Hell I don't lift heavy and have no intention of doing so. All my exercise is cardio (running and cycling) and I can assure people that I am not skinny fat. It's a stupid bloody term anyway.
    I don't like this term. Actually... I hate this term. If someone loses the weight and is ANY KIND of skinny... then they're skinny!(:

    Skinny-fat is simply a term used to describe a high body fat % given a low total body weight. Someone who weighs 150 lbs and has 25% BF will look quite different from someone who weighs 150 lbs and has 15% BF. Resistance training is one tactic that can help avoid this, but it's by no means the only one.

    I have yet to see a person who has a low total body weight, who has lots of fat. Seriously, skinny-fat - the new-fangled term used to describe people who are not fat but choose not to do weights - ludicrous.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,248 Member
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    I have yet to see a person who has a low total body weight, who has lots of fat. Seriously, skinny-fat - the new-fangled term used to describe people who are not fat but choose not to do weights - ludicrous.

    That's because people don't walk around with their weight written on their foreheads.

    I'm the same weight in both of these photos. My body fat percentage was probably still in a healthy range, just a higher end of healthy, so I wasn't truly "skinny fat" but I did have a muffin top, back fat rolls, much thicker thighs, double chin, etc. I had a physically demanding job at the time, so if I'd had a more sedentary lifestyle, I probably would have lost even more muscle than I did.

    five-years-later.jpg

    This is the jeans I wore then and the jeans I wear now.

    IMG_3265.jpg

    The term is misused a LOT. The majority of the people called skinny fat on this site are just plain skinny or thin. Or sometimes even just plain a little overweight. One guy - not yet at his goal - who was told he was skinny fat had a slightly higher than ideal bf%... and had a slightly higher than ideal BMI. That's not skinny fat. That's normal - a normal proportion of body fat for his body weight.
  • ArroganceInStep
    ArroganceInStep Posts: 6,239 Member
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    I have yet to see a person who has a low total body weight, who has lots of fat. Seriously, skinny-fat - the new-fangled term used to describe people who are not fat but choose not to do weights - ludicrous.

    I have. I honestly don't think it's a term reserved for people who don't like lifting weights, I certainly don't use it as such. If people do that's a pretty narrow minded view of health and fitness.
  • almc170
    almc170 Posts: 1,093 Member
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    Hell I don't lift heavy and have no intention of doing so. All my exercise is cardio (running and cycling) and I can assure people that I am not skinny fat. It's a stupid bloody term anyway.
    I don't like this term. Actually... I hate this term. If someone loses the weight and is ANY KIND of skinny... then they're skinny!(:

    Skinny-fat is simply a term used to describe a high body fat % given a low total body weight. Someone who weighs 150 lbs and has 25% BF will look quite different from someone who weighs 150 lbs and has 15% BF. Resistance training is one tactic that can help avoid this, but it's by no means the only one.

    I have yet to see a person who has a low total body weight, who has lots of fat. Seriously, skinny-fat - the new-fangled term used to describe people who are not fat but choose not to do weights - ludicrous.
    Are you sure you really understand the concept of body composition? It doesn't have anything to do with lifting weights. It simply refers to an individual's ratio of fat to lean body mass. Therefore, it is always relative. For example, it is quite possible (especially in the absence of exercise) for a 5'9" female to weigh 150 lbs and have 33% body fat. At 150 lbs, she has a BMI of around 23, which by that measure is well within the normal range for her height. She will be smaller than someone her height who weighs 200 pounds. However, if her body fat % is 33%, she will still face some of the health issues that a person with a BMI in the obese range might. (And for the record, yes, at one point in my life I was skinny fat).
  • andreachirillo
    andreachirillo Posts: 52 Member
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    Who are all of these people that are harassing you or trying to force you to do weights (aside from people posting to this thread that YOU started).

    I'm pretty sure no one actually cares what you do.

    There have been a lot of people in real life, on other threads, and in this very thread who are trying to "force" (your word, not mind) me to lift heavy because "It's what your supposed to do."

