Skinny Fat?

Bess_74
Bess_74 Posts: 68
in Health and Weight Loss
What is "skinny fat?" I've seen that term a lot in message board posts, usually in regards to how you'll end up if you only do cardio....which I do, which is why I'm wondering. Thanks

Replies

  • lilacinfinity
    lilacinfinity Posts: 283 Member
    It means you're slim, but you have little muscle mass and all the 'meat on your bones' is pretty much just fat.
    You could have two women, the same hight and size, but one weighing 25lb more than the other. the higher weight has more muscle, less fat. the lighter one is skinny-fat.

    it's also associated with people who look trim and healthy, but have a dangerous amount of internal (ie around the organs) fat.

    read this http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/
  • doodledawn
    doodledawn Posts: 7
    For me skinny fat was when I weighed about 107lbs but was technically obese because my body fat percentage was at or above 30%. At that time - I did plenty of cardio and ate nearly no protein so my body had consumed it's own muscle for protein. Building muscle is essential - it's the only thing that's ever lead to significant body change for me because I've always eaten fairly healthy and been a runner. You don't need to be a body builder but watch your protein and do some strength excercised (I'm famous for doing dips in my office while on conference calls).
  • Doctorpurple
    Doctorpurple Posts: 507 Member
    This gets asked a lot. Maybe they need to make a sticky about this topic. Anyway skinny fat can mean different things to different people but essentially skinny fat is someone that is within the normal range of "body weight" but is overfat which means they have a high body fat percentage. So they are not every weight but they are overfat. This can be due to excessive muscle loss by not working out at all.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Skinny fat is when someone is skinny, but not really lean. In other words, they're at a good and healthy weight, but a higher BF% and lack tone or definition. Frequently when people are "skinny fat" they think they need to lose even more weight...do even more cardio...be even more restrictive with calories, etc...when in reality, they need to hit the weight room and work on body composition because their weight is just fine where it is.

    Unfortunately, many...and in particular, many women ignore strength training during their weight loss. They do cardio, cardio, and more cardio which doesn't do a whole lot to tax your muscles. Because those muscles aren't really being used or taxed, your body burns muscle along with the fat...actually, it's easier for your body to burn muscle as fuel than fat. So very often, someone loses a bunch of weight but has completely neglected their muscles in the process and end up losing a lot of muscle and being left at the goal weight they desire...but still with a higher BF% than desired...i.e. "skinny fat."
  • Bess_74
    Bess_74 Posts: 68
    Thanks for your responses...guess I need to stop thinking of all the weight machines as "scary" or as "guys machines" and try some of them out! Hope I don't hurt myself! Maybe I'll experiment on Saturday when I have more time.
  • Cajunmalakai
    Cajunmalakai Posts: 59 Member
    There are alot of women who are wary of weight training. The most common reasons I've come across are that they are intimidated, or they are concerned strength training might make them bulky.

    Starting a strength training program can indeed for scary, most especially if your new to the iron game. Just start slow, educate yourself, and always err on the side of caution. However, while machines have their uses, I would recommend training with free weights, mostly because a machine will restrict you to a very specific range of motion and will not allow you to learn proper form, which is essential to progress. In general terms, and any free weight movement will work more muscle, better than it's machine counterpart.

    If getting bulky is a concern for you, it needn't be. Not only does getting "big" require very specific training, diet, and to no small degree, genetics, but women do not have the muscular skeletal structure nor the hormone levels to produce and support "bulky" muscle, unless of course, they train and diet specifically to those ends.

    Enough science-y talk. You should absolutely include strength training in your fitness routine. The benefits are many, and the drawbacks practically nonexistent. Just be sure to see your doctor first.

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