skinny fat

joselo2
joselo2 Posts: 461
in Health and Weight Loss
SKINNY FAT what are people talking about when they say this??? I cannot get my head around it at all, what does it mean? People act like it is the worst thing, but whatever it is, it has to be better than normal fat no?
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Replies

  • peopletalk
    peopletalk Posts: 519 Member
    i personally think skinny fat is better than just being considered fat.
    but skinny fat is where you're small, and thin. but you have no muscle definition and you're still flabby.

    my ex-friend is 5'8 and 125-130 lbs but she eats complete crap and fast food twice a day. she never exercises, but she was just blessed with a good metabolism. she can't walk more than a couple blocks without getting winded. she would be considered skinny fat.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    It means to have a low weight, but still have a high BF%.

    example:
    **This is a little extreme, but its the general concept**

    If I got to my goal weight, but only reduced my BF% by 10%.
    135lbs @ 30% BF
    94.5lbs of LBM
    40.5lbs of Fat
    So thin, but really out of shape.
  • traceytwink
    traceytwink Posts: 538 Member
    Skinny fat is thin on the outside but fat on the inside, just because you have a thin shell doesn't mean your healthy, eating too much junk makes you fat on the inside and could give you high cholesterol levels, the main thing is to be fit and healthy eat well and exercise and you can't go wrong ????
  • joselo2
    joselo2 Posts: 461
    Is it one of these body builder terms where they think everyone wants to be muscly like them. which they don't. :/

    I just cant imagine how such a body would look. skinny and fat are opposite!!
  • joselo2
    joselo2 Posts: 461
    lol I wouldnt mind if I was fat 'inside', long as I looked good, hehe
  • peopletalk
    peopletalk Posts: 519 Member
    Is it one of these body builder terms where they think everyone wants to be muscly like them. which they don't. :/

    I just cant imagine how such a body would look. skinny and fat are opposite!!
    did you not read my example? i'm not sure how to make it any clearer. :huh:
  • jgcurry3
    jgcurry3 Posts: 172 Member
    It means to have a low weight, but still have a high BF%.

    Right here, I see it all the time girls that weigh 110 soaking wet and are almost 30% BF.
  • dbm037
    dbm037 Posts: 125 Member
    It means you look pretty good with clothes on even slim, but when they come off you are flabby
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    lol I wouldnt mind if I was fat 'inside', long as I looked good, hehe

    Why would you want that? It essentially means to be horribly out of shape and has the same possibility of health problems that an overweight person has. Not trying to be rude, just curious.
  • joselo2
    joselo2 Posts: 461
    Is it one of these body builder terms where they think everyone wants to be muscly like them. which they don't. :/

    I just cant imagine how such a body would look. skinny and fat are opposite!!
    did you not read my example? i'm not sure how to make it any clearer. :huh:
    picture. I think that is the only way I'd understand, and maybe noteven then, haha.
  • joselo2
    joselo2 Posts: 461
    lol I wouldnt mind if I was fat 'inside', long as I looked good, hehe

    Why would you want that? It essentially means to be horribly out of shape and has the same possibility of health problems that an overweight person has. Not trying to be rude, just curious.
    Because I'd look good and people wouldn't call me fat, they might even think I was hot!
  • EmilyEmpowered
    EmilyEmpowered Posts: 650 Member
    lol I wouldnt mind if I was fat 'inside', long as I looked good, hehe

    Well, in my experience being "skinny fat" (within a healthy BMI weight but BF% over 30), I didnt really feel like I "looked good" and was constantly thinking I needed to lose more and more weight. Until I realized, I DIDN'T need to lose more weight, I needed to lose more FAT and build MUSCLE. When you are all jiggly and squishy, even at a size 6 you still don't feel satisfied with yourself, even if other people may refer to you as "skinny." it can be really frustrating and confusing, and for me I ended up with WORSE self esteem than when I was 100 pounds heavier!

    Just my experience!!
  • rosiereally2
    rosiereally2 Posts: 539 Member
    Is it one of these body builder terms where they think everyone wants to be muscly like them. which they don't. :/

    I just cant imagine how such a body would look. skinny and fat are opposite!!


    No.
  • Pinkylee77
    Pinkylee77 Posts: 432 Member
    it is an oxymoron. You can be skinny and unfit but not skinny and fat. It is a term that seems to get thrown around on MFP a lot
  • joselo2
    joselo2 Posts: 461
    I am like 350lbs, if a skinny person told me they are actually simultaniously fat, I would tell them they have a funny meaning of fat!I think I'd quite like to be skinny fat because hard bodied adonis is not a good look for me I think.
  • Wetcoaster
    Wetcoaster Posts: 1,788 Member
    It means you look pretty good with clothes on even slim, but when they come off you are flabby

    This..............
  • EmilyEmpowered
    EmilyEmpowered Posts: 650 Member
    it is an oxymoron. You can be skinny and unfit but not skinny and fat. It is a term that seems to get thrown around on MFP a lot

    Well, what it really means is you LOOK skinny but you still have an unhealthy amount of body fat. Does get thrown around too much
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    lol I wouldnt mind if I was fat 'inside', long as I looked good, hehe

    Why would you want that? It essentially means to be horribly out of shape and has the same possibility of health problems that an overweight person has. Not trying to be rude, just curious.
    Because I'd look good and people wouldn't call me fat, they might even think I was hot!
    ****I don't want to offend the person in these images, but its one of the best examples I can find atm. ***
    1jrhn8.jpg

    This isn't a "big physical transformation", but I think it's funny that I weighed the exact same in the before and after picture. This is exactly why I hardly ever step on the scale, if at all. Measuring inches lost is more accurate, at least for me.
    Look at these topics:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/954025-small-weight-difference-big-physical-transformation-pics-plz?page=2
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/945609-from-130-to-130
  • peopletalk
    peopletalk Posts: 519 Member
    tried posting a picture from google, didn't work.

