help going from skinny fat to muscular and fit

tequila09
tequila09 Posts: 764 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
hi guys! i'm blessed/cursed as a skinny fat person. i got measured in the dunk tank and am at 28% Body Fat. my goal is to get to 22%-20%. what would be the best way to go about this? i've gotten so many mixed things saying i should cut first or bulk first or can do it all at the same time. my plan is to do a spinning class 2 days a week and do full body heavy lifting 3 days a week with a a 5 minute cardio warm up and a 5 minute cardio cool down. i'm 5'8 and currently weigh 150, i was planning on eating 1800 calories with macros set to 40 protein 30 fat and 30 carbs.

should i stick with this plan or try something else? also any female transformations from skinny fat to muscular and fit would be greatly appreciated!! thank you!

Replies

  • leanhulk
    leanhulk Posts: 19
    what is your body type? 40/30/30 is a good start... adjust as necessary... i would say instead of doing 5 mins of cardio do 2-3 HIIT sessions a week for 10-14 mins depending on your fitness level. HIIT will help you burn fat and lower your body fat... now keep in mind that muscle is heavier than fat so dont go by the scale but by body fat or how you look in the mirror. you can also take a pic once a week, same day/time to keep track of your progress.
  • tequila09
    tequila09 Posts: 764 Member
    what is your body type? 40/30/30 is a good start... adjust as necessary... i would say instead of doing 5 mins of cardio do 2-3 HIIT sessions a week for 10-14 mins depending on your fitness level. HIIT will help you burn fat and lower your body fat... now keep in mind that muscle is heavier than fat so dont go by the scale but by body fat or how you look in the mirror. you can also take a pic once a week, same day/time to keep track of your progress.

    hi thank you for responding!! what do you mean my body type?

    i do have turbo fire and it has a few hiit work outs i can incorporate!! i'll also look into hiit for the treadmill i can do at the gym. those 5 minutes is really my walk/jog to the gym and back lol it's only half a mile away from me.
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

    Boom!
  • shorty35565
    shorty35565 Posts: 1,425 Member
    Replying so maybe some of my friends can see this & give their advice.
    But I'm skinny fat too. 5'5 120 25%BF, cutting down to 112 & hopefully will b 20% or close too it, cuz that is as low as I can go weight wise, then going to bulk. My goal is 17%.
    I believe I've been told and/or read that bulking at higher BF% isn't recommended. So I don't think you should bulk just yet. Unless you can't lose anymore weight without looking sickly, then idk what you should do! Maybe I wasn't much help.
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
    http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

    Boom!

    I would let that woman do horrible, horrible things to me...well, I probably wouldn't have to let her...she'd just take whatever she wanted.
  • leanhulk
    leanhulk Posts: 19
    what is your body type? 40/30/30 is a good start... adjust as necessary... i would say instead of doing 5 mins of cardio do 2-3 HIIT sessions a week for 10-14 mins depending on your fitness level. HIIT will help you burn fat and lower your body fat... now keep in mind that muscle is heavier than fat so dont go by the scale but by body fat or how you look in the mirror. you can also take a pic once a week, same day/time to keep track of your progress.

    hi thank you for responding!! what do you mean my body type?

    i do have turbo fire and it has a few hiit work outs i can incorporate!! i'll also look into hiit for the treadmill i can do at the gym. those 5 minutes is really my walk/jog to the gym and back lol it's only half a mile away from me.

    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ms-fit9.htm

    check this out... :-)
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    Here's a great post discussing how to set your calories/macros in detail:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

    Set your calories and macros up as Sara describes there, paying particular attention to protein (it helps you retain what lean body mass (LBM) you have while losing the fat). If you have trouble getting enough protein from whole foods, consider supplementing with protein powder/shakes - but if you can get it all from food alone, don't sweat it.

    You're on the right track with the 3x/wk full-body heavy strength training program - lifting also helps retain LBM/muscle while emphasizing fat loss. The cardio part is optional - spin class 2x/wk is sensible if you want to do it, but it's certainly not necessary. I'd advise against HIIT cardio - the intensity may affect your recovery for the weight room and will deepen your caloric deficit unless you're eating the calories back - and a deeper deficit can mean more loss of LBM, which is what you're trying to prevent.

    Understand that the weight loss is going to be slower because 1) you're not dumping a bunch of lean body mass along with the fat and 2) strength training is going to make you retain water/glycogen for at least the first few weeks. With that said, the results will be more to your liking since you're (correctly) setting your goal on a BF% rather than a scale number.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Here's a great post discussing how to set your calories/macros in detail:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

    Set your calories and macros up as Sara describes there, paying particular attention to protein (it helps you retain what lean body mass (LBM) you have while losing the fat). If you have trouble getting enough protein from whole foods, consider supplementing with protein powder/shakes - but if you can get it all from food alone, don't sweat it.

    You're on the right track with the 3x/wk full-body heavy strength training program - lifting also helps retain LBM/muscle while emphasizing fat loss. The cardio part is optional - spin class 2x/wk is sensible if you want to do it, but it's certainly not necessary. I'd advise against HIIT cardio - the intensity may affect your recovery for the weight room and will deepen your caloric deficit unless you're eating the calories back - and a deeper deficit can mean more loss of LBM, which is what you're trying to prevent.

    Understand that the weight loss is going to be slower because 1) you're not dumping a bunch of lean body mass along with the fat and 2) strength training is going to make you retain water/glycogen for at least the first few weeks. With that said, the results will be more to your liking since you're (correctly) setting your goal on a BF% rather than a scale number.

    ^^this (although I would say that about the link :wink: ). A good full body weight progressive loading training routine would be very beneficial.
  • taunto
    taunto Posts: 6,420 Member
    Here's a great post discussing how to set your calories/macros in detail:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

    Set your calories and macros up as Sara describes there, paying particular attention to protein (it helps you retain what lean body mass (LBM) you have while losing the fat). If you have trouble getting enough protein from whole foods, consider supplementing with protein powder/shakes - but if you can get it all from food alone, don't sweat it.

    You're on the right track with the 3x/wk full-body heavy strength training program - lifting also helps retain LBM/muscle while emphasizing fat loss. The cardio part is optional - spin class 2x/wk is sensible if you want to do it, but it's certainly not necessary. I'd advise against HIIT cardio - the intensity may affect your recovery for the weight room and will deepen your caloric deficit unless you're eating the calories back - and a deeper deficit can mean more loss of LBM, which is what you're trying to prevent.

    Understand that the weight loss is going to be slower because 1) you're not dumping a bunch of lean body mass along with the fat and 2) strength training is going to make you retain water/glycogen for at least the first few weeks. With that said, the results will be more to your liking since you're (correctly) setting your goal on a BF% rather than a scale number.

    ^^this (although I would say that about the link :wink: ). A good full body weight progressive loading training routine would be very beneficial.

    Join that group too if you'd like to get straight scientific facts about nutrition and fitness. The folks running the group are highly educated in the topic and would gladly share peer review research (not just BS magazine articles trying to sell ads) so you can see for yourself how they came to give you the advice they're giving you
  • mumx5
    mumx5 Posts: 325 Member
    bump

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