Hate the term "skinny fat"

Options
24

Replies

  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    Options
    It is good when it can be helpful to people.

    Perhaps it is difficult for me to even fathom (and it sounds like nonsense to me). I've always been incredibly fit, with low bodyfat. When my bf% got up to 22% I joined mfp to lower it back down to 18%. But, I never went on a low calorie diet. Always eaten way above the "recommendations" for my size.

    To me it just sounds like people can't ever be happy, they always see them selves as fat. They go from fat fat to skinny fat.
  • kitticus15
    kitticus15 Posts: 152 Member
    Options
    My interpretation of "skinny fat" is someone who is thin, but not necessarily healthy. They keep their weight down through calorie restriction or are just naturally thin, but don't have good nutrition and exercise habits.

    Weight and appearance are not good ways to measure health.

    I myself have flitted from "skinny fat" as described above to "fat fat", I am now determined to stop that cycle and be fit and healthy... there is a difference, I am losing inches so heading back to the skinny but doing it with healthier food choices and exercise rather than calorie restriction as I always did in the past... my father was skinny fat, the proof was the heart attack at age 55 when he was as thin as a rake... he ate badly, fried food, full english breakfast everyday, smoked and drank... I learnt from that lesson even if he didn't...
  • mjl54
    mjl54 Posts: 127 Member
    Options
    If you can't see the fat, then they are not skinny fat. People even call the VS models skinny fat. A lot of the time "skinny fat" is just the term people use when they need to feel better about themselves by putting other people down (and they have a sense of entitlement to do so).

    Inncorrect.

    As said it is people with a NORMAL BMI and high BF%. so if you where to look at them with clothes on you would think they where fine. but in all reality they are low on the muscle side.

    And yes a VS model could be skinny fat.
    a woman any size could be skinny fat from 0 up.
    just like I consider my brother skinnyfat he lost 40lbs and looks fine but has no muscle tone and avg. 25%bf
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    Options
    If you can't see the fat, then they are not skinny fat. People even call the VS models skinny fat. A lot of the time "skinny fat" is just the term people use when they need to feel better about themselves by putting other people down (and they have a sense of entitlement to do so).

    Inncorrect.

    As said it is people with a NORMAL BMI and high BF%. so if you where to look at them with clothes on you would think they where fine. but in all reality they are low on the muscle side.

    And yes a VS model could be skinny fat.

    Have you seen the VS models? They have visible abs and very solid, firm leg muscles.

    I mean, that if you can see a person's visible abs and they have no fat to grab and pinch at around their full body visible muscle definition they are not skinny fat.

    Also some people are too skinny. It's called being skinny.
  • RoadsterGirlie
    RoadsterGirlie Posts: 1,195 Member
    Options
    Also, a person can be thin, but not very fit either. Maybe they have a normal BMI and normal BF%, but they need to increase their endurance and strength.

    These traits have nothing to do with aesthetics or vanity, but what the body is physically capable of.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    Options
    I need everyone to get naked for me, so I can determine if they are skinnyfat. Don't worry, I'm a doctor.
  • tequila09
    tequila09 Posts: 764 Member
    Options
    I am the definition of skinny fat. Im 5'8 and a size 6 but im at 28% body fat!! I look great with clothes on but you can definitely tell in a bikini.
  • RoadsterGirlie
    RoadsterGirlie Posts: 1,195 Member
    Options
    Um, are you sure about that? lol
  • tequila09
    tequila09 Posts: 764 Member
    Options
    I need everyone to get naked for me, so I can determine if they are skinnyfat. Don't worry, I'm a doctor.

    I second this.
  • mjl54
    mjl54 Posts: 127 Member
    Options
    If you can't see the fat, then they are not skinny fat. People even call the VS models skinny fat. A lot of the time "skinny fat" is just the term people use when they need to feel better about themselves by putting other people down (and they have a sense of entitlement to do so).

    Inncorrect.

    As said it is people with a NORMAL BMI and high BF%. so if you where to look at them with clothes on you would think they where fine. but in all reality they are low on the muscle side.

    And yes a VS model could be skinny fat.

    Have you seen the VS models? They have visible abs and very solid, firm leg muscles.

    I mean, that if you can see a person's visible abs and they have no fat to grab and pinch at around their full body visible muscle definition they are not skinny fat.

    Also some people are too skinny. It's called being skinny.
    I have seen them:bigsmile:
    im didn't say they ARE skinnyfat as i said they COULD be.
  • Madaly320
    Madaly320 Posts: 112 Member
    Options
    My sis in law had Gastric Bypass. She lost 125 lbs, so yeah, she is of normal weight for her height now, but she hasn't done a second of exercising and now has a ton of hanging, loose skin. If you look at her, she just looks like a smaller version of her "fat" self. I always considered THAT what "Skinny Fat" meant. Her clothes don't fit right because she wears a smaller size pants now, but you can see all this extra skin or fat hanging over the edges. It is just not a good look. To hide it all, she has to wear bigger clothes, making her look heavier than she is.
  • HealthyNowForever
    HealthyNowForever Posts: 45 Member
    Options
    I called myself that for awhile. I was a size 3/4, but had a 26% body fat. It was not meant to be insulting, it was just a term I used to describe myself while working at lowering my body fat.
  • MercenaryNoetic26
    MercenaryNoetic26 Posts: 2,747 Member
    Options
    If you have a muffin-top and are not obese, you are skinny-fat. I'm skinny-fat. I love the term because when I'm not lean, I'm skinny-fat. Everyone is fat. Just some have more than others :tongue:
  • sunman00
    sunman00 Posts: 872 Member
    Options
    I often call myself a 'fat anorexic'; I've lost 28lb but sometimes when I look in the mirror, all I see is fat! (I weigh 185lb),

