Skinny-fat - eek!

holstenator

Hello,

I am new to posting here!

Think I will just get straight down with my problem.. Basically I am 23 and normal weight (60kg) for my height (5"6), with wobble in my tum, bum and thighs. I thought not much of this, but decided to try and tone up by going to the gym. On my first session the personal trainer did a health check (heart rate, blood pressure & body fat). He said all was fine until my body fat % when he didn't really say anything... I thought nothing of this until today when I decided to look up a 'normal' body fat %, which for me should be 20-23%... mine was 36.8%, putting me into the obese category! I have looked this up, and this means I am 'skinny-fat'.

I have been going to the gym 3 times a week, plus doing yoga for 6 weeks now. I think my stomach has reduced in size/become slightly more toned and my arms have toned, but I haven't lost any inches from anywhere. I have also noticed a definite increase in fitness.

I was wondering if anyone else has this problem and how they have solved it? I wanted to avoid 'dieting' but if that is the only way I am willing!

Thank you in advance for your help.

xxx

holstenator

I start off with 20 mins on the cross-trainer, 10 mins interval training on the bike and then 500m row (these were advised by the personal trainer).

I then do 3 lots of: 20 knee touches, 20 leg lowers/lifts, 15 russian twists, 20 glut raises, 12 (40kg) hip adductors and 12 (30kg) hip abductors.

I do this 3 times a week. Along with 1 hour of yoga.

My problem is I have weak knees, if I try do squats etc it is really hard on my knees and they get worse than usual.

With no dieting (my diet is pretty good, don't really eat junk... although I love cake), is this enough to be reducing my body fat?!

Thank you so much for your response.

mjl54

I start off with 20 mins on the cross-trainer, 10 mins interval training on the bike and then 500m row (these were advised by the personal trainer).

I then do 3 lots of: 20 knee touches, 20 leg lowers/lifts, 15 russian twists, 20 glut raises, 12 (40kg) hip adductors and 12 (30kg) hip abductors.

I do this 3 times a week. Along with 1 hour of yoga.

My problem is I have weak knees, if I try do squats etc it is really hard on my knees and they get worse than usual.

With no dieting (my diet is pretty good, don't really eat junk... although I love cake), is this enough to be reducing my body fat?!

Thank you so much for your response.

you can reduce body fat eating at your maintenance calories as long as your doing alot of resistant training.

sewingdiscontent

I would dubious about the figure of 36%. Body fat measuring techniques are tricky and the results aren't always accurate. Does anybody else think that maybe they weren't correctly using the calipers or something? 36% sounds really high to me- almost impossibly high.

FattieBabs

"you can reduce body fat eating at your maintenance calories as long as your doing alot of resistant training."

This is what I am finding. Weight is staying roughly the same with small losses but inches are falling off. I do some cardio but concentrate more on the weight training.

VorJoshigan

First, I want to thank you for the phrase "with wobble in my tum, bum and thighs."

Second, I think your exercise routine is fine. Not my bag, but you seem happy with it and that's what's important.

Third, the fat meters they use can be incredibly inaccurate. If you really want to find out what your bodyfat measurement is, you will need to do one of the tests where you have to pay. You get what you pay for. DEXA, Water buoyancy, and Bod Pod are all good measures from what I've heard.

slkehl

I would dubious about the figure of 36%. Body fat measuring techniques are tricky and the results aren't always accurate. Does anybody else think that maybe they weren't correctly using the calipers or something? 36% sounds really high to me- almost impossibly high.

I agree. I've been trained to take body fat percentages, and I have trouble getting a good reading. It's a number you should only get from someone who is highly trained with a lot of experienced. Your doctor would be a much better bet than a consultant at the gym.

ETA: Him not saying anything about the BF measurement is a good indication that he knows his measuring skills aren't up to par!

alleekat

I would dubious about the figure of 36%. Body fat measuring techniques are tricky and the results aren't always accurate. Does anybody else think that maybe they weren't correctly using the calipers or something? 36% sounds really high to me- almost impossibly high.

^^^ This! ^^^

Were calipers actually used? They definitely could have been measuring incorrectly. However, if they used one of those bio electrical impedance scales, you can pretty much guarantee it was inaccurate. Results can be highly affected by even just having taken in too much or too little water!
I was plopped on to one of those scales by a certified personal trainer, who firmly believed it was better and more accurate than calipers. :noway: My percentage came back at 36%, and I was flabbergasted. I knew I had fat to lose, but that seemed crazy high.

I went looking for more info about the accuracy of those scale and body fat testing, and I also came across a bunch of image representations of body fat percentage. First of all 35% is *not* skinny fat. There's nothing skinny about it. Something definitely does not add up to still be thin at 5'6" with 36% body fat.
Image representations are usually in 5% increments, so i compared with several different 35% representations, and (even to my very critical eye and body dysmorphia) I definitely do not look like that. I look more like the 30%.
I'd say take a sec to check some images, but definitely get retested!

holstenator

Ahhh that's put my mind at rest - thank you guys!