    Skinny-Fat.jpg
  • collingmommy
    collingmommy Posts: 456 Member
    Is it one of these body builder terms where they think everyone wants to be muscly like them. which they don't. :/

    I just cant imagine how such a body would look. skinny and fat are opposite!!

    imagine 130 lb person with FLAB and floppy legs, and floppy arms .. that's the only way I can describe it. when we loose weight WITHOUT THE SLIGHTEST use of any weights, we tend to loose muscle also, so to avoid that, incorporate weights. even if there the tiniest you can lift, anything is better then nothing to avoid.... SKINNY FAT!! LOL
  • Hellaine
    Hellaine Posts: 79 Member
    It means you look pretty good with clothes on even slim, but when they come off you are flabby

    haha, I might be a horrible person, but i'm okay with that right now!
  • lizzardsm
    lizzardsm Posts: 271 Member
    an extreme example of skinny fat. she's skinny but you can see how unattractively flabby she is. not pretty.

    http://fivehourfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/skinny-fat-female-model.jpg

    skinny-fat-female-model.jpg
  • joselo2
    joselo2 Posts: 461
    Is it one of these body builder terms where they think everyone wants to be muscly like them. which they don't. :/

    I just cant imagine how such a body would look. skinny and fat are opposite!!

    imagine 130 lb person with FLAB and floppy legs, and floppy arms .. that's the only way I can describe it. when we loose weight WITHOUT THE SLIGHTEST use of any weights, we tend to loose muscle also, so to avoid that, incorporate weights. even if there the tiniest you can lift, anything is better then nothing to avoid.... SKINNY FAT!! LOL
    Maybe I am too fat to see flab on a light person. I sort of see what you mean in the pic but I would never say she was anything like fat in either pic.But interesting how you can transform without lose weight.
  • peopletalk
    peopletalk Posts: 519 Member
    an extreme example of skinny fat. she's skinny but you can see how unattractively flabby she is. not pretty.

    http://fivehourfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/skinny-fat-female-model.jpg
    wow, that is a perfect example!
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    an extreme example of skinny fat. she's skinny but you can see how unattractively flabby she is. not pretty.

    http://fivehourfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/skinny-fat-female-model.jpg
    wow, that is a perfect example!

    agreed
  • curds
    curds Posts: 201 Member
    I know a few skinny fat people, I'd say its also not just about flab, but also how you carry your weight. A friend of mine is skinny as in tall wears a size UK6 jeans, but she has a tummy so I consider her skinny fat, I also don't think its all about BF% as well because my BF has a low BF%, but I call him skinny fat as well because his muscular accept for his tummy he has a slight pouch.

    So to me skinny fat is when you overall skinny, but you carry some weight in your stomach area (that's usually where it is), you can be fit and skinny fat. Its just due to diet reasons you carry a lil bit of fat in one area as oppose to everywhere.
  • joselo2
    joselo2 Posts: 461
    an extreme example of skinny fat. she's skinny but you can see how unattractively flabby she is. not pretty.

    http://fivehourfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/skinny-fat-female-model.jpg
    wow, that is a perfect example!

    agreed
    To me, she is really slim and hot. I think this is why I cannot understand it. Fat and flabby is me, not models!
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    it is an oxymoron. You can be skinny and unfit but not skinny and fat. It is a term that seems to get thrown around on MFP a lot

    I agree with this.

    Skinny fat appears to mean having 30% body fat and being at a low BMI (both of those things need to be present). I think this is a pretty rare situation. But, it's certainly worth avoiding.

    You have found and will continue to see that it is an overused and misused term on mfp and people often use it without applying common sense. It can also lead to disorder because of the misuse leading to an expectation of absolute, flawless perfection.

    It can also lead to people posting a lot of meme photos of random strangers that they actually have no real data about.
  • BrittanyMegan88
    BrittanyMegan88 Posts: 670 Member
    I'm REALLY embarrassed by this but I'll show it anyways since I was a pretty good example of someone who was "skinny fat".

    This was while I was just starving myself to get thin, but when I did actually allow myself to eat, I would eat complete crap & didn't workout. :/ I was sick & always tired and I looked sick & tired. It was disgusting but at the time I didn't even realize it cause I was just too obsessed with just being thin & didn't care about exercise or being healthy.

    Now I do Pilates 5 - 6 days a week & eat healthy foods and stuff.
    I look way better now at a much heavier weight than I did back when I was skinny fat.

    skinnyfat_zpsa4aa1aa6.png
  • lizzardsm
    lizzardsm Posts: 271 Member
    this is attractive??

    http://www.herdaily.com/health/11082/when-is-skinny-unhealthy.html

    skinny%20fat.jpg

    I agree. It's a nonsensical term. It's really just people with low muscle mass and a higher body fat percentage than would be expected at that weight. But that's a big mouthful.

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