    most of the time I use it as a way to keep at this thing :smile:
  • runzalot81
    runzalot81 Posts: 782 Member
    Options
    Every single person on my mother's side of the family is obese and many of them are morbidly obese. Except me.

    I was pushing maximum density in college and decided to take up running. I've been running for 10+ years and I love it! However, it has left me "skinny fat." :embarassed: I'm a distance runner but I did start using weights a few years ago. I just didn't really know how to work it all. I recently started New Rules of Weightlifting for Women. I think I'm gonna like it because it's a detailed plan with goals.

    I really try not to give myself a hard time over the body fat percentage. I do work hard and I'm always learning. Doing the best I can! Anyone who doesn't like it can bite me. :drinker:
  • Frankie3333
    Frankie3333 Posts: 53 Member
    Options
    I don't like the term because I am a "fat girl" right now. I am no where near skinny or skinny fat. However, I know that I am healthier than some of my co-workers who are a size 2! I attempt to eat healthy. I am really good at working out and do it often. Some of them have never even been to a gym. It surprised me when one raised up her shirt and showed me her belly. She was like "its flabby because i don't work out."

    So skinny fat is sort of a thing
  • AlexThreeClaw
    AlexThreeClaw Posts: 73 Member
    Options
    I can understand the frustration.

    I don't like the word skinny at all, let alone skinny fat, because of the way the word is misused. I personally feel "skinny" and "fat" are opposite extremes, perhaps not equally unhealthy but definitely not healthy. Skinny doesn't mean slim, willowy, graceful. It means awfully thin, skin, bones, and not a lot else. In my mind, to call someone skinny is just as much of an insult as to call someone fat. Yet many of my acquaintances, (and marketing and media,) seem to believe calling a person skinny is a compliment.

    Skinny fat is something of an oxymoron. I take it to mean appearing slim but actually having a high percentage of body fat but many of my acquaintances use it to mean, "I guess I'm slimmer than X but I'm still fatter than Y", with the implication that properly skinny is their ideal. It can be immensely irritating, especially when I realise that when I reach my goals these people will probably inaccurately describe me as skinny fat but, hey, it doesn't really affect me so I need to just suck it up and let it go.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    Options
    I can understand the frustration.

    I don't like the word skinny at all, let alone skinny fat, because of the way the word is misused. I personally feel "skinny" and "fat" are opposite extremes, perhaps not equally unhealthy but definitely not healthy. Skinny doesn't mean slim, willowy, graceful. It means awfully thin, skin, bones, and not a lot else. In my mind, to call someone skinny is just as much of an insult as to call someone fat. Yet many of my acquaintances, (and marketing and media,) seem to believe calling a person skinny is a compliment.

    Skinny fat is something of an oxymoron. I take it to mean appearing slim but actually having a high percentage of body fat but many of my acquaintances use it to mean, "I guess I'm slimmer than X but I'm still fatter than Y", with the implication that properly skinny is their ideal. It can be immensely irritating, especially when I realise that when I reach my goals these people will probably inaccurately describe me as skinny fat but, hey, it doesn't really affect me so I need to just suck it up and let it go.

    Yeah, the term skinny is also problematic. It means different things to different people (like you described). I appreciate your distinction between skinny and slim (or slender).
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    Options
    The term is meant to refer to some one who is in the normal bmi range(or lower) for their height, but still has a high BF%. The term does get misused a lot, but I don't think the term itself is bad.

    edit: Your rant seems more like your leaning towards the misuse of the term.

    ^^^ this

    "normal weight obesity" is a medical term for when someone has a BMI in the healthy range, while their body fat percentage is in the obese range. Skinny-fat used to be a colloquial term for normal weight obesity. However it's been widely misused, and most people who are called "skinny-fat" do not have normal weight obesity.
  • Vailara
    Vailara Posts: 2,454 Member
    Options
    I agree, OP. Before I came here I thought that "skinny fat" was a possibly useful term to describe people who were slim but had high visceral fat (and so, greater risk of certain diseases). Now it just seems to have become an insult, or a way to describe anyone who isn't obviously fat but isn't muscular. It has come to be about appearance, rather than health risk. It's also become a way for people who aren't at all overweight to feel that their body is wrong and that it's their fault.

    It's not just the term, it's the fact that there is pressure on people to have low body fat, regardless of health risk (I believe).

Categories