    If we are measuring by the length of this thread or the number of posts, I think there may be quite a few people who care what I do.

    And if you don't care, why did you take the time to comment?

    RUDE!
  • A_New_Horizon
    A_New_Horizon Posts: 1,555 Member
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    I did mainly cardio until recently. I wanted to lose weight with doing cardio, but now I do strength training/lifting weights about twice a week to get more lean. It is important for us women, but not necessary especially in the beginning. You do what you are comfortable with and work up from there. Ignore what others are telling you and listen to your body!!!
  • AbbyHoopi
    AbbyHoopi Posts: 48
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    Yeah, I think of skinny fat as thin but soft and unhealthy. A deceptively unhealthy rather than an obvious. I'm a recovering "skinny fat" myself, people assumed I was healthy and fit because I was relatively thin but I had honestly let myself get very deconditioned, both cardiovascular and strength.

    I would classify myself as "Skinny fat" right now. 5'3" 132 lbs. I LOOK skinny to other people that see me clothed everyday... in fact some of them say I look skinny and try to push junky foods at me... NO THANKS! But when I see myself in the mirror I know that I have some work to do. I am not focused as much on the # the scale tells me but the look I have when my journey is done... but there is a correlation there and I know that.
  • sarasmile144
    sarasmile144 Posts: 108 Member
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    Congrats on your success so far, and yes, you should do what makes you comfortable right now, because it will keep you coming back- that being said, weights would be a great thing to look forward to in the future- muscle burns more calories than fat, as well as all the other good stuff :))
  • NaturalinCO
    NaturalinCO Posts: 164 Member
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    Cardio is good. strength training is good. Cardio and strength training is better. Cardio, strength training and flexibility is best.

    You can have it all and you deserve to have it all. Cardio is great, but lifting period, not necessarily heavy even, does wonders for what your body looks like after losing the weight. That's what got me hooked! I'm not skinny fat, won't ever be skinny so it's irrelevant to me. But to look my best, I have to lift and I enjoy it because I prove to myself over and over that I AM strong!! That alone helps me push on with this weight-loss journey! Do what you want to do, but I have a feeling, over time (like me) you will crave the toned look gained only from weight training!!

    Good luck to you on this tedious but rewarding journey!!!
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
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    I don't use the term, but to me, it applies to people who are slim but jiggling everywhere because they lack muscle tone. Although strength training with weights is definitely a very efficient way to develop firmness it's not the only way.
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
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    I have yet to see a person who has a low total body weight, who has lots of fat. Seriously, skinny-fat - the new-fangled term used to describe people who are not fat but choose not to do weights - ludicrous.

    Here's a Today Show video that explicitly explains skinny fat and gives an example of a woman who is genetically blessed with skinny-fatness, who looks perfectly healthy:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Fem1iucqnE

    Here's an ABC news version that specifically shows a woman who lost 50lbs running and found herself skinny-fat, and had to incorporate resistance training:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9Qghel5mmM&feature=fvwrel

    It doesn't matter how you get there, be it genetics, laziness, diet or training. You'll note nowhere in either video do they mention "heavy lifting". I think they both mention resistance training, or *light* resistance training as solutions. I'd personally rather lift heavy, but if everyone made that choice I'd have a lot more fighting to do for my weights in the gym! To each their own.

    edit: fixed second link.
  • mikesa3
    mikesa3 Posts: 28 Member
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    I've only been working out since Feb (weights and cardio) Three weeks ago I weighed 138 and had 38.5% body fat. This was tested in a Bod Pod. That was down 2% from 6 weeks before. That is skinny fat. I've always been told how slim I am but knew I was unfit. Just didn't realize how bad. :( I'm 48 and never really exercised. If I wasn't strength training I would be losing lean body mass and I can't afford to lose any of that since it's so low. I will be happy to get to 29% BF which is funny because most people would still considered that way too high % It will probably take me 6 months to get to that goal but I will.
    Nancy

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